Carbon cycle
The Carbon Cycle The Biochemical Cycle is the flow of an element through the living tissue and physical environment of an ecosystem; eg, the carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, sulfur, and phosphorus cycles. The carbon cycle involves the movement of carbon from the air, into plants, animals, people, the Earth and back into the air. Carbon is cycled around the world by different physical, chemical and biological processes. Carbon is a key element on Earth because many organic molecules are made of carbon. On short time-scales carbon is transferred among living organisms, the atmosphere, the land, and the oceans by, for example, physiological processes such as photosynthesis and respiration. On longer, geological, time-scales weathering of rock releases carbon dioxide to the atmosphere. Carbon is the fourth most abundant element in the Universe and is the building block for all living things. The conversion of carbon dioxide into living matter and then back is the main pathway of the carbon cycle. Plants draw about one quarter of the carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere and photosynthesize it into carbohydrates. Some of the carbohydrate is consumed by plant respiration and the rest is used to build plant tissue and growth. Animals consume the carbohydrates and return carbon dioxide to the atmosphere during respiration. Carbohydrates are oxidized and returned to the
The Carbon Cycle
The Carbon Cycle The Carbon Cycle is a complex series of processes through which all of the carbon in existence rotates. Carbon is an essential element which is used in life process like photosynthesises which occurs in daytime in the presence of sunlight and carbon in the gaseous form of carbon dioxide. All green plants are known as producers because they can produce their own food via the process of photosynthesis. The green plant is always the start of any food chain and is consumed by the primary consumer. Photosynthesis occurs in the green part of a plant, usually the leaf as chlorophyll is present here, were the carbon dioxide is absorbed from the atmosphere through the stomata which are pores caused by guard cell and is stored in the spongy mesophyll layer of the plant were it used alongside light and the green pigment chlorophyll which produces glucose, water and oxygen as the products of the process. The glucose is used by the plant as a food source and the water is mainly lost via transpiration to the atmosphere and oxygen is secreted by the processes of simple diffusion. Plants are autotrophic as they produce their own food. As explained above carbon dioxide is absorbed from the atmosphere into the plant for photosynthesis. Another life process which occurs in animals all the time but in plants only in night time in the absence of sun light is Respiration.
Human Effect On The Carbon Cycle
Human Effect On The Carbon Cycle An increase in greenhouse gases in our atmosphere, majority of it being carbon dioxide, is the cause of global warming, otherwise known as the enhanced greenhouse effect. During the past 200 years there has been an increase of 30% in the atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations. The burning of fossil fuels and deforestation are human activities, which are responsible for the rapid increase in carbon dioxide concentrations. In order to assess the impact of human activity on the carbon cycle, scientists are currently working to improve their knowledge of the circulation between the atmosphere, the oceans, the land and the biosphere. Picture Above: The global carbon cycle. Numbers represent the mass of carbon, in gigatonnes of carbon (Gt C). (A gigatonne is a thousand million tonnes.) Source: Wheeling Jesuit University/NASA (2000) Currently each year, during the combustion of fossil fuels around 6.5 billion tonnes of carbon in the form of carbon dioxide are released into the atmosphere. Another 1-2 billion tonnes is emitted per year from land clearing. About 3 billion tonnes of the carbon stays in the atmosphere. The ocean takes up just over 2 billion tonnes. The remaining 2-3 tonnes of carbon is taken from the air and stored by terrestrial sinks such as growing forests. The Earth's surface is warmed as
The Carbon Cycle and Greenhouse Effect
