EQ1 - 7.2 The biosphere is a vital support system for people as it provides both goods and services.

Question 1

What is the biosphere?

Answer 1

• Includes all parts of the earth that are occupied by living organisms - plants, animals, bacteria, fungi as well as the soil and water that they live in.

Question 2

What are indigenous people?

Answer 2

• People who are native in an area.

Question 3

How does food in a living organism help people to survive locally?

Answer 3

• Many indigenous people get all of their food directly from the animals or plants.
• Some forage for food, picking wild fruit, vegetables and nuts, hunting animals and catching fish.
• Others grow food for their own use.

Question 4

How does medicine in a living organism help people to survive locally?

Answer 4

• Lots of plants have medicinal properties and are used to cure illnesses and keep people healthy.
• Plant species in Tropical forests have been used to create over 7000 drugs.

Question 5

How does building materials in a living organism help people to survive locally?

Answer 5

• Trees and other plants are used - for wood.
• Sap from trees can be used as glue or to make buildings waterproof.
• Reeds and straws can be used for roofs.
• Plant fibres can be used to make rope.

Question 6

How does fuel in a living organism help people to survive locally?

Answer 6

• Indigenous people rely on plants and animals for fuel for cooking and keeping warm.
• Wood, moss, dried grass and dried animal drug is burnt as fuel.
• Some indigenous people in areas with little vegetation use animal fat.

Question 7

Why do humans exploit the biosphere for energy?

Answer 7

• Demand is increasing due to world population increasing and people use more electrical devices.
• Large areas of forest are cut down to clear land for the growing of crops that can be sued to make biofuels, or to make way for coal mines or power stations.
• Some areas of tropical forest have been flooded by the building of hydroelectric dams.
• Drilling for oil and gas is damaging the tundra biosphere because pipelines are melting the permafrost.

Question 8

Why do humans exploit the biosphere for water?

Answer 8

• Demand is increasing because of increases in global population.
• Lakes, rivers and aquifers and be over-exploited which can happen in arid areas.
• Over-exploitation can damage the biosphere as plants and animals no longer have enough water to survive.

Question 9

Why do humans exploit the biosphere for minerals?

Answer 9

• Gold and iron are used in buildings, scientific instruments, electrical appliances and lots of other things - demand is also increasing.
• Extracted through mining.
• Mines responsible for deforestation and toxic chemicals are washed into streams and rivers killing wildlife.
• Open pit mining removes large areas of the land surface.

Question 10

How do plants control the proportion of different gases in the atmosphere?

Answer 10

• Plants take in CO2 and give out oxygen during photosynthesis.
• Animals take in oxygen from the air and vie out carbon dioxide when they breathe.

Question 11

Why is maintaining the balance of gases important in the atmosphere?

Answer 11

• Most living organism need oxygen to survive.
• Increased levels of CO2 lead to global warming, acidic oceans and affecting the organisms living in the acidic oceans.
• Some CO2 is needed to keep the earth warm enough to support life.

Question 12

How does the biosphere maintain soil nutrients and structure?

Answer 12

• Plant roots and animals spread nutrients through the soil; helping maintain soil structure and fertility which allows plants to grow.
• Roots of vegetation also hold soil together, without this, the soil can be eroded by wind and rain.

Question 13

How does the biosphere regulate the water cycle?

Answer 13

• Water is taken up by plants, so less reach rivers helping the prevention of flooding.
• Plants also help regulate the global water cycle by storing water and releasing it into the atmosphere slowly.
• Large areas of forest can reduce the risk of drought and flooding in areas a long way away.

Question 14

What are the population projections for years to come?

Answer 14

• Gets harder to predict future population even though we have previous figures.
• UN has made 3 predictions about population - the highest population prediction shows the worlds total population reaching 14 billion people by the end of the century.

Question 15

How can the demand for one resource increase the demand for other resources?

Answer 15

• More people means more food, therefore more water is needed. As well as this as it is transported, the more energy is needed.

Question 16

What are the features for increasing demand?

Answer 16

• Wealth, urbanisation and industrialisation.

- In emerging countries, there has been rapid industrialisation and urbanisation, people are getting wealthier.

Question 17

How does increasing wealth increase demand for resources?

Answer 17

• Economic development means that people are getting wealthier.
• Wealthier people have more disposable income, therefore, they have more money to spend on food, more than they need.
  They can afford cars, fridges and television which uses up electricity for which energy is required.
  More people can afford flushing toilets, showers and dishwashers increasing water use.

Question 18

How does urbanisation increase demand for resources?

Answer 18

• Cities tend to be more resource-intesive than rural areas - street lights and neon signs use energy, fountains ad urban parks require more water.
• Food and water have to be transported long distances to meet this increased demand in cities, waste also need to be removed.

Question 19

How does industrialisation increase demand for resources?

Answer 19

• Manufacturing goods such as cars, chemicals and electrical appliances use a lot off energy.
• Manufacturing also uses a lot of water.
• The more industrialised a country becomes, their demand for energy and water increases.
• Increasing the production of processed goods. This increases the demands for ingredients such a as palm oil which usually grows on huge plantations.

Question 20

What were the key points about Malthus’ theory on resource supply?

Answer 20

• Population was growing faster than the supply of resources, so eventually there would be too many people for the resources available.
• When this occurred, famine, illness and war would kill people and the population would then return to a level that could be supported by the resources available.
• (18th Century)

Question 21

What were the key points about Boserup’s theory on resource supply?

Answer 21

• However big the population is, people would always produce the sufficient resources to meet their needs.
• If resource supplies become limited, people would come up with new ways to increase production in order to avoid hardship.
• As population increases to be equal with resource supply, resource supply always increases so there are always enough resources available to the population.
• (20th Century)