Harvard / Duke -­‐ Unit 2 Study Guide Question 1:
A two-point answer would look like... (1 paragraph minimum)
what happens when something
burns?
When something starts to burn like a candle or paper all the carbon in the paper
or what ever you burn is released into the atmosphere as it is burned.
Why are kelp forests important?
Kelp forests are important because it gives out oxygen and it is most absorbent
for carbon dioxide. Kelp forests are also homes for many types of living
organisms.
What is the Carbon Cycle
The carbon cycle is a cycle in which carbon is transferred between the oceans,
atmosphere, and land.Carbon is most released from land do to the drilling of
crude oil and coal.With the increase of carbon in the ocean and atmosphere the
world is being effected largely.The loss of coral reefs and global warming is just
some of the effects of using crude oil and coal.
How are coal and crude oil
formed ?Also explain why are
they used for.
Coal and crude oil are very important in our daily life.Coal is made by dead
plants in swamps and muddy pools pile up.It is buried for millions of years while
that happens heat and pressure is added to make coal.Crude oil is made
similarly.The dead plankton pile up for millions years then heat and pressure
changed the carbon into a fossil fuel called crude oil.Coal is used to generate
electricity and Crude oil is used to make gasoline ,plastic,and many other
materials.
How is coal made?
When an organism dies, they go through decomposition. Scavengers will eat up
the dead organism, and decomposers will break the body down into smaller
pieces. But sometimes, pieces of the dead organism will not be broken down by
scavengers and decomposers. If that happens, the leftover pieces of the dead
organism will be buried and will form coal.
How do organisms use carbon
that is absorbed from the ocean
and what happens when they
die?
When the ocean absorbed the carbon dioxide, the tiny marine organisms use
this carbon dioxide to form their shells. These shells help the tiny marine
organisms because the shells can not be eaten. When these organisms die,
their shells and bones will be broken down by the waves and will settle on the
ocean floor. Over millions of years, the pressure from the water compacts the
layers and layers of shells to form limestone.
What happens after CO2 is
absorbed into the ocean and
what is the problem with this?
After CO2 is absorbed into the ocean, it is mixed with water, it forms carbonic
acid. This acid releases hydrogen ions which may bond with other ions, such as
carbonic acid. The Ph is now lowered which means the ocean is more acidic.
The clam and other shellfish and the hydrogen ions compete for the carbonic
acid, so the shellfish have to use more energy building shells and less for finding
food.
How does limestone form?
When organisms with shells die the shells and hard skeletons are left behind
and could pile up on the ocean floor. Then it could get buried by the layers and
layers of sand and when the shells are buried deep enough, the calcium
carbonate gets heated up and pressed together. This takes millions and millions
of years and after, it forms limestone.
The three different parts of kelp are the stipe, holdfast, and the blades. The stipe
of a kelp, is kind of like a stem that helps it move swiftly back and forth with the
currents without breaking. The holdfast is kind of like a root and it helps anchor
the kelp down so it doesn't get blown away by a current and the holdfast often
holds itself in place by wrapping itself into a rock. Finally, the blades is where
What do the three different main photosynthesis takes place just like a regular plant would. That is what the three
parts of kelp do?
different parts of the kelp do.
What types of Industrial industry
releases the most carbon/CO2
into the atmosphere? What
types of company tries to reduce
the amount of carbon/CO2 in the
Carbon is also released by not just burning fossil fuels but also farming,
deforestation and some industrial processes. According to
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2011/apr/28/industries-sectorscarbon-emissions energy and heat(24.9) release the most carbon into the
atmosphere and behind it is industry(14.7%).
Harvard / Duke -­‐ Unit 2 Study Guide atmosphere?
Why should we stop ocean
acidification?
We should stop ocean acidification because it prevents or make the shelled fish
have a harder time making their shells. This causes the shelled fish to be eaten
faster and at a younger age because their shells are weaker. This will cause the
ocean food chain to be unbalanced. The more acidic the ocean is the harder
time the shell fish have making their shells.
Describe kelp, also include
descriptions of the three basic
structures ( Holdfast, Stipe, and
Blades).
Kelp is a marine animal that lives in the ocean. It is a seaweed type plant that
helps absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and use it to create oxygen.
Kelps have three main parts the holdfast, stipe, and blades. The holdfast
anchors the kelp from being washed away with the currents. The stipe is like a
stem for the kelp and it also provides support for the kelp's blades. The blades
photosynthesizes to make food for the kelp and create oxygen from absorbing
sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide.
Is there more carbon in
summer/spring or winter/fall?
There's more carbon dioxide in the winter and a bit less in the summer. That's
the collective breathing of all the plants in the Northern Hemisphere. "Plants are
accumulating carbon in the spring and summer when they're active, and they're
releasing carbon back to the air in the fall and winte
How is crude oil formed and
what do we use it for today?
Crude oil is formed when dead organisms pile up on the ocean floor uneaten.
Over millions of years, mud and silt cover the dead organisms. Temperature and
pressure increase over the years and forms a liquid called crude oil. Today we
use crude oil to make gasoline, diesel fuel, and airplane fuel. Crude oil can also
be used to make plastic, furniture, clothing and much more.
Is there more carbon in the
atmosphere during
spring/summer or during
fall/winter?
There is more carbon in the atmosphere during fall/winter because in fall/winter
not as much photosynthesis is happening. Also there is less sunlight and most of
the plants don't have leaves. Carbon levels in the atmosphere goes up and not a
lot of carbon from the atmosphere gets absorbed.
What are the parts of kelp and
what do they do?
The parts of kelp are the blades, the stipes, and the holdfast.The blades are
used to absorb nutrients form the water. The stipes in kelp help the kelp be able
to be pushed around by the water without breaking. The holdfast are the roots
on the kelp, but they don't absorb nutrients. Holdfast is the part that keeps the
kelp in place so it won't get draift away with the water.
