blue planet Flashcards
List and describe Earth’s four spheres
- Lithosphere
Lithosphere – The earths crust including landforms, rocks, and soils.
List and describe Earth’s four spheres
- Atmosphere
Atmosphere – The thin, fragile layer of gases that surround the earth.
List and describe Earth’s four spheres
- Hydrosphere
Hydrosphere – The water on the surface of the earths in the ocean, rivers, lakes, rain and mist.
List and describe Earth’s four spheres
- Biosphere
Biosphere – Living matter on earths including all plant and animal life forms.
Name and describe the three chemical reactions in the oxygen cycle.
Photosynthesis: the process in which plants use synthesis oxygen and sugar.
Cellular Respiration: the process that uses oxygen and sugar to create energy.
Photolysis: the process where a chemical substance is broken down by light.
Describe the importance of bacteria in the nitrogen cycle, including the roles of nitrogen-fixing and denitrifying bacteria respectively.
Bacteria converts atmospheric nitrogen into forms that plants can absorb. This is called nitrogen fixation.
Describe the importance of nitrogen
Nitrogen element:
Nitrogen is a major component of chlorophyll, the compound by which plants use sunlight energy to produce sugars from water and carbon dioxide (photosynthesis). It’s also important building blocks of proteins.
Describe the importance of phosphorous
Phosphorous element: phosphorus is essential for all living things to exist. It creates DNA and RNA’s sugar-phosphate backbone. As a component of ATP, it is crucial for the transfer of energy in cells.
Describe the importance of carbon
Carbon element: This is partly because carbon can easily make bonds with other atoms, allowing biomolecules like sugars and fats and tissues DNA and RNA, building block of life,
Describe how human activity negatively influences the nitrogen and phosphorus cycles.
Human activities like industrial nitrogen fixation and excessive use of fertilizers disrupt the cycles.
- Creating air/water pollution
- Alge blooms
- Fossil fuel emissions
- Run off fertilizers.
NOT ANSWERED
Distinguish the difference between weather and climate.
Weather is the short-term atmospheric conditions, while climate is the weather of a specific region averaged over a long period of time.
Define and give examples of carbon sinks.
A carbon sink is any feature of the environment that absorbs and or stores carbon, keeping it from the atmosphere. Examples are
- Forest takes in CO2.
- Ocean absorbs CO2 making it more acidic.
- Carbon can also be stored in rocks, decomposed organic matter and shells or marine organisms.
Name all greenhouse gases and give examples of their emission sources.
Methane: fossil fuel production, agriculture
Carbon Dioxide: Fossil fuels, deforestation
Nitrous Oxide: Fertilizer, fossil fuels
Water Vapour: Power plant cooling irrigation
Explain why the greenhouse effect is important in sustaining life on Earth.
Greenhouse effect is important to sustaining life because its crucial to keeping our planet at a suitable temperature for life to survive. Without the natural greenhouse effect, the heat emitted by the Earth would simply pass outwards from the Earth’s surface into space.
Give examples of how human activity has contributed to enhanced global warming
- Burning of fossil fuels
- Climate change
- Pollution
- Fishing and agriculture farming
Give examples of how enhanced global warming has affected climate, health, and biodiversity respectively.
Health: Bad air quality can cause heart diseases, lung conditions, skin cancer
Global warming effects of biodiversity: Disturbs natural habitats & species, rush of species extinction, destroying plants? Environment.
Can give examples of how excessive carbon emissions has affected all four spheres of Earth.
- Lithosphere
Lithosphere: excessive carbon emissions has had the biggest effect on the geosphere, which offers natural resources and an area to grow food. As a result, water levels have declined, crops have decreased, surface erosion has occurred, and fertile ground for farming has been lost.
Can give examples of how excessive carbon emissions has affected all four spheres of Earth.
- Hydrosphere
The change in amounts of carbon emissions has an impact on many aspects of climate, such as surface air and ocean temperatures, precipitation, and sea levels. This all threatens human health, agriculture, water resources, forests, animals, habitats, and coastal areas.
Can give examples of how excessive carbon emissions has affected all four spheres of Earth.
- Biosphere
When fossil fuels emit an excess of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, part of it gets absorbed by the ocean. Carbonic acid is formed when the CO2 reacts with water, carbonic acid is generated, decreasing the pH of the ocean, and making the ocean more acidic.
Can give examples of how excessive carbon emissions has affected all four spheres of Earth.
- Atmosphere
As greenhouse gas emissions blanket the Earth, they trap the sun’s heat. As a result, global warming and climate change occur. The earth is currently warming faster than at any previous time in history. Warmer temperatures are changing weather patterns and disturbing nature’s normal balance.
