Figure 12 shows the global movement of carbon into or out of the atmosphere - Edexcel - GCSE Biology - Question 10 - 2019 - Paper 1
Question 10
Figure 12 shows the global movement of carbon into or out of the atmosphere.
| process | movement of carbon into or out of the atmosphere in gigaton... show full transcript
Worked Solution & Example Answer:Figure 12 shows the global movement of carbon into or out of the atmosphere - Edexcel - GCSE Biology - Question 10 - 2019 - Paper 1
Step 1
Calculate total carbon into the atmosphere
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Answer
To find the total carbon added to the atmosphere, sum the processes that introduce carbon:
Photosynthesis: 120.1 Gt
Respiration: 119.6 Gt
Ocean Uptake: 92.8 Gt
Combustion of Fossil Fuels: 6.4 Gt
The total is:
120.1+119.6+92.8+6.4=338.9extGt
Step 2
Calculate total carbon removed from the atmosphere
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Answer
Next, we consider the processes that remove carbon from the atmosphere:
Ocean Loss: 90.0 Gt
Respiration: 119.6 Gt (Note: respiration also leads to CO2 emissions but here it should be considered as removal from the atmosphere.)
The total removal is:
90.0+119.6=209.6extGt
Step 3
Net mass of carbon added to the atmosphere
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Answer
Finally, calculate the net mass of carbon added to the atmosphere by subtracting the total carbon removed from the total carbon added:
338.9extGt−209.6extGt=129.3extGt
Thus, the net mass of carbon added to the atmosphere each year is 129.3 gigatonnes.