Is more Co2 going to the ocean
good?
More Co2 going into the ocean is very bad. When the ocean absorbs Co2 the
ocean acidification levels rise because a reaction happens when Co2 and salt
water mix creating acid. This is very harmful to sea creatures who use the
Carbon in the ocean to make their shells and bones, because there is less
carbon in the ocean. The creatures' shells will be dissolved from the acid if
humans keep producing more Co2.
How is crude oil formed?
Crude oil is formed when plankton dies and sink to the bottom of the sea floor.
Then more plankton dies and sink to the bottom of the sea and their dead body
accumulates. Over millions of years mud and or sand mixes up with the bodies
of dead plankton and heat and pressure squishes the plankton bodies and sand
or mud into a thick black liquid substance known as oil.
What are the products of
photosynthesis?
The products of photosynthesis are sugar (glucose) and oxygen. Oxygen is a
waste product that is released by the plant that is photosynthesizing. The sugars
created by photosynthesis is kept for the plant as a food source.
Why is it possible that if you put
a plant and a candle under a jar
the flame will burn longer than if
you put a candle under a jar by
itself?
The reason why the candle that is under the jar with a plant burns longer is that
the flame needs oxygen to burn. When the candle is burning with the plant next
to it the plant takes in the carbon dioxide from the fire and turns it to oxygen
through the process of photosynthesis. One of the byproducts of photosynthesis
is oxygen which the candle uses to keep the flame lit longer. That is why if you
put a candle with a plant under a jar, the jar with the plant stays lit longer.
Harvard / Duke -­‐ Unit 2 Study Guide What is Fossil Fuel?
Fossil fuel is a term for things buried that decompose to deposit organic
materials, formed from decayed plants and organisms that turned into crude oil,
coal, natural gas, or oils by being exposed by heat and force in the earth's crust
from over about hundreds of millions of years. the end
What is crude oil?
Crude oil is dead plankton. This because after the plankton die there bodies pile
up on the ocean floor. After that happens a lot of years will pass and then there
bodies begin to press together and then start to heat up with the pressure
happening. Then it turns black. Now you can drill into the center of the earth and
find it.
what is photosynthesis
The process of plants using sunlight to create food. Photosynthesis gives the
plants its color green.Plants use sunlight to rearrange the atoms in the
molecules of carbon dioxide (CO2) and (H20) to create Sugar (C6H1206) and
oxygen molecules (O2)
Where does the carbon energy
from coal and crude oil come
from?
The energy which contains carbon in dead organisms are compressed with high
amounts of pressure. This can happen when a dead organism or multiple dead
organisms are buried under things like rocks,mud, or soil. After a couple hundred
million years, the energy converts into solid or liquid. This matter contains the
carbon energy from dead organisms. This is how there is carbon inside coal or
crude oil.
How and why is carbon
important to humans?
In the food that humans eat, they contain carbon. Carbon provides us energy to
use and it also helps us build up our bodies from molecules. Carbon is in carbon
dioxide and we breathe out carbon dioxide so plants can take it in. Once plants
take in the carbon dioxide, it can do photosynthesis and provide us oxygen.
Carbon also makes up 18% of our bodies.
How is crude oil made?
Crude oil is made from pieces of dead organisms that are left and are not broken
down by scavengers and decomposers and gets buried under many layers of
sediment. For example, plankton, tiny organisms that live near the surface of the
ocean, is one of the many organisms that make up crude oil. When plankton die,
their bodies will start to sink toward the ocean floor. Some of the dead plankton
are eaten and decomposed by other organisms as they fall or once they reach
the ocean floor. However, many of the dead plankton are not broken down. On
the ocean floor, the bodies can pile up and be covered by many layers of sand
mud. Over millions of years, the dead plankton will be under great heat and
immense pressure from under many layers of rock. This heat and pressure will
change the carbon in the dead plankton into crude oil.
The stipe of a kelp is a strong and flexible stem-like part of kelp and it helps the
blades by transferring the energy to the blades.The blade on the kelp is a leaflike part of kelp that grows from the kelp and it recieves sunlight to make food
and nutrients.The holdfast of the kelp is like the roots of the kelp and it holds the
What is the
kelp in place.The pneumatocyst is the gas-filled balloon shaped float and it
stipe,blade,pneumatocyst and
keeps the kelps moving up and not turning and so it reaches the surface so they
holdfast of kelp and what do they can recieve sunlight bring the stipe and blades up.In our Investigation
do?
Notebook,it shows all the information I wrote.
How can you break carbon
One way you can break carbon is by burning it. When you throw a piece of wood
in a fire the carbon will break to find another partner. Another way is by eating a
carrot and it would be the same thing as burning wood
Where does most of the matter
in plants come from?
The matter from plants come from sunlight.The matter in plants also come from
H20 .the matter from sunlight also comes from carbon and carbon dioxide.Plants
need these things if they want to complete the process called
photosynthesis.Which is used to make glucose and oxygen.
How does ocean acidification
affect marine life and coral
reefs?
Ocean acidification affecr marine life by affecting the organism that need shellsto
survive,it will take away the materials needed to make the shells so organisms
such as crabs,shellfish,oysters,phytoplankton,etc.It would ruin the population of
Harvard / Duke -­‐ Unit 2 Study Guide organisms in the sea and could affect the future.
They are made when carbon dioxide is absorbed by the ocean. When it's in the
How do hydrogen atoms get into ocean atoms called hydrogen atoms come from them. These hydrogen atoms
the ocean and how will it affect
make the water acidic breaking down shells. It gets harder and harder to build
shelled marine animals?
shells.