Tran Quoc Hoang Viet The Carbon Cycle and The Greenhouse Effect I/PROCEDURE: 1. A) the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere When there is more fossil fuel being burned, the concentration should be increased. All of the combustion reaction gives out carbon dioxide as one of the products and the carbon dioxide flow off under a form of gases which will be accumulated in the upper part of the atmosphere. Therefore, the concentration of the carbon dioxide will increase. B) The world temperature The world temperature in most of the time will be increasing throughout the years. This is due to the fact that more and more carbon dioxide is being accumulated all the time. The greenhouse effect will be enhanced in near time thus more heat is trapped inside the Earth for a longer period of time. Furthermore, the greenhouse gas is not just carbon dioxide but methane (CH4) is also one of them as well. The gas is the main product in the reaction of combustion as well. Methane is able to trap heat inside the atmosphere far better than carbon. In the end, the temperature will rise as the excessive heat stay inside the Earth atmosphere. 2. Graph 1.3 Graph 1.4 Graph 1.5 ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION . A) The graph was in an increasing manner. For the first 60 years, 1850 to 1910, the rate of increasing was not very steep. The changes are only in the amount of 2 decimal
The effects and importance of the carbon and nitrogen cycle
Effects and importance of the carbon and nitrogen cycle Carbon is the basis of all life. It is the backbone of organic matter whereby other elements can bond to it to form complex specialised polymers used in the functioning of organisms. The two most important features of carbon is that it has a valence of four allowing it to bond to other life essential elements and that the energy input required to make and break bonds is at a level where molecules and complex organic polymers can form. The composition of dietary nutrients like Lipids, proteins and carbohydrates all contain the element of carbon. And so through does the enzymes required to act upon and digest them. It is because of carbon's ability to bond to other elements like oxygen, hydrogen and nitrogen that this can happen. As each individual carbon atom has the ability to hold eight electrons in its outer shell it can form four other bonds with four other elements. Carbon can also form bonds with itself and as well as single bonds it can also make double bonds with other elements. This allows carbon to form a variety of compounds all differing in sizes and shapes such as cellulose, keratin, chitin and other vital polysaccharides as well as being a fundamental element in all forms of organic matter. This shows the linkages that relies on carbon in cellulose, a major component in the structure of a plant.
Assess the extent to which there are inter relationships between processes in the water cycle and factors driving change in the carbon cycle
Assess the extent to which there are inter relationships between processes in the water cycle and factors driving change in the carbon cycle The water cycle is the continuous process by which water is circulated throughout the earth and atmosphere by evaporation, condensation, precipitation and transpiration. The carbon cycle is an open system but consisting of key sub systems within. These operate as open systems, exchanging and transferring carbon between them and, in doing so affect conditions for all life on earth. The water and carbon cycles are closely intertwined with each other. Both cycles are essential for life on earth. Processes in the water cycle correspond to changes in the carbon cycle. For example, weathering releases carbon back into the atmosphere but it could not happen without water. The water and carbon cycles are both essential for life. Carbon is a fundamental building block of life as all living things contain carbon. All living things also need water to survive. The water and carbon cycle affect most food chains as they are important during the process of photosynthesis in plants which form the base of many food chains. Photosynthesis requires inputs of both the water and carbon cycles. The water and carbon cycles make earths temperatures inhabitable as they regulate the climate. Water is present in the atmosphere as water vapor whist carbon exists
Year 11 Module B4 Revision notes. Plants, photosythesis, biomass and the carbon cycle.
