A student makes a table for the carbon cycle and the phosphorus cycle…
Contributed by StemPy LabTry it on paper first. A hint, the key idea and the worked solution are here when you need them.
A student makes a table for the carbon cycle and the phosphorus cycle. Complete it.
- What is the type of cycle, gaseous or sedimentary, for each?
- What is the main reservoir of each?
- Which of the two has a respiratory release into the atmosphere?
- Which cycle is faster for an atom of the exchange pool, and why?
Need a reminder? The key ideaShow
Carbon has a gaseous cycle, with its reservoir in the atmosphere and the ocean. Phosphorus has a sedimentary cycle, with its reservoir in rock, and no respiratory release into the air. For a pool in balance, .
The worked solution
Have you tried it?
Work it out on paper first. It is fine to get stuck or make a mistake: that is how we learn. When you are ready, go through the solution one step at a time, and check each step against your own.
Step 1. (a) Carbon: gaseous. Phosphorus: sedimentary.
Step 2. (b) Carbon: the atmosphere and the ocean (and the rocks and fuels for long term storage). Phosphorus: rock.
Step 3. (c) Carbon only. There is no respiratory release of phosphorus into the atmosphere.
Step 4. (d) The carbon cycle is faster. Its carbon is exchanged with the air by photosynthesis and respiration in a few years. Phosphorus that is washed to the sea is buried in sediments, and returns only after the sediments are lifted up over millions of years.
Answer: (a) carbon gaseous, phosphorus sedimentary; (b) air and ocean, rock; (c) carbon; (d) carbon, because of the gas phase.
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