Zombie Fires
These fires can burn beneath ice during winter.
100 — What are zombie fires (or "fires that burn under ice during the winter")?
Peat is made from these long-dead organisms.
100 — What are ancient plants?
Matter and energy flow from peat/permafrost to the air as this visible particulate and this gas (two items).
100 — What are smoke and carbon dioxide?
The process by which organisms break down sugar to release energy is called this.
100 — What is cellular respiration?
Peat is an important reservoir of this element, which is released as CO2 when burned.
100 — What is carbon?
This material is burning in zombie fires, often exposed by thawing permafrost.
200 — What is peat?
This word describes ground that stays frozen for years or centuries.
200 — What is permafrost?
When matter and energy move from plants to the air through decomposers, this general process is happening.
200 — What is decomposition (or the return of matter and energy via decomposers)?
Decomposition rates depend on conditions such as temperature and this other environmental factor.
200 — What is oxygen level (or oxygen availability)?
When peat and permafrost hold carbon because decomposition is slow, the system acts as a ______ (two-word phrase).
200 — What is a carbon sink?
Zombie fires release these two things into the air as they burn.
300 — What are smoke and carbon dioxide?
When permafrost thaws, it often reveals this carbon-rich substance.
300 — What is peat?
In ecosystems, energy from sugar is transferred to decomposers like this organism often used in labs and baking.
300 — What is yeast?
300 alternative accept: "yeast and other decomposers"
Cellular respiration transfers energy from sugar to organisms and transforms matter into these two outputs (two items).
300 — What are carbon dioxide and water?
Burning peat emits a lot of CO2 and energy; this makes peat fires especially significant for this global issue.
300 — What is climate change (or greenhouse gas emissions/climate warming)? — Accept answers linking CO2 emissions to warming.
True or False — Zombie fires are very common right now.
400 — What is False? (They are not very common, though becoming more common.)
Peat is widely used as this—people burn it for what purpose?
400 — What is fuel (or "used as fuel")?
During decomposition, matter from sugar is transformed to grow more decomposers and to produce these two products (two items).
400 — What are biomass for decomposer growth and carbon dioxide and water? — (Accept: growth of decomposers + CO2 and H2O produced.)
When decomposers are active, matter and energy typically return to this sphere of Earth.
400 — What is the atmosphere?
Matter and energy flowing from peat into the atmosphere contribute to increased levels of this molecule abbreviated as CO2; write its full name.
400 — What is carbon dioxide (CO2) — full name: carbon dioxide.
Zombie fires are becoming more ______ (one word) over time.
500 — What is "common" (or "more common")? — Accept: "common" or "more common over time" / "increasing" / "more frequent."
Peat burns slowly and releases a lot of this greenhouse gas and also emits a lot of this (two-part: gas + type of energy output).
500 — What are carbon dioxide (CO2) and energy (heat)?
Cold temperatures and low oxygen cause this effect on decomposition rates (short phrase).
500 — What is "slow the rate of decomposition" or "they slow decomposition (rates)"? — Accept: "they decrease" or "they slow decomposition/cellular respiration."
Explain briefly why low oxygen slows cellular respiration in peat/permafrost systems (short answer expected).
500 — (Sample answer) Because oxygen is a key electron acceptor and low oxygen reduces aerobic respiration pathways, lowering decomposition rates and energy release. — Accept concise explanations about oxygen limitation reducing cellular respiration and slowing decomposition.
Predict how increasing frequency of zombie fires could affect atmospheric carbon levels and briefly why (one- to two-sentence answer).
500 — (Sample answer) Increasing zombie fires would likely raise atmospheric carbon because burning peat releases stored carbon as CO2; more frequent fires mean more carbon released instead of being stored. — Accept similar reasoning.