Biosphere, carbon Flashcards
All living things share 4 essential processes:
1.
2.
3.
4.
- metabolism
- growth
- reproduction
- evolution
Are viruses living or non-living?
they’re in a grey area
- most say they’re not
metabolism=
chemical changes in an organism that make energy/ materials needed to grow, reproduce, etc
the biosphere is a(n) ____ system
open
ie exchanges matter/ energy with hydrosphere and atmosphere etc
- organisms absorb ____ from:
1. _____ or
2. - ____ is used to maintain processes within the organism
- energy is released as:
1.
2.
energy
1. light
2. chemical substances that they consume
energy
- heat
- other chemical substances expelled
what is the process of growth
- organization of small molecules into large chain or sheet-like molecules
- new copies of these large molecules are made (chemical processes)
reproduction is the formation of new ____
- population can expand while individuals remain the ~___ ___
individuals
aprox same size
what are the 2 ways of reproducing?
- asexual: separating off part of an individual
- sexual: sharing of material from 2 individuals
what are the 3 domains of life
- archea
- bacteria
- eurkaryotes
all life on earth is built around ___ atoms
carbon
list 4 oxidized forms of carbon
- carbon dioxide CO2
- carbonic acid H2CO3
- bicarbonate ions HCO3-
- carbonate ions CO3 2-
what is reduced carbon?
ie organic carbon
= the carbon in the biosphere that does not share any outer e- with oxygen
eg. methane CH4
the bonding of most elements with C releases ___(less/more) energy than with oxygen
less
which major process converts inorganic carbon to organic carbon in the biosphere?
photosynthesis
- CO2 + water = carbohydrate + O2
most of the energy input to the biosphere is captured via photosynthesis, but a small amount comes from other sources like ____
give definition
chemosynthesis
= involves reactive chemicals emitted from (mostly) submarine hot springs
most of the energy input to the biosphere is captured via photosynthesis, but a small amount comes from other sources like ____
give definition
chemosynthesis
= involves reactive chemicals emitted from (mostly) submarine hot springs
what’s the typical path of carbon through the spheres?
atmosphere (CO2) –> biosphere (organic C) –> geosphere (coal)
organisms that obtain energy by photosynthesis or chemosynthesis are called ____ (mostly ___)
autotrophs
plants
what happens to carbon once it’s in organic form?
- some is captured by plants to build their body structures (bark etc)
- the rest is recombined with oxygen to release the energy (so it can fuel their living processes)
respiration=
all the processes organisms use to obtain energy, including breathing
heterotrophs obtain ____ ____ by consuming bodies of other organisms
- mostly heterotrophs are ____
- obtain energy by:
organic matter
animals
reacting some of that organic carbon with oxygen
photosynthesis uses energy to fix ___ from the atmosphere into ___ ____
carbon
organic material
the carbon cycle is closely related to ___ flow
energy
_____ of ____ by humans is a major driver of increasing atmospheric CO2 and warming
oxidization of carbon
carbon compounds store ___ in organisms and contribute to the ____ ___ of organisms
energy
body structure (biomass)
list the 2 forms of carbon and gives examples for each
- Inorganic Carbon (carbonates) - oxidized
- CO2
- biocarbonate ions (HCO3-)
- carbonate ions (CO3 2-) - Organic Carbon- reduced
- organic polymers like DNA, protein
- carbohydrates
- buried organic remains
- fossil fuels (natural gas, oil, coal)
- diamonds
Which sphere contains the most carbon? List them in order
- geosphere (most)
- hydrosphere
- atmosphere
- biosphere (least)
- CO2 falls during ___ ____ because of _____
- CO2 rises during ____ ____ because there is less ___ ____ in the southern hemisphere
- northern summer, photosynthesis
- southern summer
forested land
most of the carbon contained in the hydrosphere is ___ carbon stored in the ___
- some carbon in the hydrosphere is ___, and that comes from ____ of plants and animals
inorganic, oceans
organic, remains
~40% of anthropogenic CO2 ends up in the _____, and ~60% ends up in the _____
atmosphere
oceans
there is uncertainty on the distribution of C in the geosphere, but it is the largest sink out of all the spheres
- most of the C in the geosphere is contained in ___ ___ (____ carbon)
carbonate rocks- inorganic
