ELSS Section 1 (Water&Carbon Cycle) Flashcards
(12 cards)
What are clouds made up of?
Tiny water droplets and ice crystals
How are clouds important?
The ice crystals and water droplets reflect a fifth of solar radiation and lowers surface temperatures
How is water vapour important to life on earth?
It is a greenhouse gas that absorbs long-wave radiation from Earth helping to maintain average global temperature
What percentage of the earths surface do oceans occupy?
71%
How are oceans important?
They moderate temp by absorbing heat, storing it and releasing it slowly.
How can water be used as an essential resource for economic activity?
-Generates electricity
-crop irrigation
-food manufacturing
-a range of industries
How is water used in people and animals?
For all chemical reactions in the body, including circulation of oxygen and nutrients.
Use of water in photosynthesis
In the leaves of plants, it is combined with CO2 and sunlight to make glucose and starch.
Uses of water in plants (apart from resp & photos.)
Maintain their rigidity (they wilt without it)
Transport mineral nutrients from the soil.
How is water involved in respiration?
Released by respiration in plants, along with CO2 when they convert glucose to energy.
What is ablation?
The loss of ice and snow, especially from a glacier through melting evaporation and sublimation
What is sublimation?
The phase change of water from ice to vapour