Long ago there were many muddy swamps and animals were often times stuck
in the dense mud along with fallen plants. The dead organisms were covered in
many layers of mud over time and are pushed deeper and deeper into the
swamp, because the deeper it goes the more pressure there is. Eventually
turning the dead body into fossil fuels over time due to being squished for
What is the process of how dead millions of years. And the reason the fossil fuels can be used as energy is that
organisms are converted into
carbon ions stIill have a strong bond together even if the organism died a long
fossil fuels?
time ago and contains the energy.
The Co 2 bond with water, forming hydrogen bond that take away the materials
that build up crabs shell. That mean we have a deformed of dead crab in or
hands (or in the ocean). It is destroying the coral reefs and bleaching them
What is Co 2 doing to the ocean white. If this keeps on fish will have no place to hide and that would mean they
and it's animals?
would die so there would be unequal food web.
About 93% of carbon is absorbed in the ocean. The ocean absorbs carbon
How much carbon is absorbed in dioxide from the atmosphere wherever air meets. Wind causes waves and
the ocean?And how is it
turbulence,giving more opportunity for the water to absorb the carbon dioxide.
absorbed?
Ocean plants take in the carbon dioxide and give off oxygen.
The reason we are not taking any preventative action against aggressive ocean
acidification is due to several factors:
1. Most of us are not aware of the predicament our oceans are in
Why aren't we doing anything to 2.Most of us who are aware do not have the power to do much to help
save the oceans from increasing 3. Those of us who can change the world for the good are either not trying, not
pH levels?
willing, or are so limited in number that their efforts are not effective
what is kelp and why is it
important?
Kelp is a large seaweed.it is important because it is shelter, food, and home to
other animals . It is a home to them because since kelp is very large they can
live there (small animals because they are small enough. ) It is like a shelter to
small animals because they are small enough to fit in the kelp and they can
blend in with the kelp color . So no predators can see them in the kelp hiding.It is
food to animals because some animals can't eat the sea urchins so they eat
kelp.
How is coal and crude oil
formed?
First, the dead organisms are buried under layers of sand, mud, and other
sediments.As millions of years pass, the dead organisms are buried deep
underground under the layers of sediments.Then, then the sediments and the
dead organisms get compressed to form coal.Sediments and dead organisms
are heated up and compressed to form crude oil.
What has happened over the
pass years, and how has the
ocean been affected in a
negative way?
Over the pass couple of years, more and more of the carbon in our atmosphere
is absorbed into our ocean. This can affect our ocean in a negative way,
because too much carbon means that the elements that forms shells start to
dissolve. When phytoplankton are harmed by the carbon, they would harm their
predators, and which will soon affect the phytoplankton's predator's predator.
when the organisms in the ocean are harmed, us humans also would be harmed
too, because 1/7 of the people in the world count on seafood to live.
Phytoplankton are at the bottom of the food system's web, and we are all the
way at the top of the food chain, and when the bottom of the food chain dies, the
other bigger fishes or organisms will then die of starvation. Not only are
phytoplankton harmed, oysters too. A healthy baby oyster would have its smooth
shaped shell and thick, while an unhealthy baby oyster would looked deformed
Harvard / Duke -­‐ Unit 2 Study Guide and have its shell super thin. Oysters help the ocean by keeping the ocean's
water clean, and it feeds other living organisms and us people. Oysters are
harmed by the carbon the ocean absorbs, and when the oysters are harmed, it
means more polluted water building up, and other organism that feed on oysters,
die.
How much carbon dioxide that
humans have released is
absorbed on Earth?
The world remains to absorb half of the carbon dioxide that our human industries
our daily activities. The oceans, forests, rainforests and many other ecosystems
absorb the carbon dioxide. Most of the emitted carbon dioxide are from
factories,plants, and forest fires that we caused. The rest of the carbon dioxide
escapes into the atmosphere and it causes the world to have global warming.
What is Calcium Carbonate ?
Calcium Carbonate is a common natural form of chalk, limestone, and marble
produced by the sedimentation of shells of small marine animals. Calcium
Carbonate is very important in the constructive industry such as building material
and also in cement. Calcium Carbonate decomposes to form carbon dioxide and
lime to then make paper , glass , and glass. Calcium Carbonate is a active
ingredient in lime and to feed animals.
Fossils fuels are being made
right now, but why does the
amount of carbon on the Earth
never change?
This is because those fossil fuels are made from carbon already on Earth. When
those plants and other organisms are packed together under sand or other
sediments, they form coal. They are compressed due to the great pressure and
heat, and form coal. So when the coal is being formed, no new carbon is
generated or created. The same goes for rocks like limestone or other fossil
fuels like crude oil. This is why the amount of carbon on the Earth doesn't
change, even though fossil fuels are being formed right now.
How does a low pH affect the
ocean organisms?
A low pH can affect ocean organisms in many ways. One way is that it may
harm the shells of shellfish and make it harder to make shells. If animals that
have shells spend too much time with their shells, they won't reproduce. If they
all die out, the predator will have one food source extinct. If that predator also
goes extinct,it will make the animal above it extinct. It also affects the coral reef,
that depends on calcium carbonate. The animals that live in coral will now be
easy prey and may be over-eaten. While animals that eat coral might over-eat
and wipe out the coral reef by accident, killing it off too.
The more fossil fuels we burn the greater amount of carbon is released in the
ocean. Sometimes human add extra carbon dioxide in the ocean. The amount of
How does human industry affect carbon has increased over the past 250 years by 228 gigatons in the Earth
the amount of Carbon dioxide in atmosphere. The ocean intake in one fourth of the carbon dioxide from human
the ocean?
industry. All in all, the ocean takes it tons of carbon from human industry.
