Oxygen Cycle
Name one of oxygen's reservoirs.
There are four possible answers:
1. Lithosphere
2. Hydrosphere
3. Atmosphere
4. Biosphere
What is carbon dioxide?
Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas that is found in the atmosphere. It is exhaled by humans but also contributes to global warming, like other greenhouse gases.
Name three things that nitrogen is used in.
Example answers: Household cleaners, fertilizers, curing meats, explosives.
When was the Haber-Bosch process developed, and by whom?
In the early 20th century, by Fritz Haber and Carl Bosch.
What is the molecular makeup of oxygen?
O2.
O3 is also known as...
Ozone.
Name the process that turns dead organisms into fossil fuels.
Decomposition.
What is the second stage of the nitrogen cycle?
Nitrification.
In the Haber-Bosch process, extra ________ leaches into runoff.
Nitrogen.
Which element takes up the most space in air?
Nitrogen.
What is a "dead zone?"
An area, usually in the ocean, with low levels of oxygen; it can no longer support life.
Does carbon only take one form?
No. It takes several forms in each sphere of the earth: the lithosphere, the hydrosphere, the atmosphere, and the biosphere.
How do consumers gain nitrogen?
By eating plants that contain microorganisms.
Name two problems that are created by extra nitrogen compounds in soil.
Example answers: Contaminated drinking water, algae blooms, lower oxygen levels in bodies of water, deaths of living organisms.
All living organisms on Earth are based on ______.
Carbon.
What is the third step in the oxygen cycle?
Sedimentation.
How does energy from the sun drive the carbon cycle?
Sunlight allows plants to perform photosynthesis, which creates carbohydrate sugars for animals to consume.
The source of nitrogen for all living things is ____.
Soil.
When were Haber and Bosch awarded their Nobel Prizes?
Haber in 1918 and Bosch in 1931.
True or False:
Of oxygen, carbon, and nitrogen, only two of these elements are present in Earth's lithosphere.
False. All three of these elements are present in rocks.
True or False:
The driving force for making oxygen available to life is the ocean.
False
Photosynthesis is the real driving force.
What is the elemental term for carbonate?
CO32-.
What is dentrification?
The process of ammonia and nitrates in the soil being converted to nitrogen gas.
What percentage of the world's population is sustained by human-made fertilizer?
40%.
Is oxygen always safe to breathe?
No. Humans need oxygen to survive, but only in very specific amounts - not too little and not too much. Pure oxygen is highly flammable.