Chapter 3 test

Compound

A substance composed of atoms of two or more different elements is called a(n)

Explain how a negative feedback loop works. Use a thermostat as an example.

A thermostat, stabilizes a room's temperature by turning the furnace on when the room gets cold and shutting it off when the room gets hot similary as do negative feedback.

Write a sentence that shows the relationship between matter and atoms.

Atoms are the basic units of matter and matter is every material in the universe that has mass and occupies space

Why is Earth's biosphere called "the living Earth"?

Because it is the part of Earth in which living things interact with nonliving things is Earth's biosphere

Describe two human activities that can affect the water cycle.

By clearing plants from Earth's surface, we increase runoff and erosion, increase evaporation, and reduce transpiration. By spreading water on farm fields, we can deplete surface water and groundwater and increase evaporation.

Name two ways nitrogen can be fixed naturally for plant use.

By the intense energy of a lightning strike, or when air in the top layer of soil comes in contact with particular types of nitrogen-fixing bacteria

Why is cellular respiration important for life on Earth?

Cellular respiration is how organism's breakdown sugars in food to release the chemical energy

Molecule

Combination of two or more atoms of the same type or of different types joined by covalent bonds.

Nitrogen Cycle

Component of proteins, DNA and RNA Nitrogen gas is changed into usable form naturally or artificially and taken up by plants. Consumers obtain nitrogen from plant or animal foods. The nitrogen they release is returned to the atmosphere by denitrifying bacteria.

Give two examples of substances that contain hydrocarbons.

Crude oil and petroleum products

What happens to nitrogen during the process of denitrification?

Denitrifying bacteria convert nitrates in soil or water into nitrogen gas.

Define the three different types of plate boundaries.

Divergent Plate Boundaries, Transform Plate Boundaries and Convergent Plate Boundaries D: areas where molten rock pushes plates apart T: areas where plates slip and grind alongside each other C: areas where plates move toward each other

Geosphere

Earth's geosphere is made of all the rock at and below Earth's surface. Contains the crust,mante and core.

Water molecules adhere to each other through covalent bonds.

False; Hydrogen

A solution with a pH less than 7 is basic

False; acidic

A human being is part of Earth's lithosphere.

False;Biosphere

The products of photosynthesis are oxygen and carbon dioxide.

False;Carbohydrates

Bacteria, fungi, and other organisms that break down waste are called consumers.

False;decmposeres

How does water resist changes in temperature?

Heating weakens the hydrogen bonds in water, but does not initially increase the molecular motion, which is what causes the temperature to rise. As a result, water can absorb a large amount of energy with only small changes in its temperature.

What impact do humans have on the carbon cycle?

Human activities among them burning fossil fuels and cutting and burning forests - tend to increase carbon dioxide in the atmosphere beyond the level producers can absorb

Where is phosphorus stored?

In rocks, soil, sediments, and the oceans

Element

Its properties cannot be broken down any further

All of the following macromolecules are polymers EXCEPT

Lipids.

How are Earth's spheres defined?

Most by their makeup and some by their location and functions

On the lines below, write a paragraph that describes the distribution of salt water and fresh water on Earth.

Most of Earth's water is salt water The salt water in oceans and salt lakes makes up about 97.5 percent of Earth's water. So only 2.5 percent of Earth's water is fresh water. And more than three quarters of that fresh water is ice. (The ice-covered parts of Earth are sometimes called the cryosphere.) Only about 0.5 percent of Earth's water is unfrozen fresh water that might be used for drinking or water-ing crops. Most of that water is underground, in groundwater, and must be brought to the surface via pumps and/or wells.

A predator-prey relationship in which the two populations rise and fall in response to each other is an example of a

Negative feedback loop

Explain how macromolecules are involved in passing traits from parents to offspring.

Nucleic acids are macromolecules that direct protein production one of which Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) carries hereditary information and is responsible for passing traits from parents to offspring.

DNA and RNA are the two main types of

Nucleic acids that carry hereditary information and are responsible for passing traits from parents to offspring.

Why do scientists think there is an undiscovered carbon sink somewhere?

Of the carbon dioxide humans release, scientists have measured how much is returned to the atmosphere and oceans, and more than 1-2 billion metric tons (1.1-2.2 billion tons) are unaccounted for.

How do people obtain phosphorus?

Phosphorus can be taken up by the roots of plants if it is dissolved in water. People acquire phosphorus by consuming water and plants.

Why is phosphorus important to living things?

Phosphorus is a key component of cell membranes and of several molecules essential to life, including DNA and RNA.

How does the release of large amounts of phosphorus by humans cause problems?

Phosphorus released into water can cause eutrophication, an overgrowth of algae and other producers. This can lead to hypoxia, or low levels of oxygen, and to dead zones in bodies of water

All of the following are part of a carbohydrate EXCEPT

Phosphorus.

Phosphorus Cycle

Plants take up phosphorus through their roots. Consumers obtain phosphorus from plants and from water and release it in their waste. Decomposers return that phosphorus to the soil.

Describe the effects of a positive feedback loop.

Positive feedback loops have the opposite effect of negative feedback loops. Rather than stabilizing a system, they drive it toward an extreme.