Year 11 Module B4 Revision notes Photosynthesis: Light Carbon dioxide + water glucose + oxygen Chlorophyll Leaves . Designed for making food by photosynthesis. Leaves are adapted for efficient photosynthesis: . They are broad – large surface area exposed to light 2. Thin- carbon dioxide and water vapour only have a short distance to reach palisade cells for photosynthesis. 3. There are air spaces in the spongy Mesophyll layer – allows carbon dioxide and oxygen to diffuse easily between cells, large surface area for gas exchange. There is a big internal surface area to volume ratio. 4. Leaves contain lots of chlorophyll, found in lots of chloroplasts, found in the palisade layer 5. Upper epidermis is transparent – light can pass through it into the palisade layer. 6. Lower surface of leaf is full of little holes called stomata; let carbon dioxide and oxygen in and out; also let water escape (transpiration). 7. Leaves have a network of veins – deliver water and nutrients to every part of the leaf and take food produced by the leaf away; they also help to support leaf structure. Palisade cells Packed with chloroplasts; tall shape means a lot of surface area is exposed down the side for absorbing carbon dioxide from the air in the leaf; shape also means good chance of light hitting a chloroplast. Plants exchange
Nitrogen Cycle
Nitrogen Cycle Most nitrogen is found in the atmosphere. The nitrogen cycle is the process by which atmospheric nitrogen is converted to ammonia or nitrates. Nitrogen is essential to all living systems. To become a part of an organism, nitrogen must first be fixed or combined with oxygen or hydrogen. Nitrogen is removed from the atmosphere by lightening and nitrogen fixing bacteria. During electrical storms, large amounts of nitrogen are oxidized and united with water to produce an acid which is carried to the earth in rain producing nitrates. Nitrates are taken up by plants and are converted to proteins. Then the nitrogen passes through the food chain from plants to herbivores to carnivores. When plants and animals eventually die, the nitrogen compounds are broken down giving ammonia (ammonification). Some of the ammonia is taken up by the plants; some is dissolved in water or held in the soil where bacteria convert it to nitrates (nitrification). Nitrates may be stored in humus or leached from the soil and carried to lakes and streams. It may also be converted to free nitrogen (denitrification) and returned to the atmosphere. The nitrogen cycle is one of the most difficult of the cycles to learn, simply because there are so many important forms of nitrogen, and because organisms are responsible for each of the introversions. Remember that nitrogen is critically
The citric acid cycle has been described as "the hub of the metabolic wheel". Discuss the roles of the citric acid cycle in the oxidation of various fuel molecules and the provision of carbon skeletons for biosynthesis
The citric acid cycle has been described as "the hub of the metabolic wheel". Discuss the roles of the citric acid cycle in the oxidation of various fuel molecules and the provision of carbon skeletons for biosynthesis The citric acid cycle is one of three stages of cellular respiration. The others are glycolysis and electron transport or oxidative phosphorylation. Glycolysis breaks one glucose molecule, producing six ATP (adenosine triphosphate) molecules, a fundamental energy provider in cells. Pyruvate is used to make acetyl-CoA, the starting product for the citric acid cycle. The reaction involves oxidation and decarboxylation of a 3 carbon pyruvic acid to form 2 carbon acetyl Co-A. It occurs in the cell cytoplasm and requires the presence of co-enzyme-A and NAD. It is catalyzed by complex enzymes. In this process, carbon dioxide is released and the reduced co-enzyme NADH2 is formed. 2 Pyruvic acid + 2Co-A + 2NAD --> 2 Acetyl Co-A + 2CO2 + 2NADH2 The 2-C acetyl Co-A formed in the cytoplasm then enters the mitochondria and takes part in the citric acid cycle reactions, thus, acetyl Co-A is the connecting link between glycolysis (in the cytoplasm) and citric acid cycle (in mitochondria). Most fuel molecules enter the cycle as acetyl Co-A, and the citric acid cycle is described as 'the final common pathway for the oxidation of fuel molecules' (Stryer's Biochemistry, see
The importance of Carbon.
Carbon The importance of Carbon cannot be under estimated. It is the main constituent for all living organisms. All cells contain Carbon whether these are bacteria, plant or animal. The Carbon cycle is the process of inorganic Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere being converted by plants into organic Carbon so that all living organisms can use it. Carbon is the major building blocks for the synthesis of fats, proteins, carbohydrates, Nucleic acids and cell membranes. The carbon cycle The exchange of carbon between living organisms. The process where inorganic carbon is converted by plants into organic carbon. . Photosynthesis occurs and the energy from the sunlight is stored using carbon and water bonds in the chloroplasts of plants. This process is called fixation. This is how simple sugars are formed and these are the bases of exchange. 2. Organisms eat these plants to gain this energy or when the plant dies the carbon is decayed. The plants also use this energy. 3. The carbon can be transferred to us through plants or other organisms that have eaten the plants. 4. The carbon is returned to the atmosphere when are bodies or other organisms decay. We need this carbon for vital processes such as respiration or the production of carbohydrates, nucleic acids, fats and proteins. There are many vital chemical reactions within are body that carbon has a great importance
