Cycles Flashcards
How do animals take in carbon?
Eating/ingesting a glucose molecule, which is then oxidized in CR.
In what ways is carbon released into the atmosphere?
Cellular respiration, decaying organisms, volcanic eruptions, combustion, fossil fuel burning, etc.
What is the planet’s largest carbon sink?
Oceans.
What human activities increase carbon dioxide in the atmosphere?
CR, heating buildings with coal, cars that burn fossil fuels, factory emissions, etc.
WHat is the percent of carbon in the atmosphere? In what form?
.04%, Carbon dioxide.
What percent of an average human being is composed of carbon?
12%
What process turns carbon into glucose?
photosynthesis
The carbon in glucose is converted back to CO2 by
CR (oxidizing it to produce CO2, water, and atp)
How does mining of minerals affect carbon levels in the atmosphere?
Deep mining practices release carbon stored in rocks below the surface.
Where does carbon in limestone come from?
Carbonates, a compound that makes up rocks. It can also come from decaying plants, phytoplankton, bacteria, and animals.
Why is an overall increase in carbon-containing compounds such as CO2 a concern for the planet
CO2 is a greenhouse gas that insulates the planet (leads to an increase in temperature)
How does Co2 affect our planets climate?
Weather is driven by ocean currents, wind currents, and temperature differences. When CO2 levels change, the weather “drivers” are changed (which results in a change in weather)
How does the number of carbon sources compare to the number of carbon sinks since about 1900?
There are more sources that sinks, since the beginning of fossil fuel use, plane, train, and car usage, and farming livestock.
What is an autotroph? What atmospheric gas to they produce?
Green plants/bacteria that make food by the use of photosynthesis. They produce oxygen (needed for CR by other organisms)
How do mammals obtain the O2 they need?
Mammals breathe using lungs and a diaphragm. When the diaphragm relaxes, it increases the chesty cavity volume, and air is moved into lung space. THen, oxygen diffuses acrodd the cell membrane of the alveoli and into the capillaries of the circulatory system. Once the diaphragm contracts, air is forced out by exhalation, releasing CO2 into the air.
How do insects obtain their O2
INsects obtain oxygen through spiracles (a system of hollow tubes that run the length of their body, allowing oxygen to diffuse into the insect’s cells.)
How do earthworms breathe?
Through their skin. They take in oxygen that is in soil particles.
To be usable by cells, N2 from the air must be changed into what 3 compounds?
NO2(nitrites), NO3(nitrates), and NH4 (ammonia)
What are legumes?
Class of plants including peas, nuts, and beans, that can fix nitrogen using the bacteria that lie entertwined with their root systems.
What does lightning do in the nitrogen cycle?
Ionizes the atmosphere due to their extreme temperature. (results in splitting of N2 into single nitrogen atoms.)
How does the phosphorus cycle differ from the other cycles?
Occurs only in the litho and hydrosphere. (NOT THE ATMOSPHERE)
Why is phosphorus an important element for living things?
Phosphorus is essential for healthy bone growth and development (required for DNA, RNA, and proteins assembled from amino acids)
Examples of fossil fuels and where they come from
Crude oil, coal, natural gas. They exist deep beneath Earth’s surface and are mined by humans.
What are the effects of fossil fuel burning on the biosphere?
Burning fossil fuels adds large amounts of CO2 and other greenhouse gases to the atmosphere
