Sphere's 1
The layer of the Earth that includes living organisms
biosphere
All of the cycles we learned about involve ELEMENTS except for the _______ cycle, which involves a MOLECULE.
water cycle (H2O is a molecule)
How do we get nitrogen?
We have to get it through our food; we cannot just breathe it in.
Rico is at the beach watching the waves. Which of these parts of the Earth system interacts with the hydrosphere to produce the waves at the beach?
Atmosphere
What is the largest reservoir of water on the planet?
oceans
Which sphere contains all the frozen water on Earth? All liquid water?
Cryosphere; hydrosphere
Of the four elements/molecules we learned about, what two nutrients might be added to fertilizer to help crops grow? (These elements are "limiting factors" in the soil)
nitrogen and phosphorus
How do plants get nitrogen?
They absorb it from the soil with the help of nitrogen-fixing bacteria.
Which spheres cause weather and clouds to form?
hydrosphere and atmosphere
What powers the hydrological cycle?
the Sun/ how hot the atmosphere is
Which sphere contains all sediment, minerals and rock? Which one contains all of the gases around Earth?
geosphere, atmosphere
All of the materials we have on Earth have been here for a very long time, and are constantly being recycled. Based on this information, would scientists consider the Earth a mostly open or mostly closed system?
Mostly closed system
What are two ways carbon is taken out of the atmosphere?
plants/ photosynthesis and ocean absorbs it
Soil is a combination of which spheres?
Bio, geo, (hydro)
Water goes from a liquid to a gas in what process? It goes from a gas to a liquid in what process?
Evaporation; condensation
78% of this sphere is Nitrogen
atmosphere
Too much fertilizer on crops may be washed off whenever it rains and "run-off" into nearby bodies of water. What effect does this cause?
eutrophication/ algae blooms
Plants take in carbon from the atmosphere, animals release carbon to the atmosphere, living things die and become fossil fuels...
A volcano erupts, putting carbon dioxide and smoke into the air. Which of the spheres are interacting AND what cycle is involved?
geosphere and atmosphere; carbon cycle
Which sphere contains the most phosphorus? Which sphere would you rarely ever find phosphorus?
geosphere, atmosphere
List all 5 spheres and what their prefixes mean?
Bio- life; geo- rock; atmo- air; hydro- water; cryo- ice
Give three ways that the sun affects Earth's spheres.
biosphere-- plants need sunlight to live/ photosynthesis
atmosphere-- heats our air
hydrosphere-- evaporates/ heats water
cryosphere-- could melt ice
What is the difference between the "short cycle" and "long cycle" in the carbon cycle?
"Short cycle"= plants take in carbon from atmosphere; animals release carbon to the atmosphere
"Long Cycle"= when living things die, they are buried in soil and rocks, and eventually become fossil fuels
Carbon in the air gets taken in by a plant. The plant eventually dies, decomposes, and becomes part of fossil fuels over millions of years. Humans extract and burn them for electricity production. What order of spheres did the carbon cycle through?
atmosphere --> biosphere --> geosphere --> atmosphere
What is it called when trees or plants "sweat"? What causes this?
transpiration; heat from the atmosphere/ sun