How does the carbon dioxide
that is absorbed into the ocean
affect oysters?
Because the ocean absorbs a lot of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, the
carbon dioxide that is in the water dissolves. They create hydrogen ions which
combine with the carbonate, the item that oysters use to build their shells. The
ocean water is more acidic when there are more hydrogen ions, and the
hydrogen ions that are in the water combine with the carbonate so that there is
less carbonate in the shells for shelled organisms to use, and it also dissolves
their shells, so that they eventually die out.
How does ocean acidification
affect the ocean and the
ecosystem?
Ocean acidification comes from the carbon that was absorbed from the
atmosphere. The acidification can dissolve shells in the ocean. It makes it harder
for organisms with shells such as clams to grow shells because the pH levels
are too low. When th pH level is low it has more acidification. When the
organisms with shells die the animals and organisms that depend on it will also
decrease.
What would happen in a kelp
forest if the otter population drop
by a lot and would the forest be
healthy or dead
So the kelp forest would be dead without otters. They otters are a keystone
animal in the kelp forest. They help eat sea urchin so that they wont eat the kelp.
Without otters sea urchin would eat all the kelp and then it becomes empty and
dead.
Harvard / Duke -­‐ Unit 2 Study Guide Millions of years ago earth was covered in mud and surrounded by trees. When
these plants died, they feel into muddy pools. Later more mud covered them.
Scavengers could not break down these plants so the carbon was not broken
down. The mud was thick and had no oxygen. Decomposers were not able to
reach the dead plants and use the carbon. Millions of millions of years later, this
What was the process of making plant matter was heated and compressed as more mud was layered on top. The
coal?
heat and weight of these layers changed the carbon the plants into coal.
How do we affect the
atmosphere when we are
burning fossil fuels?
We humans affect the atmosphere by releasing carbon dioxide into the air that
results in bad changes to the ocean. An example of the bad change to the ocean
is that the carbonic acid that forms, when carbon dioxide creates when it reacts
with water, releases hydrogen ions which take away the carbonate. Since
anything that needs to make a shell needs carbonate they have less so the
shells can be too thin or deformed which the organism can die from the shell
being to small. Which means that the other organisms that eat that specific
organism won't have enough food and then the larger organisms that we eat for
food will not have enough food which means some of the food that we eat might
not be abundant enough for us to use.
What is ocean acidification and
how does it affect our world?
Ocean acidification is when CO2 or carbon dioxide goes into the atmosphere
and soon into the ocean. Once in the ocean, the CO2 mixes with water and soon
makes hydrogen ions. The hydrogen ions soon take all the calcium carbonate
and makes the ocean water more acidic. Once these calcium carbonate is gone,
the plankton, oysters, clams, etc... will soon die off because these shell fish
needs the calcium carbonate to survive. In our videos we saw in class, oyster
larves can make there shell because of ocean acidification and it soon dies off.
The "baby" oysters die off because the oysters are spending most of their time
trying to make a shell instead of collecting food to survive. All in all, ocean
acidification can affect the world by the loss of some seafood like shell fish and a
lot more other organisms that need the calcium carbonate to survive.
How can you separate a carbon
bond?
To separate a carbon bond, you have to apply heat like burning a piece of paper.
After the paper is burned, the carbon bond is broken and the carbon molecules
will break free. When they break free, they will search for new "partners to stick
to. After they stick to 2 more oxygen molecules, this will create carbon dioxide.
What happens to Co2 when it
goes into the ocean? How does
it affect the ocean?
When Co2 goes into the ocean it acidifies the water. When the Co2 goes into the
water it connects to the H2O atoms. Then let's out hydrogen ions which acidifies
the ocean. The Co2 affects the ocean in making it to acidic which causes the
oysters shells to dissolve.
Explain what chemical
processes occur in the ocean to
cause ocean acidification.
CO2 is first dissolved in ocean water. As CO2 combines with the H20 in the
water, H2CO3, also known as carbonic acid, is formed. This acid then quickly
releases hydrogen ions, whom latch onto the surrounding carbon, effectively
stripping away the carbon in nearby entities. As more carbonic acid is formed,
the pH level of the ocean decreases, resulting in a process known as ocean
acidification.
What happens to the carbon in
an organism after they die?
When an organism dies it will eventually decompose, either by decomposers
and scavengers or naturally by the compression of soil. Carbon in dead
organisms stay until another organism eats that dead organism. Also if the dead
organism is piled up with more dead organisms and may become crude oil, coal,
or limestone depending on what that organism is.
why are fossil fuels bad for our
environment?
Fossil fuels are bad because when people burn them it creates carbon which
goes into the atmosphere.When it goes into the atmosphere about half of it goes
into the ocean.Scientists use to think that this was a good thing,but it is actually
not a good thing.The carbon makes coral and other organisms that rely on it to
die out and go extinct.Plankton can also be harmed which they have a very
important role because an animal eats them which gets eaten by another and so
Harvard / Duke -­‐ Unit 2 Study Guide on.If plankton die the bigger fish will die and 1/7of the world that depend on fish
will have to be very worried.
Carbon can be absorbed by the ocean and can create devastating affects. For
one, carbon can create hydrogen ions that will compete with the carbonate ions
which is required for the growth of many ocean organisms. This will result in a
decrease of many organisms that rely on calcium carbonate for their shells and
skeletons to deplete due to the limited supply of carbonate ions. This is also
worse for us as well since around a billion of us have seafood as our main
What happens when carbon gets supply of food. This can also harm many other ocean organisms as well since
into the ocean? What does it
coral is also a calcium carbonate dependent organism that is one of the most
affect?
diverse ocean ecosystem.
What happens to the CO2 when The answer is in what happens to all the CO2 being pumped into the
it is released into the Ocean?
atmosphere - constantly.
