Carbon Cycle Flashcards
Atmosphere
During cellular respiration, the inorganic byproduct CO2 is produced and released into the atmosphere. Photosynthetic organisms, such as plants, acquire inorganic CO2 from the atmosphere. Greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide, increase the overall temperature of the atmosphere by trapping and holding heat energy before releasing it into space. This is known as the greenhouse effect. Without it, the daily temperature would be much lower and nights would be unbearably cold.
geosphere
the scientific name for the solid parts of a planet.
ecology
the study of the relationships between living organisms, including humans, and their physical environment;
lithosphere
the solid, outer part of Earth. The lithosphere includes the brittle upper portion of the mantle and the crust, the outermost layers of Earth’s structure.
hydrosphere
the total amount of water on a planet
biosphere
made up of the parts of Earth where life exists
carbon cycle
Carbon moves from the atmosphere to plants. In the atmosphere, carbon is attached to oxygen in a gas called carbon dioxide (CO2). Through the process of photosynthesis, carbon dioxide is pulled from the air to produce food made from carbon for plant growth.
Carbon moves from plants to animals. Through food chains, the carbon that is in plants moves to the animals that eat them. Animals that eat other animals get the carbon from their food too.
Carbon moves from plants and animals to soils. When plants and animals die, their bodies, wood and leaves decays bringing the carbon into the ground. Some is buried and will become fossil fuels in millions and millions of years.
Carbon moves from living things to the atmosphere. Each time you exhale, you are releasing carbon dioxide gas (CO2) into the atmosphere. Animals and plants need to get rid of carbon dioxide gas through a process called respiration.
Carbon moves from fossil fuels to the atmosphere when fuels are burned. When humans burn fossil fuels to power factories, power plants, cars and trucks, most of the carbon quickly enters the atmosphere as carbon dioxide gas. Each year, five and a half billion tons of carbon is released by burning fossil fuels. Of this massive amount, 3.3 billion tons stays in the atmosphere. Most of the remainder becomes dissolved in seawater.
Carbon moves from the atmosphere to the oceans. The oceans, and other bodies of water, absorb some carbon from the atmosphere. The carbon is dissolved into the water.
symbiosis
Any association between two species populations that live together is symbiotic, whether the species benefit, harm, or have no effect on one another.
mutualism
an interaction between individuals of different species that results in positive (beneficial) effects on per capita reproduction and/or survival of the interacting populations.
commensalism
an association between two organisms in which one benefits and the other derives neither benefit nor harm.
Parasitism
the practice of living as a parasite in or on another organism
logisistic population growth
occurs when resources are limited, thereby setting a maximum number an environment can support.
exponential population growth
when a population’s per capita growth rate stays the same, regardless of population size, making the population grow faster and faster as it gets larger.
density dependent
disease, competition, and predation. Density-dependant factors can have either a positive or a negative correlation to population size. With a positive relationship, these limiting factors increase with the size of the population and limit growth as population size increases.
density independent
Most density-independent factors are abiotic, or nonliving. A density-independent limiting factor includes natural disaster such as earthquakes. The effect of an earthquake has changed the human population in the affected area.
