Lecture 11

Question 1

Why is the carbon structure makes its chemical properties an extremely useful element for forming molecules?

Answer 1

1. Carbon can form 4 strong bonds with other elements
2. Carbon bonds can enter ring formation
3. It can form a wide range of versatile and diverse molecules (from diamond to fats)

Question 2

What can help or is required to break a carbon bond?

Answer 2

• Energy is required to break it
• Increased temperatures allow for carbon bonds to break
  (with oxygen it becomes a combustion reaction)

Question 3

What’s an exothermic reaction (in the case of carbon)

Answer 3

More energy is released by a broken carbon bond than it is needed to break the bond

Question 4

Carbon are …

Answer 4

• Can be very large molecules
• Can contain hundreds of hydrogen bonds
• It is a reservoir of stable energy
• A form of energy storage for life
• Central element of all organic compounds forming the physical structures of life
• Maintains the long term stability of the global climate

Question 5

What can the combustion of carbon do?

Answer 5

When large molecules of carbon are in combustion, they formed over geological time from dead plants and animals fossil fuels

Question 6

What is the only reason that we have a stable temperature that can maintain liquid water on the planet?

Answer 6

The presence of carbon in the atmosphere (essential for evolution and survival life)

Question 7

Why is carbon essential for life?

Answer 7

It is a central element of all organic compounds that form the physical structures of life, it is involved in energy acquisition and used in biological life; it maintains the long term stability of the global climate

Question 8

The movement of the carbon element through abiotic and biotic reservoirs on the planet

Answer 8

The carbon cycle

Question 9

A source of stored carbon

Answer 9

Rerservoir

Question 10

Reservoir which releases more carbon than it receives through linkages

Answer 10

Source

Question 11

Reservoir which receives more carbon than it releases through linkages

Answer 11

Sink

Question 12

Carbon is usually represented as ?

Answer 12

GT (Billion of tons) (1 GT = 3.666 Gt of CO2)

Question 13

What are values in carbon cycle

Answer 13

They are estimates

Question 14

The cycling of carbon between only the ocean, rocks, and the atmosphere (all inorganic reservoirs), it takes place on the order of millions of years, and it existed before there was a biological life on the planet

Answer 14

Inorganic carbon cycle

Question 15

Name 3 reservoirs

Answer 15

1. Oceans
2. Atmosphere
3. Rocks

Question 16

Name the 6 main linkages (PreCheMo DeS VolS)

Answer 16

1. Precipitation
2. Chemical weathering
3. Moutain-building
4. Deposition
5. Solubility pump
6. Volcanism
   - Subduction

Question 17

Water moving from the atmosphere reservoir to terrestrial reservoirs, the CO2 in the atmosphere interacts with water vapor in the atmosphere forming carbonic acid
This carbonic acid falls with rainwater directly entering the oceans —> the carbonic acid falling with rain interact with minerals on rocks in the form of chemical weathering (the bicarbonate ions and calcium are eventually washed into the ocean)

Answer 17

Precipitation, first step in the inorganic carbon cycle

Question 18

The chemical breakdown of minerals, elements, ions, and molecules being released (which are some very important of the carbon cycle)
Products of chemical weathering depend on the initial chemical make-up of the mineral being weathered

Answer 18

Chemical weathering, second step in the inorganic carbon cycle

Question 19

What’s another way that carbon enters the ocean

Answer 19

Solubility pump is the other way

Question 20

Direct exchange between atmosphere and ocean of CO2, CO2 enters water, it doesn’t always stay CO2, it is soluble in water, where the ocean touches the atmosphere, CO2 dissolve in water, it reacts with water to produce a reversable reaction involving : Carbonic acid, bicarbonate ions, carbonate ions and H+

Answer 20

Solubility pump, third step in the inorganic carbon cycle

Question 21

Carbon transported to ocean reservoir by the three first steps of the inorganic carbon cycle, it does not remain in the form of carbonate ions, bicarbonate ions or carbonic acid, it enters the sedimentary rock reservoir for long term stable storage, it will deposits the sediments

Answer 21

Deposition, fourth step in the inorganic carbon cycle

Question 22

In the ocean calcium ions + carbonate ions = calcium carbonate

Answer 22

First step of deposition

Question 23

Calcium carbonate is made spontaneously in solution in the ocean

Answer 23

Second step of deposition

Question 24

Calcium carbonate deposits on the ocean floor, it will form mineral deposit of calcium carbonate (carbonate rocks)

Answer 24

Third step of deposition

Question 25

Melting of rocks as a result of intense heat from the interior of the planet (often during subduction of a tectonic plate) melted rock --> rises to the surface reaching the crust and emerging into the atmosphere

Answer 25

Volcanism

Question 26

When one plate tectonic is pushed under another as two tectonic plates are forced together

Answer 26

Subduction

Question 27

Chemical composition of rocks undergoing melting will produce different by-products (carbonate rocks release CO2 when broken down, CO2 gas will be released along with heat and melted minerals during volcanic activity, It also produces new rock (cooling lava), the newly exposed rocks to the surface has a much greater amount of carbonate calcium, infrequent but regular

Answer 27

Volcanism in the carbon cycle

Question 28

Formation of elevated regions of rocks, often the rocks haven't been exposed to precipitation, can form between tectonic plates during continental drift, can form as a result of volcanism, always interacts with the carbon cycle by exposing new rock to chemical weathering (it has a greater impact on global climate if occurring within the equatorial region (because there's more rainfall in the equatorial region)

Answer 28

Mountain-building event

Question 29

Over long time scales, the inorganic aspects of the carbon cycle are ?

Answer 29

Self-regulating