Crude oil is a one of the three main forms of fossil fuel. It formed millions of
years ago when dead plankton, tiny ocean organisms, sank to the ocean floor.
Over time, many layers of mud and sand covered the organisms. After being
What is crude oil and what
compressed for so many years with both heat and pressure being applied, crude
organism makes up the majority oil formed. This oil is processed today and turned into fuel to make gasoline
of it?
plastic, and many other materials.
How do dead organisms turn
into coal?
Many different organisms and natural processes are used during the creation of
coal. First, an organism dies and starts to decompose caused by scavengers
and decomposers. Next, mud and dirt piles onto the dead organism causing
there to be no oxygen. After millions and millions of years the organism is
compressed, thus making coal.
Is the planet affected by Co2
being released into the
atmosphere?
Yes it is because when Co2 is released it goes into the air and causes fossil fuel.
When it causes fossil fuel it causes animals to be affected. when animals are
affected they can die off which can cause instintion.
Question 2:
A two-point answer would look like...(1 paragraph minimum)
what happens to the carbon in
the fall or winter?
In fall and winter there is less sun light so the leaves start to fall and they start to
die. so the plants can not photosynthesis. so that mean that the plants can not
take in the carbon . There is more carbon in the air.
What is decomposition?
Decomposition is a process carried out by a group of organisms that break down
dead organisms and droppings.
Large amounts of green house gas is released do to agricultural use.With more
demand for food every year its likely that the problem will increase.The problem
of green house gas is not an easy one to solve seeing the fact that food is a
How much carbon is released do major concern for third world countries.So in total agricultural gasses area major
to agricultural use?
problem that's extremely hard to fix
Ocean got acidic because of there was too many hydrogen ions.When carbon
dioxide enters the ocean,hydrogen ions from the carbon dioxide competed with
Explain why did the ocean get
the carbonate ions which are used for the shells of organisms.Carbon dioxide
acidic and why was this hard for kept coming and the ocean organisms slowly see their shells dissolving.Humans
humans.
wouldn't have seafood to eat.
How is limestone made?
When shellfish die, their shells and skeletons will sink and pile up on the ocean
floor. Those shells will soon be covered by many layers of sand and more shells.
Millions of years later, those shells will be buried deep under many layers of
sand, mud, and more shells. When the calcium carbonate in the shells get
heated and pressed together, it will become limestone.
What happens to the carbon
dioxide that is absorbed into the
ocean from the atmosphere?
When the ocean absorbs the carbon dioxide, the carbon dioxide reacts with the
ocean forming carbonic acid and releases hydrogen ions.when there is more
hydrogen then there is less PH, causing the acidic level to be higher. Then the
Harvard / Duke -­‐ Unit 2 Study Guide shells of the tiny organisms will start to dissolve because the acidic level is too
high.
Photosynthesis is the process where plants create energy. They take in CO2,
sunlight, and water and transfer it to glucose and oxygen. Basically, it takes in
Explain photosynthesis and what CO2 and give out O2, which helps the global warming problem. It creates more
does it help do?
oxygen for humans and reduces the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere.
Without decomposers or
scavengers, what would
happen?
If there is no decomposers or scavengers to decompose the dead organisms,
the amount of dead organisms would pile up. It wouldn't be very sanitary and
there wouldn't be that much space to put them somewhere. Also the food chain
could be unbalanced because some organisms prey on these scavengers and
decomposers.
Kelp forests are endangered because of sea urchins overpopulating them. Due
to the fact that sea urchins graze on kelp, the amount of kelp are decreasing. If
there are no sea otters to eat the sea urchins then the sea urchins will
overpopulate and the they will take over the kelp forests. This will lead to an
unhealthy ecosystem if the "keystone specie" or sea otters don't eat the sea
Why are kelp forests
urchins. But we can do something about this and help out, we can take out some
endangered and what can we do of the sea urchins and relocate them to somewhere where they wont be harming
to help?
the population of kelp forests.
What have people done to
According to http://www.doityourself.com/stry/how-to-reduce-carbon-dioxide-inreduce the amount of
the-atmosphere people have try to reduce the vehicle emission, reduce energy
Carbon/CO2 in the atmosphere? consumption, and restore natural sinks
Describe the flow of carbon in
the ocean.
The flow of carbon in the ocean starts from phytoplankton. The phytoplankton
use photosynthesis which absorbs carbon dioxide in the air. Then the
phytoplankton is eaten by the zooplankton. When the zooplankton eats the
phytoplankton, some of the carbon in the phytoplankton goes to the zooplankton.
Then the zooplankton is eaten small fish. The small fish is eaten by bigger fish
and then by sharks.
Why is there a lot of carbon in
the atmosphere?
There is a lot of carbon in the atmosphere because humans burn fossil fuels.
Burning fossil fuels results in more electricity and gasoline for us. Also another
reason is that deforestation, with human chopping down trees to make land for
buildings to be built, there are less organisms absorbing carbon from the
atmosphere. With a lot of carbon in the atmosphere, the temperatures will start
rising because carbon is an example of a greenhouse gas. Carbon being a
greenhouse gas trapping heat will make Earth a lot hotter, maybe someday
Earth will be as hot as Venus if carbon keep on increasing.
If the animal doesn't get decomposed by other animals, it will still decompose
What happens when animals do but in another way. The carbon evaporates into the air and joins the carbon
not decompose?
cycle.
Why is carbon important?
Carbon makes up all living organisms and is what makes life possible on Earth.
Carbon atoms easily bond with other atoms and can create many different
structural arrangements which is why it is so diverse. We breathe in oxygen and
let out carbon dioxide. From the atmosphere to deep underwater, carbon is
present. Millions of carbon atoms form the molecules in every cell in our bodies.
