Summary of 8.4

Concept 8.4 - Photosynthesis has a global impact.

Key Terms:

carbon cycle- process by which carbon moves from inorganic to organic compounds and back

greenhouse effect- process by which atmospheric gases trap heat close to Earth's surface and prevent it from escaping into space

Summary:

* after the process of photosynthesis, the product will be inorganic carbon dioxide to organic compounds
* photosynthetic organisms make about 160 billion metric tons of organic material per year which is about equal to 80 trillion copies of this book
* key element for carbon cycle - carbon dioxide
* plants use carbon dioxide to make sugars during the photosynthesis
* if there don't have enough carbon dioxide, the earth will be a lot warmer

Concept Check:

1. Give an example of carbon moving from an inorganic compound to an organic compound in the carbon cycle. Give an example of carbon moving from an organic to an inorganic compound.Grass are carbon moving from an inorganic compound to an organic compound and buffaloes are cabon moving from an organic to an inorganic compound.

2. How is carbon dioxide important to Earth's climate?
If there have not enough carbon dioxide to Earth's climate, the temperature will go higher by the sun's heat which won't bounce back to the space really often.