Chapter 8.4

Photosynthesis has a global impact.
Summary
-through photosynthesis, producers convert inorganic carbon dioxide to organic compounds and consumers obtain the organic compounds by eating them, and it may be eaten by another consumer
-cellular respiration by both producers and consumers return carbon dioxide into the atmosphere
- carbon dioxide is the main element
- plants use carbon dioxide to make sugars in photosynthesis
- most organisms give off carbon dioxide as waste in cellular respiration
- carbon dioxide made up 0.03 % of the Earth's atmosphere
-carbon dioxide in the atmosphere traps heat from the sun that would otherwise escape from Earth back into space
- greenhouse effect keeps the average temperature 10 degrees celsius warmer
Vocabulary
carbon cycle- the process by which carbon moves from inorganic to organic compounds and back
greenhouse effect- an important property that keeps the world climate warm enough for living things

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.
An example of carbon moving from an inorganic compound to an organic compound in the carbon cycle is a Cape buffalo eating grass. An example of carbon moving from an organic to an inorganic compound is a Cape buffalo being eaten by a lioness.
2. How is carbon dioxide important to Earth's climate?
Carbon dioxide keeps the Earth's climate 10 degrees celsius warmer and it traps heat from the sun.