What is the largest pool of carbon on the planet?

What is the largest pool of carbon on the planet?

A - Atmospheric carbon dioxide
B - Sediments in the deep ocean
C - Carbon dioxide dissolved in the oceans
D - Fossil fuels
E - Biomass that makes up all living matter


Answer: B - Sediments in the deep ocean
The largest pool of carbon in the world is actually in the sediments of the deep ocean which are estimated to contain about 50 times the carbon that is currently in the atmosphere. It can stay out of circulation for millions of years, unless humans intervene.

Which of the following is the best explanation for why we study the carbon cycle on a global scale and not as much in specific local ecosystems?

Which of the following is the best explanation for why we study the carbon cycle on a global scale and not as much in specific local ecosystems?

A - Carbon dioxide moves freely throughout the atmosphere and bodies of water, allowing the rapid transfer of carbon across the globe
B - Global Warming!
C - Burning fossil fuels releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere
D - The transport of crops, animals, fossil fuels, and carbon containing materials by people gas made the carbon cycle more global in nature
E - Carbon is always readily available to all plants and animals, so it doesn't factors in at the local level at all


Answer: A - Carbon dioxide moves freely throughout the atmosphere and bodies of water, allowing the rapid transfer of carbon across the globe

Which of the following is not a way in which carbon can exit living plant material in the carbon cycle?

Which of the following is not a way in which carbon can exit living plant material in the carbon cycle?

A - Cellular respiration
B - Wildfires
C - Consumed by an animal
D - Dead plant material can be buried under sediment and eventually become fossil fuels
E - None of these are correct answers. They are all ways in which carbon can exist living plant material in the carbon cycle


Answer: E - None of these are correct answers. They are all ways in which carbon can exist living plant material in the carbon cycle

Which of the following processes takes carbon out of the short-term carbon cycle?

Which of the following processes takes carbon out of the short-term carbon cycle?

A - Decomposition of dead organic matter
B - Formation of calcium carbonate by corals
C - Photosynthesis
D - Formation of wood in trees
E - Cellular respiration


Answer: B - Formation of calcium carbonate by corals
CORAL REEFS take the most carbon out because the formation of calcium carbonate exoskeletons doesn't release carbon but solidifies it.Plants take atmospheric carbon dioxide, low in potential energy, and converts it to a high energy-containing carbohydrate using photosynthesis. Cellular respiration uses oxygen to convert organic molecules to carbon dioxide and water to provide energy to cells.

What is the primary source of carbon that can be used by plants?

What is the primary source of carbon that can be used by plants?

A - Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere
B - Dead organic material
C - Calcium carbonate
D - Inorganic carbon in the soil
E - Carbon dioxide dissolved in water


Answer: A - Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere
The primary source of carbon for plants is in the atmosphere because carbon dioxide is a gas that can move freely through the air and water.

Identify the conversion which represents nitrification.

Identify the conversion which represents nitrification.

A - Nitrite to nitrate to nitrogen to ammonia
B - Nitrate to nitrite to ammonia to nitrogen
C - Nitrogen to ammonia to nitrite to nitrate
D - Ammonia to nitrate to nitrite to nitrogen


Answer: C - Nitrogen to ammonia to nitrite to nitrate
N2 -> NH3 -> NO2- -> NO3-
NITRIFICATION doesn;t really change the amount of available nitrogen in the environment because plants and other producers can use nitrite and nitrate as sources of nitrogen, it just changes the oxidation state

Identify the statement that is NOT true about acid rain.

Identify the statement that is NOT true about acid rain.

A - Acid rain can lead to deforestation
B - Acid rain cause eutrophication of ponds and lakes
C - Acid rain can significantly lower the pH of soils and bodies of water with little buffering capacity
D - Acid rain can cause the death of sensitive aquatic animals


Answer: B - Acid rain cause eutrophication of ponds and lakes
ACID RAIN is rain that has been made more acidic by the addition of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides in the atmosphere that are released when petroleum, coal, some natural gases and organic molecules (grass, tree, bush) are burned.

How is it possible to include that eutrophication of bodies of water has occurred?

How is it possible to include that eutrophication of bodies of water has occurred?

A - By testing for levels of acidity in water
B - By having a vibrant, productive aquatic ecosystems
C - By having greater species diversity in the water
D - By having massive algae blooms


Answer: D - By having massive algae blooms
EUTROPHICATION is the ecological process that occurs when excess nutrients are added to a body of water. It can occur naturally over a long period of time, allowing the organisms to get use to it, but if it is caused unnaturally by humans it can hurt the environment.

When burned, which fossil fuel will release the greatest amount of pollution into the air?

When burned, which fossil fuel will release the greatest amount of pollution into the air?

