Natural Resources
Natural Resources
Resources on the Earth
Biosphere: The whole combination of animals, plants and non-living beings which by their interaction make the planet earth a live and vibrant place is called biosphere.
Biotic Components: Living things constitute the biotic component of the biosphere.
Abiotic Components: The air, the water and the soil form the non-living or a biotic component of the biosphere. The air is called the hygrosphere, the water is hydrosphere and the soil is called lithosphere.
Air
Air is a mixture of many gases like nitrogen, oxygen, carbon dioxide and water vapour. All living beings need oxygen to break down glucose molecules and get energy for their activities. This results in the production of carbon dioxide. Another process which results in the consumption of oxygen and the concomitant production of carbon dioxide is combustion. This includes not just human activities, which burn fuels to get energy, but also forest fires. Despite this, the percentage of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere is a mere fraction of a percent because of carbon dioxide fixation.
Carbon Dioxide Fixation
(i) Green plants convert carbon dioxide into glucose in the presence of Sunlight and
(ii) Many marine animals use carbonates dissolved in sea-water to make their shells.
THE ROLE OF THE ATMOSPHERE IN CLIMATE CONTROL
Atmosphere covers the Earth, like a blanket. We know that air is a bad conductor of heat. The atmosphere keeps the average temperature of the Earth fairly steady during the day and even during the course of the whole year. The atmosphere prevents the sudden increase in temperature during the daylight hours. And during the night, it slows down the escape of heat into outer space. The moon, which is about the same distance from the Sun that the Earth is, with no atmosphere, the temperature ranges from –190º C to 110º C.
THE MOVEMENT OF AIR: WINDS
These phenomena are the result of changes that take place in our atmosphere due to the heating of
Resources on the Earth
Biosphere: The whole combination of animals, plants and non-living beings which by their interaction make the planet earth a live and vibrant place is called biosphere.
Biotic Components: Living things constitute the biotic component of the biosphere.
Abiotic Components: The air, the water and the soil form the non-living or a biotic component of the biosphere. The air is called the hygrosphere, the water is hydrosphere and the soil is called lithosphere.
Air
Air is a mixture of many gases like nitrogen, oxygen, carbon dioxide and water vapour. All living beings need oxygen to break down glucose molecules and get energy for their activities. This results in the production of carbon dioxide. Another process which results in the consumption of oxygen and the concomitant production of carbon dioxide is combustion. This includes not just human activities, which burn fuels to get energy, but also forest fires. Despite this, the percentage of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere is a mere fraction of a percent because of carbon dioxide fixation.
Carbon Dioxide Fixation
(i) Green plants convert carbon dioxide into glucose in the presence of Sunlight and
(ii) Many marine animals use carbonates dissolved in sea-water to make their shells.
THE ROLE OF THE ATMOSPHERE IN CLIMATE CONTROL
Atmosphere covers the Earth, like a blanket. We know that air is a bad conductor of heat. The atmosphere keeps the average temperature of the Earth fairly steady during the day and even during the course of the whole year. The atmosphere prevents the sudden increase in temperature during the daylight hours. And during the night, it slows down the escape of heat into outer space. The moon, which is about the same distance from the Sun that the Earth is, with no atmosphere, the temperature ranges from –190º C to 110º C.
THE MOVEMENT OF AIR: WINDS
These phenomena are the result of changes that take place in our atmosphere due to the heating of