Carbon Cycle
What process moves carbon from the air into plants?
Photosynthesis
What organelle performs photosynthesis? (Where does it occur?)
The chloroplast
What organelle performs cellular respiration?
(Where does it occur?)
The mitochondria.
If the biodome loses sunlight, which process decreases first?
Photosynthesis.
What is a producer?
An organism that makes its own food using photosynthesis.
What process moves carbon from living things to the air?
Cellular respiration
What are the inputs of photosynthesis?
Sunlight, carbon dioxide, water.
What are the inputs of cellular respiration?
Glucose and oxygen.
What happens to energy storage molecules if plants cannot photosynthesize?
They decrease because no new glucose is made.
What is an energy storage molecule (ESM)?
A molecule such as glucose, starch, fat, or glycogen that stores energy.
Why does carbon move into plants during daylight?
Plants use carbon dioxide during photosynthesis to make glucose.
What happens if sunlight decreases for several weeks?
Energy storage molecule (glucose) production decreases.
Why do all living organisms need cellular respiration?
To release energy from glucose so they can live and grow.
How does a decrease in decomposers affect the biodome?
Dead matter piles up, carbon becomes trapped, and CO₂ becomes unavailable to plants.
What is abiotic matter?
A: Nonliving matter like water, sunlight, and carbon dioxide (air).
How does a decrease in decomposers affect carbon cycling?
Carbon becomes trapped in dead matter, disrupting the carbon cycle.
Why does photosynthesis make ecosystems dependent on producers?
Producers are the only organisms that can make energy storage molecules from abiotic matter.
What happens to carbon movement when a plant is in total darkness?
The plant releases carbon dioxide because it continues cellular respiration without photosynthesis.
Explain how both photosynthesis and cellular respiration failed in the biodome.
Less CO₂ or sunlight → reduced photosynthesis → fewer ESMs → organisms could not release energy through respiration.
Explain carbon conservation in a closed ecosystem.
Carbon cannot be created or destroyed; it only moves between living and nonliving parts of the system.