A - Coal
B - Wood
C - Petroleum
D - Natural gas


Answer: A - Coal

Which of the following is NOT a source of nitrogen that is available to plants?

Which of the following is NOT a source of nitrogen that is available to plants?

A - Decaying plant matter
B - Animal waste products
C - Synthetic nitrogen containing fertilizers
D - Nitrogen oxides released into the atmosphere by burning fossil fuels and organic matter


Answer: D - Nitrogen oxides released into the atmosphere by burning fossil fuels and organic matter

Within the biogeochemical cycle, where do consumers get most of their elements from, not including oxygen and hydrogen?

Within the biogeochemical cycle, where do consumers get most of their elements from, not including oxygen and hydrogen?

A - Other organisms
B - The air in the atmosphere
C - The pool of unavailable organic compounds
D - The soil
E - Water


Answer: A - Other organisms

Put the following elements in order of abundance by weight in living organisms, starting with the most abundant, and ending with the least abundant: iron, copper, phosphorus, oxygen, and hydrogen.

Put the following elements in order of abundance by weight in living organisms, starting with the most abundant, and ending with the least abundant: iron, copper, phosphorus, oxygen, and hydrogen.

A - hydrogen, oxygen, iron, phosphorus, copper
B - oxygen, hydrogen, phosphorus, copper, iron
C - oxygen, phosphorus, hydrogen, iron, copper
D - hydrogen, oxygen, phosphorus, copper, iron
E - oxygen, hydrogen, phosphorus, iron, copper


Answer: E - oxygen, hydrogen, phosphorus, iron, copper

Which of the following is not a component of the phosphorous cycle

Which of the following is not a component of the phosphorous cycle

A - Phosphate is absorbed from the soil by plants
B - Phosphate is incorporated into sedimentary rocks
C - Atmospheric phosphate
D - Release of phosphate from rocks
E - Phosphate bound to soil


Answer: C - Atmospheric phosphate
Weathering of rocks releases phosphate into soil and then absorbed by plants making it available to consumers and detritivores who recycle it. Phosphate can be removed by harvesting the crop or becoming part of sedimentary rocks when it leaches through the soil into water, later to be put back in the soil due to the water cycle.

What is biogeochemical cycling?

What is biogeochemical cycling?

A - How an element cycles through organisms and the environment
B - The reproductive life cycle of plants that grow in rocky soil
C -The cycling of volcanic chemicals from inside Earth to outside it
D - The same span of sedimentary rocks breaking down to form soil for plants


Answer: A - How an element cycles through organisms and the environment

What is a modern human intervention in the phosphorous cycle?

What is a modern human intervention in the phosphorous cycle?

A - Replacing phosphate with magnesium
B - Planting crops that release a lot of phosphate
C - Capturing atmospheric phosphate for use as a fertilizer
D - Mining phosphate for use as a fertilizer


Answer: D - Mining phosphate for use as a fertilizer

Cloud formation is an example of condensation because.

Cloud formation is an example of condensation because.

A - Liquid water falls as rain, sleet, snow, or ice
B - Water is absorbed into the ground
C - Water vapor condenses around particles in the atmosphere
D - Liquid water is converted into is gaseous state


Answer: C - Water vapor condenses around particles in the atmosphere

Transpiration is the process that occurs when.

Transpiration is the process that occurs when.

A - Water vapor is converted to a liquid state
B - Water is absorbed into the ground
C - Plants lose water through the leaves
D - Humans absorb water by breathing


Answer: C - Plants lose water through the leaves
Eventually, most surface water will be reabsorbed as groundwater, evaporate from the surface or from the ocean.

What are the three main parts of the water cycle?

What are the three main parts of the water cycle?

A - Evaporation, condensation, and precipitation
B - Absorption, infiltration, and transpiration
C - Precipitation, infiltration, and condensation
D - Evaporation, condensation, and cloud formation


Answer: A - Evaporation, condensation, and precipitation


CONDENSATION is the process by which water vapor is changed back into liquid state. PRECIPITATION is when water falls from the atmosphere in the form of rain, sleet, snow, hail, or freezing rain. Clouds are required because raindrops are the drops of the cloud that have condensed enough water to begin falling.

Steam is an example of which part of the water cycle?

Steam is an example of which part of the water cycle?

A - Ground absorption
B - Condensation
C - Precipitation
D - Evaporation
D - Evaporation


Answer: EVAPORATION is the process by which water is converted from its liquid state to the gaseous state.

How much "new" water is made through the processes of the water cycle?

How much "new" water is made through the processes of the water cycle?

A - About 25%
B - About 50%
C - A small amount, 3-4%
D - None; all water is recycled


Answer: D - None; all water is recycled