The Carbon Cycle Flashcards
(31 cards)
Second most abundant element in living organisms.
Carbon
Present in all
organic molecules, and its role in the structure of macromolecules is of primary importance to
living organisms.
Carbon
Carbon compounds contain especially high energy, particularly those derived
from fossilized organisms, mainly plants, which humans use as ____
Fuel (kung tama k yes na yes for u!)
Since the 1800s, the
number of countries using massive amounts of fossil fuels has increased. Since the beginning
of the ______ Revolution, global demand for the Earth’s limited fossil fuel supplies has risen;
therefore, the amount of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere has increased.
Industrial
It is based on how much carbon dioxide is produced and how much fossil fuel countries consume.
Carbon Footprint
The carbon cycle is most easily studied as two interconnected sub-cycles:
- one dealing with rapid carbon exchange among living organisms
- the long-term cycling of carbon through geologic processes.
True or False: Carbon dioxide gas exists in the atmosphere and is dissolved in water.
True
True or False: Carbon dioxide gas exists in the atmosphere and is dissolved in water.
True
This converts carbon dioxide gas
to organic carbon, and respiration cycles the organic carbon back into carbon dioxide gas.
Photosynthesis
Storage of organic
carbon occurs when matter from living organisms is buried deep underground and becomes fossilized.
Long term
Two activities that bring this stored carbon back into the carbon cycle.
Volcanic activity and Human emissions
Living organisms are connected in many ways, even between ecosystems. A good example of
this connection is the exchange of carbon between _______ and ______ within and
between ecosystems by way of atmospheric carbon dioxide.
Autotrophs and Heterotrophs
Is the basic building block that most autotrophs use to build multi-carbon, high energy compounds, such
as glucose.
Carbon Dioxide
Carbon Dioxide is the basic building block that most autotrophs use to build multi-carbon, high energy compounds, such as _____.
Glucose
The energy harnessed from the sun is used by these organisms to form the ______ bonds that link carbon atoms together. These chemical bonds thereby store this
energy for later use in the process of respiration.
Covalent
True or False: Most terrestrial autotrophs obtain their carbon dioxide directly from the atmosphere, while marine autotrophs acquire it in the
dissolved form
True
Dissolved form of Carbon dioxide
(carbonic acid, H2CO3−).
What element is the by products of the carbon dioxide acquired
Oxygen
The photosynthetic organisms are responsible for depositing
approximately ___ percent oxygen content of the atmosphere that we observe today.
21
Partners in biological carbon exchange (especially the
primary consumers, largely herbivores).
Heterotrophs and autotrophs
______ acquire the high-energy carbon compounds from the autotrophs by consuming them, and breaking them down by respiration to obtain cellular energy, such as ATP.
Heterothrophs
The most efficient type of respiration, _______
__________, requires oxygen obtained from the atmosphere or dissolved in water.
Aerobic Respiration
True or False: Gas exchange through the atmosphere and water is one way that the carbon cycle connects all living organisms on Earth.
True
Carbon is stored for long periods in what are known as ______ _______, which include the atmosphere, bodies of liquid water (mostly oceans), ocean sediment, soil, land sediments (including fossil fuels), and the Earth’s interior.
Carbon Reservoirs
