Conditions for life on earth

Question 1

What is the water sphere called?

Answer 1

Hydrosphere

Question 2

What is the gas sphere called

Answer 2

Atmosphere

Question 3

What is the rock sphere called

Answer 3

Lithosphere

Question 4

What is the life sphere called

Answer 4

Biosphere

Question 5

What is sufficient Thor the earth to retain an atmosphere

Answer 5

The mass of earth and it’s resulting force of gravity

Question 6

Which gases did the early atmosphere provide for making biological molecules

Answer 6

Carbon Dioxide, methane and nitrogen

Question 7

Where did these early atmosphere gases come from

Answer 7

Volcanic activity

Question 8

What maintained liquid water

Answer 8

Atmospheric pressure and temperature

Question 9

What is atmospheric pressure

Answer 9

The pressure exerted by the weight of the atmosphere

Question 10

What would happen to water if atmospheric pressure was too low

Answer 10

Liquid water would boil well below 100 degrees

Question 11

What would happen to water if the temperature was too low

Answer 11

Liquid water would turn to ice

Question 12

What would happen to water if the temperature was too high

Answer 12

It would turn to gas

Question 13

Why is liquid water important

Answer 13

It’s essential for life - physiological solvent, transport, coolant and it provides aquatic habitats

Question 14

What does physiological solvent mean

Answer 14

Dissolving chemicals to allow biological reactions in solutions to occur

Question 15

What is a coolant

Answer 15

Eg. Sweating

Question 16

What is anomalous expansion

Answer 16

Where water expands instead of contracting when the temperature goes from 4 degrees to 0 degrees and it becomes less dense

Question 17

What does anomalous expansion on freezing water create

Answer 17

An insulating later that prevents many water bodies from freezing solid

Question 18

What is a specific heat capacity

Answer 18

The amount of energy needed to change the temperature of 1kg of the substance by 1 degree

Question 19

What does high specific heat capacity of water mean

Answer 19

That water bodies change temperature slowly, creating more stable habitats

Question 20

What is the amount of solar energy reaching a certain area called

Answer 20

Insolation

Question 21

What is a suitable temperature range controlled by

Answer 21

Incoming insolation, it’s absorption by the earth’s surface and it’s behaviour in the atmosphere

Question 22

What is the measure of the ability of surface to reflect light called

Answer 22

Albedo

Question 23

What does a surface need to do to heat up

Answer 23

Absorb lots of energy

Question 24

Why does ice have a cooling effect on the earth’s climate

Answer 24

Because it has a high albedo and reflects a great deal of solar energy without absorbing it

Question 25

Why do darker surfaces have a low albedo

Answer 25

Because they reflect little sunlight and absorb most of it

Question 26

What happens to some of the energy when sunlight is absorbed

Answer 26

It’s reradiated as longer wavelength radiation

Question 27

Which type of radiation is reradiated

Answer 27

Infrared

Question 28

What is the greenhouse effect

Answer 28

When infrared is absorbed by greenhouse gases in the atmosphere causing the atmosphere to heat up (because infrared has a heating effect on its surroundings)

Question 29

Name 2 common greenhouse gases

Answer 29

Carbon dioxide and methane

Question 30

Why does infrared heat

Answer 30

Because of its long wavelength

Question 31

How do greenhouse gases absorb infrared radiation

Answer 31

As vibrations of their chemical bonds — when co2 vibrates it radiates infrared in all directions

Question 32

How was the earth formed

Answer 32

By colliding roasting rocks

Question 33

Without the greenhouse effect what degree would the earth be

Answer 33

-18 degrees

Question 34

How far is the earth from the sun

Answer 34

150 million kilometres

Question 35

What part of the solar system is the earth in concerning distance form the sun

Answer 35

The Goldilocks zone

Question 36

What are enzymes

Answer 36

Proteins that speed up biological reactions: biological catalysts

Question 37

What happens to enzymes when it gets too hot

Answer 37

They denature (unfold and permanently stop working)

Question 38

What results in seasons

Answer 38

Earth’s tilted axis as earth orbits the sun, so different hemispheres receive more intense radiation per unit area at different locations around the sun

Question 39

What keeps the earth from wobbling too much on its axis

Answer 39

The gravitational attraction from the moon

Question 40

What provides the earth protection from radiation

Answer 40

The magnetosphere

Question 41

What produces the magnetosphere

Answer 41

Earths molten outer core

Question 42

How does the magnetosphere protect the earth

Answer 42

It deflects harmful solar radiation called solar wind

Question 43

What would happen if we didn’t have a magnetosphere

Answer 43

The solar wind would blow away our atmosphere and would harm life

Question 44

What does the term biota mean

Answer 44

Refers to living organisms in the area, they have a significant impact on the earths environment

Question 45

How was oxygen first produced

Answer 45

From photosynthesis of bacteria and then algae and plants

Question 46

What is photolysis

Answer 46

When energy from sunlight is used to plug water into hydrogen and oxygen

Question 47

What is a photoautotroph

Answer 47

Photosynthetic organisms

Question 48

What is respiration

Answer 48

A process by which energy can be released form sugars to allow organisms to power chemical reactions for survival

Question 49

What type of respiration was around W fire oxygen was present in the air

Answer 49

Anaerobic, so no oxygen was needed

Question 50

Which type of respiration is more effective? Anaerobic and aerobic

Answer 50

Aerobic as more energy is released from sugars

Question 51

What is the difference between an organic and inorganic molecule

Answer 51

Inorganic molecules don’t contain carbon (expect CO2) and organic molecules do

Question 52

What does ambient gas mean

Answer 52

‘Surrounding’ so it’s the gases that surround us

Question 53

Which atmosphere layer do we live in

Answer 53

The troposphere

Question 54

What is atmospheric layer is above the troposphere

Answer 54

Stratosphere

Question 55

What layer is in between the troposphere and then stratosphere

Answer 55

The ozone layer

Question 56

What was ozone (triatomic oxygen) produced by

Answer 56

Chemical reactions involving oxygen and ultraviolet light in the stratosphere

Question 57

Why is the ozone crucial for earth

Answer 57

It absorbs harmful UV from the sun, limiting the amount that reaches the earths surface

Question 58

What % of carbon dioxide is in the atmosphere

Answer 58

0.04%

Question 59

What reduced carbon dioxide in the atmosphere

Answer 59

It was reduced by autotrophs, because carbon dioxide is a component in photosynthesis

Question 60

What is carbon sequestration

Answer 60

Where photoautotrophs store carbon dioxide in their biomass to grow

Question 61

What do biogeochemical cycles show

Answer 61

The flow of chemical elements and compounds between living organisms and the physical environment

Question 62

Name 5 limitations of early monitoring methods

Answer 62

Lack of ancient historical data / inability to measure many factors / lack of data collected in many areas / limited reliability of proxy data for ancient conditions / lack sophisticated equipment for accurate measurements

Question 63

Name 5 improved monitoring methods

Answer 63

Collection of long-term data sets / use of electronic monitoring equipment / gas analysis of ice cores / isotope analysis of ice cores / improved carriers for monitoring equipment

Question 64

What is proxy data

Answer 64

Study of past climates, preserved physical characteristics of the past that stand for weather measurements to enable to reconstruct climate conditions

Question 65

What is dendrochronology

Answer 65

Tree ring dating, counting tree rings to find out their exact age to help analyse atmospheric conditions

Question 66

Define climate

Answer 66

Long-term weather trends