Unit 2 Lesson 2: Modeling the Carbon cycle

Question 1

Living things perform a process called cellular respiration. What happens during this process?

Answer 1

During this process, sugars are broken down in the presence of oxygen to release energy.

Question 2

What is a waste product of cellular respiration

Answer 2

Carbon dioxide is also produced as a waste product, which is expelled from the body through breathing.

Question 3

What is the carbon cycle

Answer 3

the movement of carbon between the different areas of the earth

Question 4

What does the carbon cycle do?

Answer 4

his carbon moves between the living and nonliving parts of an ecosystem.

Question 5

lithosphere

Answer 5

lithosphere – the area of Earth that is solid; land and soil

Question 6

hydrosphere

Answer 6

hydrosphere – the area of Earth covered by water

Question 7

atmosphere

Answer 7

atmosphere – the collection of gases that surrounds the planet and provides breathable air

Question 8

Carbon moves between parts of what spheres?

Answer 8

Carbon also moves between the parts of the lithosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere.

Question 9

What should carbon be cycled

Answer 9

Carbon must be cycled among Earth’s subsystems in order to sustain life.

Question 10

Carbon is an essential part of all systems. Elaborate.

Answer 10

Carbon helps to regulate the Earth’s temperature, provide energy, and forms complex molecules that make up all life.

Question 11

What role do the subsystems/spheres have on the carbon cycle

Answer 11

The four subsystems, or spheres, each provide a key to moving carbon between living and nonliving things.

Question 12

Brefliy descirbe how crabon moves between spheres

Answer 12

Carbon moves from the atmosphere, the collection of gases that surround the planet, down to Earth’s biosphere, where all living things exist, and back again.

Question 13

What is the role of the both the hydrosphere and the lithospehre when it comes to the carbon cycle

Answer 13

The hydrosphere, where Earth is covered by water, and the lithosphere, which consists of Earth’s land and soil, both provide reservoirs for carbon to be stored.

Question 14

reservoir

Answer 14

reservoir – a location that stores materials

Question 15

What is one way carbon moves from the atmosphere to the biosphere?

Answer 15

One way carbon moves from the atmosphere to the biosphere (the area containing all living things) is through photosynthesis.

Question 16

photosynthesis – process by which autotrophs convert light energy into chemical energy. What is needed to generate this chemical energy?

Answer 16

To generate this chemical energy, plants need to take in carbon dioxide.

Question 17

What are the inputs and outputs of phtootsytheis

Answer 17

, in a plant, the main inputs, or reactants, are light, water and carbon dioxide. The outputs, or products, are oxygen and sugars.

Question 18

Photosynthesis can be represented by the following formula:

6CO2 + 6H2O + light energy→ C6H12O6 + 6O2
What is the chemical process of photosyntheis?

Answer 18

Here, six molecules of carbon dioxide react with six molecules of water to produce glucose (a sugar) and six molecules of oxygen. Light energy is used to power this reaction, and the green pigment chlorophyll, located in the plant’s chloroplasts, captures light.

Question 19

Animals and plants benefit each other through their processes to create chemical energy. How?

Answer 19

Plants generate oxygen for animals through photosynthesis and animals give off carbon dioxide for plants through cellular respiration.

Question 20

What is cellular respiration

Answer 20

Cellular respiration is the process of combining food molecules with oxygen and using the chemical energy from these molecules to power all the activities that sustain life. Animals take in oxygen and give off carbon dioxide as a waste product.

Question 21

Are cellular respiration and breathing the same thing?

Answer 21

It’s important not to get cellular respiration and breathing confused. While these two processes are related, they are very different from each other.

Question 22

cellular respiration can be shown with a formula:
6O2 + C6H12O6 → 6CO2 + 6H2O + energy
What is the chemical reaction of cellular espiartion

Answer 22

Six molecules of oxygen react with one molecule of glucose to produce six molecules of carbon dioxide, six molecules of water, and energy. This process takes place inside cells in the mitochondria.

Question 23

What is breathing?

Answer 23

Breathing, on the other hand, is the exchange of gases between the body and the environment.

Question 24

How id breathing related to the carbon cycle

Answer 24

Breathing is related to the carbon cycle as many organisms expel carbon dioxide and take in oxygen.

