The Carbon cycle is the way that carbon moves around our planet. It is in everything we see and is always around us. It is used to help us grow, to make diamonds, and to make fossil fuels like coal, natural gas, peat and petrol. The carbon cycle shows us how carbon can be taken by plants and the ocean, and how it is added to the atmosphere by decomposition, humans, combustion (fires and burning), fossil fuels and from animals. The main points I am going to look at is how the ocean and plants affect the removal of carbon in our atmosphere through the process of photosynthesis, and how the carbon is added back to the atmosphere from the burning of fossil fuels.
What is photosynthesis?
Photosynthesis is the chemical process of plants, and some bacteria, both on land and in the ocean, that take carbon dioxide (CO²) from the air and using the light from the sun to create glucose, their source of food and oxygen, which we need to breathe. All green plants can photosynthesise because they have chloroplasts, which is the green pigment which attracts the Carbon Dioxide in the air. Photosynthesis happens in the plant leaves because it is there where the stomata’s are. The stomata’s are small holes that let CO² in, and O² (oxygen) out. When plants make the glucose, which they need to survive, it is then passed on to birds and insects who eat the leaves and to us, through food. During the day, plants take in carbon dioxide and release oxygen, using up the carbon. But at night, when there is no light for the plants to collects their energy from, the plants release all the carbon that they would usually lose. This is called excretion.
What are fossil fuels?
Fossil fuels are things like coal, natural gases, peat and petrol. They are made fr...
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The majority of life on Earth depends on photosynthesis for food and oxygen. Photosynthesis is the conversion of carbon dioxide and water into carbohydrates and oxygen using the sun’s light energy (Campbell, 1996). This process consists of two parts the light reactions and the Calvin cycle (Campbell, 1996). During the light reactions is when the sun’s energy is converted into ATP and NADPH, which is chemical energy (Campbell, 1996). This process occurs in the chloroplasts of plants cell. Within the chloroplasts are multiple photosynthetic pigments that absorb light from the sun (Campbell, 1996).
Photosynthesis is the process where plants transform light energy usually from sunlight into chemical energy and its balanced equation is 6CO2 + 6H2O –light energy----> C6H12O6 + 6O2 (Elsevier B.V.,LiveScience). Photosynthesis has major byproducts including water, glucose and starch(which is produced in the plant), and last but not least; oxygen. There are numerous amounts of plants all around the world producing CO2 necessary for human survival. However, the photosynthesis cycle is not visible which results in the plants appearing like they are not doing anything. One way to clearly prove that plants are indeed performing photosynthesis is to observe the plants giving off oxygen; which is one of the most important results of
So, after learning about what photosynthesis is and how it truly works is something that is remarkable and how plants are really the only living thing that uses this process. Such as photosynthesis is the process of taking in carbon dioxide (CO2), which is a gas that is exhaled from animals and goes into the air and is absorbed into a plant, water (H2O) which is absorbed through the roots of a plant or known as capillary action, sun light is absorbed through chloroplasts which contains chlorophyll or better known as the leaves of the plant. Sun light is what helps break down and rearranges the atoms of these two, which produces sugars (glucose, C6H12O6), and this is photosynthesis at its finest. With the photosynthesis process the plant can create a by-product known as oxygen gas which is released through the little pores into the atmosphere (Simon, Dickey, Hogan & Reece, n.d.). Photosynthesis is something that helps the plants to grow but it is also very beneficial to us for the fact that we need to breath oxygen to maintain our functions of life. Plants produce an abundant supply of energy that is stored because they are what I would like to call savers/hoarders. Plants store the extra energy that they produce into different things such as potatoes, carrots, and other different types of food in which we use to
Photosynthesis is a highly important process that takes place in plants primarily because without it life on this planet would not be able to function properly. “It produces the oxygen we breathe and the food we eat” (Harbinson). Without photosynthesis, life would not be able to sustain itself and our planet would be a barren wasteland. The Photosynthetic process converts light energy into chemical energy. The energy that’s created through the process then later is used to help fuel the organism’s activities. This process can be significantly more complicated than it sounds with different stages and many steps.
Carbon dioxide or CO2 is known to be one of a number of gases that are astonishingly transparent to the visible light that falls on the Earth from the Sun, but it absorb the infra-red radiation that emitted by the warm surface of our Earth, to prevents its loss into space. Moreover, CO2 has varied considerably and this affected the Earth’s temperature. Most common source of this CO2 is known as the fossil fuel. Fossil fuels are primarily coal, hydrocarbons, natural gas, or fuel oil that formed from the remains of the dead plants and also animals. The burning fossil fuel that has been created by humans is the largest source of emissions of the carbon dioxide.