How is carbon used on Earth?
When people make fire, they are using carbon. Also when you start the engine
of a car, the carbon goes out of the car and into the atmosphere. Humans
breathe out carbon and plants take in carbon. Most organisms would get energy
and materials to build their bodies from molecules that contains carbon.
What are ways to break carbon
bonds?
A way to break carbon bonds is to burn the material with carbon in it. The reason
for this is because fire will make the carbon atoms excited and make them jiggle,
which makes them break apart. You could break carbon bonds, by eating the
item. In our stomachs, there is a digestive acid that breaks apart carbons bonds.
Harvard / Duke -­‐ Unit 2 Study Guide How do humans, plants and
animals get and use carbon?
When humans eat foods we obtain carbon. Our body uses the carbon from the
foods to create energy and fuel us. Animals also do the same, when they eat
their grass or their food that they eat their body uses the food as energy as the
form of carbohydrates and other things. Plants on the other hand don't need to
eat to get carbon. Plants use the process called photosynthesis to get the
energy from carbon that they need. They need sunlight, water, and Co2. They
absorb the Co2, which contains carbon, and turned it into glucose which they
use as their energy source.
How is coal formed？
Coal is formed when animals die and is not decomposed. Then other animals
die and accumulate atop of the animal. Then dead plants and other organisms
bury the pile of dead organisms. Then over millions of years pressure squishes
the dead organisms into a black rock called coal.
Last year, all the world's countries combined pumped nearly 38.2 billion tons of
How much carbon is released
carbon dioxide into the air from the burning of fossil fuels such as coal and oil,
into the Earth's atmosphere each according to international calculations on global emissions in the journal Nature
year?
Climate Change. That's around a billion tons more than the previous year.
How do leaves from trees carry
carbon into the ocean?
When a tree is near a body of water leaves may fall either into the body of water
or get washed into it. Now the carbon that make up the leaf or leaves are now in
the body of water.
How do animals decompose,
describe, *must detailed*
The organism or plant decomposes by the tissue rotting from fungi and bacteria.
organism decompose from insects swarming and planting eggs like maggots to
eat the dead organism, to eat the entire body but only bones left, once its whole
flesh and tissues are eaten the organism is buried.
Caol helps us by powering or machines. This happens because when we burn
coal it realise energy to power our things. But once we burn the carbon it links on
What does coal do for us today? to a different carbon causing the energy transfer.
Soil doesn't help the plant grow but Water, Oxygen and Carbon dioxide does.
Does Soil helps the plant grow if The plant will Absorb the sunlight,oxygen, and water. This process is called
not what does?
photosynthesis by which the plant will gets its food off from.
What happens when coal or
crude oil and burned?
Coal and crude oil have carbon atoms in them. The carbon atoms are connected
and heat can break their bond. Their bonds breaking doesn't just do nothing. It
releases energy which can be used for powering things.This is what happens
when things like coal and crude oil are burned.
Once a animal die, they get eaten by animals and we call them scavengers. The
scavengers can't get all parts of the animal so what is left gets eaten by smaller
animals called decomposers. Scavengers and decomposers provides us with
What do decomposers and
things like limestone and crude oil. Limestone is used to cement which us,
scavengers do and what do they humans use for our buildings. Crude oil is used for plastic, clothing, furniture,
provide us?
etc.
How is limestone made?
When soft bodies of dead organisms are left and are not broken down by
scavengers and decomposers, limestone would form. Ocean organisms with
shells have shells made from calcium carbonate. When these organisms die,
theirs shells and skeletons are left behind and can pile up on the ocean floor.
The remnants will then be covered by many layers of sand and more shells.
Over millions of years, after being buried under several layer of sand and mud
and more shells, the calcium carbonate will be heated and pressed together,
becoming limestone.
How do carbon affect the ocean
and us?
Carbon makes the ocean more acidic.In the video we watch in class,we saw
how the carbon forms hydrogen ions which takes away calcium carbonate.This
is what ocean organisms use to make shells so this causes shells to disolve.The
ocean organisms will die which will affect the food chain of sharks and fish which
will affect us when there will be no fish to eat.
Harvard / Duke -­‐ Unit 2 Study Guide Where can you find carbon
There is many places to find carbon and for example there is carbon everywhere
like in a pear. Carbon is matter and matter is almost everywhere we go.
How much carbon is absorbed
by the ocean?How does this
affect the ocean?
About 30% of the carbon in the atmosphere is absorbed by the ocean and rest is
absorbed by plants and other land organisms.
Why is it bad to have ocean
acidfication?
It harms organisms and could ruin the food chain so most of the marine life could
dissapear and become extinct.Ocean acidification is bad by making organisms
that have shells make the shells dissolve and if one creature is gone in the food
chain all of the rest of the animals are affected.
What lives in the shell of a
shelled marine animal once
dead? How does acidic water
effect living for the creatures?
Barnacles, Snails, and other marine animals. If there is a lot of acidic water the
shells start to break down. If the shells break down the creatures living in the
shell could die without shelter. They'd have no where to live.
Low ph levels mean that there are a low amount of calcium carbonate ions in the
area. The cause for low ph levels is the carbon dioxide the ocean takes in. The
carbonic acid formed once carbon dioxide and water are fused together take
calcium carbonate ions that ocean organisms need. As a result, animals such as
What do low ph levels mean and oysters, crabs, and phytoplankton struggle with gathering calcium carbonate
how does the ocean's ph levels ions and when they do not get enough they will become smaller have weaker
affect the life of organisms in the shells and deformed skeletons. And if these animals become extinct the ones
water?
above them on the food chain will also have less to eat.
What can we do to help co 2
decrease?
We can plant lots of flowers and plants because they take up co 2 and make o 2.