Question 25

How does carbon dioxide affect the acidity of the ocean?

Answer 25

The chemical reaction of carbon dioxide and water forms an acid that is harmful to organisms in the oceans.

Question 26

How does the acidty of the ocean affect shell animals?

Answer 26

Animals that make shells are especially harmed by the increasing acidity of oceans because the organisms’ shells dissolve in acids. The slightest increase in acidity of the water can harm shells.

Question 27

Another source of carbon contributing to the carbon cycle is the decomposition of dead organisms. How?

Answer 27

Since all living things on Earth are based on carbon (meaning they are composed of carbon molecules such as proteins, lipids, and carbohydrates), the carbon within their bodies recycles through the geosphere, biosphere, and atmosphere.

Question 28

What happens when an organism, such as a snake, decomposes, ?

Answer 28

When an organism, such as a snake, decomposes, the organic molecules trapped within its body are released. These molecules act as nutrients, mix with the soil and serve as the foundation for new plants growing in the same area. Those plants use the carbon to grow and carry out their functions.

Question 29

What happens when plants die

Answer 29

When the plants die, the carbon within their structures is again released into the soil to be used as nutrients for the next generation.

Question 30

What role do mushrooms have in decompostion of dead organisms

Answer 30

Mushrooms are responsible for the breaking down of dead organisms and the release of carbon back into the soil.

Question 31

Humans also contribute to the amount of carbon that circulates through the carbon cycle. Elaborate.

Answer 31

Factories and automobiles are one example of how humans contribute a large amount of carbon into the atmosphere. Burning fossil fuels (such as coal and oil) causes tons of carbon dioxide to enter the air.

Question 32

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), humans emitted ? times more carbon than volcanoes in 2016.

Answer 32

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), humans emitted sixty times more carbon than volcanoes in 2016.

Question 33

What impact does excess CO2 have

Answer 33

This cloud of carbon dioxide gas acts like a shield preventing the sun’s heat from escaping. This causes global temperatures to increase, polar ice caps to melt, and much of the biosphere, lithosphere, and hydrosphere to be disrupted in some way.

Question 34

Consider this part of the carbon cycle:

Answer 34

• Plants make glucose.
• Animals eat plants to consume glucose.
• Animals and plants die putting organic matter in the ground.
• Decomposers break down this organic matter and create nutrients.
• These nutrients then are absorbed by new plants to help them grow and stay healthy.
• Steps one through 5 repeat

Question 35

What has the largest storage area for carbon on Earth?

Answer 35

Rocks and sediment have the largest storage area for carbon on Earth.

Question 36

Explain the significance of the carbon cycle to ecosystem stability.

Answer 36

The flow of carbon through the ecosystem helps maintain ecosystem stability because organisms in the ecosystem need carbon to survive. If organisms begin to die and their populations become extremely low, the ecosystem becomes unbalanced.

Question 37

What role do fungi play in the carbon cycle?

Answer 37

Fungi are responsible for the recycling of carbon through the geosphere. These organisms break down dead organisms, releasing the carbon trapped within back into the soil. This carbon acts as nutrients for the next generation of plants.

Question 38

What is the importance of the lithosphere to the carbon cycle?

Answer 38

The lithosphere is the solid part of the planet. It includes the rocks and the soil found on land. As living things die, their bodies are broken down by decomposers. This releases the carbon stored within their bodies back into the soil. The carbon acts as a nutrient to help new plants grow in those areas.

Question 39

How does respiration contribute to the carbon cycle?

Answer 39

Animals that breathe on land or in the water release carbon dioxide from their bodies. This carbon dioxide either goes into the air or the water where it cycles through other places.

Question 40

Impact of climate change due to humans; influence

Answer 40

Increased global temperatures are impacting every aspect of the planet, from melting the polar ice caps to more frequent and severe hurricanes, to altering migration and reproductive patterns of animals.

Question 41

How have humans impacted the carbon cycle?

Answer 41

Humans have changed the carbon cycle by adding additional carbon to the atmosphere. This has happened from the burning of fossil fuels.

Question 42

How has human activity altered the oceans?

Answer 42

By adding more carbon dioxide to the air, humans are also increasing the amount of carbon in the oceans. This increased carbon level decreases the pH of the water making it more acidic. This poses problems for the marine life, especially those animals that build shells.