Photosynthesis is the process by which solar energy is converted into food for the plant and oxygen for the world. There are two types of photosynthesis: oxygenic and anoxygenic
However, while cellular respiration is concluded through animals (and some plants) by modifying food and organic molecules to energy, photosynthesis is the procedure of changing energy from light sources, especially the sun, into chemical energy for plants, algae, and some bacteria. Photosynthesis is a process that ensues within organelles called chloroplasts. These organelles can absorb light and are located inside of leaves. Within the leaf are tiny pores described as stomata, in which carbon dioxide can enter, and oxygen can exit, the reverse process that in which most animals breathe. Comparable to animals, the process of photosynthesis needs water, although rather than drained, water is absorbed through the plant's roots and carried up to the leaves. The stomata are perhaps the most critical piece to this process, as this is where CO2 enters and can be reserved, and where water and O2
Photosynthesis in simpler turns is the ability of a live plant to carry on its chemical process by the use of light energy. Photosynthesis can not take place when there is absolutely no light, instead it stores the light it captures during the day, and uses it when needed. Photosynthesis can take place in land plants and aquarian plants such as algae. There are many factors that influence the ability of a plant to go through photosynthesis, such as light, the color of light and amount of water and or light.
Photosynthesis is the process in which plants generate their own energy by intaking sunlight, carbon dioxide and water. There are two types of photosynthesis reactions, light reactions and dark reactions reactions. While both reactions occur in the chloroplast, dark reactions actually do not require sunlight to happen.The chemical equation, 6H2O + 6CO2 + photons → C6H12O6 + 6O2, displays how a plants converts the energy it receives, into useful energy for itself. Photosynthesis reactions are important because the glucose that is produced during this process is stored in fruits and the oxygen produced or released into air for us to breathe.
Photosynthesis is a process where organisms and plants use the energy from the sun to create a food source for others. Photosynthesis allows plants to make their own food without having to wait on others to provide it for them. It allows plants to generate oxygen as a byproduct for other organisms. Photosynthesis takes place on the leaves of plants. Each leaf is made up of individual cells that are called chloroplasts.
To describe the long term implications of the Carbon Cycle, one must understand the cycle of life. For an organism to be created it must use up resources that are the basis for its survival. Carbon is one of the most crucial resources that is needed for life to survive. When an organism is created it uses up a specific set of resources, which include energy and carbon. The organism then grows and survives continually using up resources, which lower the available energy surrounding it, but increase the potential energy that it contains. When the organism finally reaches the end of its life cycle it begins to degrade, releasing all of its resources back into the environment (Kleidon, 2010). Carbon being one of its building blocks is released back into the environment. The carbon is then available once again for another organism or life cycle to use. This is the basis for the Carbon Cycle, there is a set amount of carbon available, thus when an organism uses it, it must be returned to the environment through life processes which are a result of entropy leading to a maximum point. The Water Cycle works in the exact same manor; however, it is not only used by organisms. Water, along with Carbon is crucial to the biotic and abiotic environments on Earth. The Water Cycle employed natural environmental
Photosynthesis is a process in plants that converts light energy into chemical energy, which is stored in bonds of sugar. The process occurs in the chloroplasts, using chlorophyll. Photosynthesis takes place in green leaves. Glucose is made from the raw materials, carbon dioxide, water, light energy and oxygen is given off as a waste product. In these light-dependent reactions, energy is used to split electrons from suitable substances such as water, producing oxygen. In plants, sugars are produced by a later sequence of light-independent reactions called th...
There are three types of fossil fuels- coal, crude oil, and natural gas. Coal was formed very slowly. Even the “newest” coal we use today was formed a million years ago. Most of the coal we use was formed 300 million years ago, when the Earth was covered with swamps. When plants and trees died, they sank to the bottoms of the swamps. These plants and trees were layered on top of each other, forming a substance called peat. Peat is considered the first stage in coal formation. It is a mixture of water, leaves, braches, and other plant debris. Over time, the Earth changed, and deposits of sand, clay, and other minerals were formed, burying the peat. Sedimentary rock...
Photosynthesis is a cycle plants go through converting light into chemical energy for use later. Photosynthesis starts in the chloroplasts, they capture chlorophyll, an important chemical needed for photosynthesis. Chloroplasts also take water, carbon dioxide, oxygen and glucose. The chlorophyll is taken to the stroma, where carbon dioxide and water mix together to make
According to scientists, photosynthesis is “the process by which green plants and some other organisms use sunlight to synthesize foods from carbon dioxide and water. Photosynthesis in plants generally involves the green pigment chlorophyll and generates oxygen as a byproduct.” ("pho•to•syn•the•sis,")