If we plant enough and have lots of sea otters and plants then co 2 numbers
could go down. If we had more o 2 there would be more plants to create more o
2. That means more air for us.
Do phytoplankton use carbon
dioxide?
Yes. Phytoplankton use sunlight,carbon dioxide and water,in a process called
photosynthesis. They use photosynthesis to produce organic compounds,which
they use for food and make their cells. The waste product of photosynthesis is
oxygen.
We have tried alternate energy sources, however, commercial use has proven
that these methods are either inefficient, and/or they are too expensive. Another
example is getting better efficiency with automobiles, which will decrease the
rate at which the carbon enters the atmosphere, and then into the ocean.
However, so many cars are around these days that this isn't working. So far, the
What have we done to try to stop most effective thing we have come up with is a carbon sequestration device,
ocean acidification?
which takes carbon from water and stores it.
What happens if the ocean
collects more CO2?
If the ocean collects more CO2 the some of the shell ,like oyster's shell, can
deform and slowly dissolve. That happens because the oysters (and other
animals that have shells) uses calcium carbonate to make their shells more
strong. With so little calcium carbonate the shells can have holes on them and
the shell would be very thin. When the shell is thin then it can break very easily
and it can also slowly dissolve.It can deform if the shell is not strong , it would be
very soft and if it is very soft then it can be easily deformed.
There will be less shellfish and crustaceans to fish for.Since the pH levels are
rising, the shellfish and crustaceans are having are harder time to form their
shells. It becomes harder because when the ocean absorbs carbon dioxide, it
mixes with the water forming carbonic acid.The ocean absorbs about 50% of the
carbon in the atmosphere, so lots of carbonic acid is formed.When the carbonic
acid forms, it breaks apart immediately letting hydrogen ions loose.These
hydrogen ions "remove" the calcium carbonate , so the shellfish and crustaceans
What will happen to the fishing
can't find more calcium carbonate to form their shells.Shellfish with formed shells
economy if pH levels continue to will have their shells dissolved by the low pH leveled water.The acidic ocean
rise?
slowly dissolves their shells and they will die without a shell.
Harvard / Duke -­‐ Unit 2 Study Guide The scientist noticed that there were steam bubbles coming out of the sand
ground. The bubbles are filled with carbon that of which will allow organisms like
corals would recover. This is what happened in the ocean in New Zealand. More
What did the scientist notice
bright and elegant corals were in the ocean in New Zealand, But in he other
about the place in New Zealand, place where the ocean has been more polluted, the corals are more dull colored
compared to the "damaged"
and not as "energizing". The bubbles gave the scientist a clue of what healed the
ocean?
corals.
How much more carbon is
released every year on Earth?
Our average output of carbon dioxide is 2.4 million pounds a second so if we
make that into a year we output around 40 billion tons of carbon dioxide a year.
The increase of the amount of released carbon dioxide is currently rising by 3%5% a year which is alot. In 2011 the top countries that release the most carbon
dioxide are mostly increasing in the amount released and only a couple have
decreased in amount by 2%-4%.
How can the amount of carbon
in the atmosphere be
increasing?
The amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has been monitored for over
forty years. These measurements show that the carbon dioxide levels have
increased every year. Carbon dioxide is known to be a greenhouse gas, which
means that increased levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere could lead to
global warming. This could have serious environmental consequences for the
entire world. Scientists also think that humans may be responsible for the
increases, from such things as cars, industry, and the burning of the rainforests.
If this is the case, we may be doing irreversible harm to the environment. The
annual fluctuations in the graph above are due to the seasons. During the fall
and winter, vegetation stops growing and decays, leading to higher amounts in
carbon dioxide in the air. Vegetation then begins to grow during the spring and
summer, absorbing some of the atmospheric carbon dioxide.
What are some things that we
can do to increase the pH in the
ocean and return it to normal?
The most obvious answer would be to use an alternative energy source,
something other than fossil fuels. There are also many other things we can do to
increase the pH level. We can all buy eco-friendly cars/motorcycles. Doing these
two things will reduce the amount of carbon we send into the atmosphere, so
there would be less for the ocean to absorb. Another thing we can do is to dump
a lot of chemicals (or non-chemicals) high in pH into the ocean. That would raise
the pH but would probably cost some collateral damage. This is what we can do
to raise the pH in the ocean.
How does pH affect us too?
It affects us because we eat seafood. 1/7 people depend on seafood as a source
of nutrition. We make fish oil pills to help us. Many people, especially older ones
depend on pills from fish. Many people depend on seafood in order to make
money in order to feed their family. Without seafood, many people either will go
bankrupt, or find a new way of nutrition, making us do more effort into making
sure that other source is abundant.
How does the acidic in the
ocean affect shells?
When carbon dioxide enters the ocean and it combines with the water to form
carbonic acid. Then it releases the hydrogen ions. The more hydrogen ions there
are, it lowers the ph level making it more acidic. So the more acidic the ocean is,
it restricts the shells from taking as much calcium carbonate to build their shells.
When there are less carbonate available shells become thinner and smaller.
Therefore, they have to focus on building their shells rather than reproducing. All
in all, the more acidic the ocean is, the less shells there are for organisms to use
for food.
Why doesn't the amount of
carbon on earth change?
Although the amount of carbon in a reservoir changes, the total amount in all the
reservoirs doesn't change. The carbon in one reservoir is moved to another
reservoir, so that there is less carbon in one reservoir while more in another
reservoir. For example, when we burn fossil fuels, the carbon in the fossil fuel is
Harvard / Duke -­‐ Unit 2 Study Guide released into the atmosphere. The amount of carbon doesn't change, only that
the carbon that was once in the fossil fuel is transferred into the atmosphere.
