Earth's Spheres
Interacting Spheres
Cycles 1
Cycles 2
Atoms & Elements
Random
100
1. The layer of the Earth that includes living organisms
2. The sphere that contains all rock, sand, mountains, minerals, etc.
biosphere, geosphere
100
Rico is at the beach watching the waves. Which of Earth's systems interacts with the hydrosphere to produce the waves at the beach?
Atmosphere
100
How do we get nitrogen?
We have to get it through our food; we cannot just breathe it in.
100
What is the largest reservoir of water on the planet?
oceans
100
How many protons does every atom of carbon have?
6
100
All of the cycles we learned about involve ELEMENTS except for the _______ cycle, which involves a MOLECULE.
water cycle (H2O is a molecule)
200
Which sphere contains all the frozen water on Earth? All liquid water?
Cryosphere; hydrosphere
200
Which spheres cause weather and clouds to form?
hydrosphere and atmosphere
200
How do plants get nitrogen?
They absorb it from the soil with the help of nitrogen-fixing bacteria.
200
What powers the hydrological cycle?
the Sun/ how hot the atmosphere is
200
How many neutrons are in most atoms of carbon?
6
200
Which subatomic particle weighs virtually nothing and is the only one NOT in the nucleus of an atom?
electrons
300
Which sphere contains all the gases that surround Earth? What is the main gas you find here?
atmosphere, nitrogen
300
Soil is a combination of which spheres?
Bio, geo, (hydro)
300
What are two ways carbon is taken out of the atmosphere?
plants/ photosynthesis and ocean absorbs it
300
Water goes from a liquid to a gas in what process? It goes from a gas to a liquid in what process?
Evaporation; condensation
300
A scientist finds an atom with 2 protons, 2 neutrons, and 2 electrons. What is the atom's mass?
4 amu
300
During what process of the water cycle do clouds form?
condensation
400
List all 5 spheres and what their prefixes mean?
Bio- life; geo- rock; atmo- air; hydro- water; cryo- ice
400
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
400
Provide at least two ways that the biosphere impacts the carbon cycle.
Plants take in carbon from the atmosphere, animals release carbon to the atmosphere, living things die and become fossil fuels...
400
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
400
Where do you find an element's atomic number? What about its mass number?
atomic number at top (its a whole number) and mass number near bottom (usually with a decimal)
400
If the element lithium has a mass number of 6.941 and atomic number of 3, how many neutrons does an atom of lithium usually have?
4
500
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
500
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
500
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
500
How could deforestation affect the carbon cycle?
Less trees = less photosynthesis, so less carbon being taken out of the atmosphere
500
What makes an atom neutral?
it has the same number of protons as electrons.
500
What is the equation to find the mass of an atom?
neutrons + protons