Precipitation

Rain or snow

The characteristic that best defines a macromolecule is its

Size.

A mixture in which all the ingredients are evenly distributed is called a

Solution

Atmosphere

The atmosphere consists of the layers of gases surrounding our planet.

Biosphere

The biosphere consists of all the planet's living or once-living things and the nonliving parts of the environment with which they interact.

Water moves from bodies of water and moist soil into the atmosphere by evaporation

The conversion of a substance from a liquid to a gas.

asthenosphere

The hot rock beneath this layer is known as the

Hydrosphere

The hydrosphere encompasses all water—salt, fresh, liquid, ice, and vapor—on Earth's surface, under-ground, and in the atmosphere

Electron

The negatively charged part of an atom

crust

The outer part of the geosphere is called the

Aquifer

The place where fresh water collects underground

Transpiration

The process by which blades of grass release water vapor

Evaporation

The process by which water in a lake becomes water vapor

Condensation

The process by which water vapor in the air becomes dew

Water table

The upper limit of fresh water stored underground

How do the greenhouse gases in Earth's atmosphere affect our environment?

They keep Earth warm enough to support life, protecting the biosphere from the bitter cold of space.

Carbon Cycle

Through photosynthesis producers use the sun's energy to convert carbon dioxide and water to oxygen and sugars. Through cellular resp. consumers take in oxygen and sugars and release carbon dioxide and water.

Its cohesion allows water to transport nutrients and wastes in plants and animals.

True

Only a producer can use the sun's energy or chemical energy to make food.

True

The hydrosphere includes water in Earth's atmosphere.

True

The lithosphere is part of the geosphere.

True

Why is water called "the universal solvent"?

Water bonds well with other polar molecules. As a result, water can hold in solution, or dissolve, many other molecules, including chemicals vital for life.

system

a network of parts, elements, or components that interact with and influence one another

What materials make up Earth's biosphere?

all the planet's living or once-living things and the nonliving parts of the environment with which they interact.

What are the components of Earth's geosphere?

all the rock at and below Earth's surface

The amount of matter in the environment

always stays the same.

Some precipitation and surface water soaks down through soil and rock to recharge underground reservoirs, or storage areas, known as

aquifers

What two spheres of Earth are primarily involved in the phosphorus cycle?

atmosphere and biosphere

Organisms expel gasses into the air. This is an interaction between the

atmosphere and biosphere.

Most of the nitrogen on Earth is located in the

atmosphere.

The sphere of the Earth that consists of all the planet's living or once-living things and the nonliving parts of the environment with which they interact is the

biosphere

Systems do not have well-defined

boundaries which makes it difficult to decide where one system ends and another begins.

Positive feedback loops are relatively rare

but common in environmental systems that people have changed.

Negative feedback loops enhance stability by

canceling an action once it reaches an extreme.

What are the end products of the process of cellular respiration?

carbon dioxide, water, and energy

Earth's center is called the

core

The hydrosphere

encompasses all water—salt, fresh, liquid, ice, and vapor—on Earth's surface, underground, and in the air.

An event that is both a cause and an effect is a cyclical process known as a

feedback loop and can be either positive or negative.

The Haber-Bosch process enabled people to

fix nitrogen artificially.

What factor is responsible for several of water's unusual and important properties?

hydrogen bonding

Earth's spheres both overlap and

interact

Which of the following crops increases the amount of usable nitrogen in soil?

legumes

Fats and oils used by the body to store energy do not dissolve in water and are therefore classified as

lipids

An earthworm tunneling through the soil is an example of the biosphere interacting with the

lithosphere

The hard rock on and just below Earth's surface is called the

lithosphere

The outermost layer of Earth and the geosphere is known as the

litosphere

geosphere

made up of all the rocks and minerals on or below Earth's surface.

Scientists divide Earth into spheres, which are often described by their

makeup rather than by their location.

includes the uppermost lithosphere as well as the softer

mantle

Systems may exchange energy,

matter and/or information with other systems.

Earth's outer core is made of

molten metals such as iron and nickel that are almost as hot as the surface of the sun.

Contrast the two different types of feedback loops in terms of how they affect the stability of a system.

negative feedback loops stabilize systems by cancelling out the effects of input and output. Positive feedback systems create instability by driving the system toward an extreme.

Systems receive and process

outputs of energy, matter, or information, and produce of energy, matter, or information.

What gas in the atmosphere protects the biosphere from the sun's radiation?

ozone

Define ozone and explain its purpose.

ozone is a gas made up of oxygen molecules that each have three oxygen atoms. A layer of ozone protects the biosphere from the sun's radiation

What process do most producers use to create their own food?

photosynthesis

Erosion is an example of a

positive feedback loop

The process of erosion is an example of a(n)

positive feedback loop.

Earth's geosphere is made up of all the

rock at and below the surface of Earth.

Inputs into Earth's systems can include both

solar energy and geothermal energy

it drags large sections of lithosphere, called

tectontoic plates

When two tectonic plates meet, they may slip and grind alongside one another, forming a

transform plate boundary

The hydrosphere includes all water on Earth, including all forms of liquid, solid, and

vapor

Which cycle plays a role in all of the biogeochemical cycles?

water cycle

Water has the property of cohesion

which means it sticks to itself.