Why is ocean acidification bad
for the environment?
Ocean acidification is bad for the environment because an ecosystem is an area
where organisms gets along with all the nonliving things that are there and it is
harming the ecosystem. The coral reefs are dying and also organisms with
shells. Many things depend on them and if there are less of one thing in the
bottom of the food chain there will also be less things on the top of the food
chain. So if there is less coral, less animals live there, and there will be less food
for animals and humans to eat.
What is ocean acidification and
why is it so important ?
Ocean acidification is where the ph levels are low and the ocean is very acidic.
Its important as that shows us that the ocean is unhealthy.When ph levels are
low there is low calcium carbonate. Calcium carbonate is what many ocean
animals that use and make shells use. So with low ph and high acid the shells
with be smaller, thinner, and weaker.
How is carbon transferred from
an dead animal to another
organism?
When an organism dies on land, scavengers such as beetles eat the body.
Carbon moves from the dead organism to the body of the beetle. The carbon is
then released into the atmosphere when these animals breathe out carbon
dioxide. Decomposers and fungi also help digest the body. As decomposers
break down the body, carbon and other nutrients from the dead body also go
into the soil.
We can reduce the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere by burning fossil fuels less
and using other sources of energy. The fossil fuels that we burn are going up
rapidly everyday so we should burn less so we don't increase the levels of
What is a way that we can help carbon dioxide in the air. We could use a better source of energy that doesn't
reduce the carbon dioxide in the create as much carbon dioxide as fossil fuels. We are releasing too much carbon
atmosphere?
dioxide and we can stop it by doing things that are very obvious and easy to do.
How can you break carbon
bonds and what happens once
they are broken?Use examples
in your answer.
There are a couple types of ways to break carbon bonds. One way that I saw in
a video is by eating a carrot. When you eat a carrot, all that carbon goes to the
stomach which digests the carrot. That carbon is soon broken and converted into
energy. Another way to break a carbon bond is by burning something. When you
burn something like a piece of paper, the carbon bonds heat up and they jiggle
which soon separate the carbon bonds. A last way to break carbon bonds is by
burning fossil fuels. When the carbon bonds are broken, they immediately look
for another one to "pair up" with.
The carbon dioxide mixed with water will make hydrogen molecules. the
hydrogen molecules like taking carbonate ions. Carbonate ions are the stuff that
makes up the shells that ocean organisms use. If there is less of the carbonate
How can the acidity of the ocean ions, the shells won't be as large and weaker. The life span of oysters have been
rise?
shortened because of this.
Many of the species that live in the ocean would die off. They would die off
because they have less time to adapt. Many scientists say this happened during
What would happen if the ocean The Great Dying. In The Great Dying there was a lot of volcanic activity which
got too acidic way too fast?
caused a lot of Co2 quickly .
How is carbon released as a
result of the decomposition of a
terrestrial carcass?
When an organism dies, scavengers and decomposers feast upon the corpse.
Consequently, the carbon in the carcass makes its way into the dung and
respiratory byproducts of said decomposers and scavengers. Additionally, via
respiration, CO2 is released into the atmosphere from the organism. Finally, the
remaining carbon goes back into the soil if the organism is terrestrial.
How do humans affect the
amount of carbon in the ocean?
The total amount of carbon on earth doesn't change but moves to different
reservoirs. Humans keep on burning fossil fuels that move carbon from
underground to the atmosphere. The ocean then absorbs most of the carbon
from the atmosphere, which is bad since it increases ocean acidity.
Harvard / Duke -­‐ Unit 2 Study Guide How is the human industry
affecting ocean acidification?
Ocean acidification is when carbon dioxide enters water/it joins with water to
make carbonic acid.Over the last 250 years,the amount of carbon in the
atmosphere has increased by 228 gigatons because of the human
industry,although some of the carbon has gone into the ocean.About 25% of the
carbon that comes from human industries has been absorbed by the ocean.
Which two organisms in class
that we talked about, have the
most effect kelp.
Sea otter and Sea Urchins seems to have given kelp many different affects. Sea
otters have been very beneficial to kelp and is considered a keystone species.
This is due to Sea otters being a predator to Sea Urchins who feed on vast
amount of kelp. This can help both the Sea Otters and the kelp since Sea otters
can rely on Kelp for protection from predators and kelp relying on Sea Otters to
feed on it's own predators. However Sea Urchins have been feeding on lots of
kelp, having Sea urchin barren lands.
How is co2 removed from the
atmosphere?
How the CO2 is removed from the
Atmosphere is by Photosynthesis, what photosynthesis does is Growing trees.
What is a difference and
similarity between scavengers
and decomposers?
Both scavengers and decomposers break down dead organisms and droppings.
They can do this by reducing the organism into smaller pieces or ingesting it.
Scavengers are larger organisms with this diet while decomposers are much
smaller. Some examples of decomposers are bacteria and fungi while some
scavengers are coyotes and raccoons.
The acidity of the ocean has started to raise due to the burning of fossil fuels and
natural causes. But, due to the acidity of the ocean rising many different types of
shellfish as well as coral are starting to dissolve, due to the lack of calcium and
carbonate. Shellfish such as oysters, clams, and others provide a food source
for a large amount humans. The acidity has also affected coral reefs which
provide shelter for marine organisms, which we eat, so if coral reefs start to die
How has the acidity of the ocean out, so does our food source. So, the raise of acidity in the ocean has affected
affected daily life for humans?
our food source greatly.
Does it affect the ocean when
Co2 goes in there?
Yes because when the Co2 goes into the water it connects to the H2O atoms.
When that happens it releases hydrogen ions which adicifiess the ocean PH.
When that happens it affects the ocean by turning into acid, which affects living
organisms, such as oysters.