Question

S.A.T
what is biosphere​

Answer 1

Answer:

biosphere

Explanation:

the part of the earth’s surface and atmosphere in which plants and animals can live.

Answer 2

made up of the parts of Earth where life exists. The biosphere extends from the deepest root systems of trees to the dark environment of ocean trenches, to lush rain forests and high mountaintops.

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RESOURCE LIBRARY

ENCYCLOPEDIC ENTRY

Biosphere

The biosphere is made up of the parts of Earth where life exists. The biosphere extends from the deepest root systems of trees to the dark environment of ocean trenches, to lush rain forests and high mountaintops.

GRADES

5 - 12+

SUBJECTS

Earth Science, Geography, Physical Geography

CONTENTS

12 Images

28

IMAGE

Moss Beach Marine Reserve

Tide pools, like this one at Moss Beach Marine Reserve, California, are part of the biosphere. The biosphere is made up of the parts of Earth where life exists—all ecosystems. The biosphere extends from the deepest root systems of trees, to the dark environments of ocean trenches, to lush rain forests, high mountaintops, and transition zones like this one, where ocean and terrestrial ecosystems meet.

PHOTOGRAPH BY ROSANNE ATENCIO SEVILLA, MYSHOT

Tide pools, like this one at Moss Beach Marine Reserve, California, are part of the biosphere. The biosphere is made up of the parts of Earth where life exists—all ecosystems. The biosphere extends from the deepest root systems of trees, to the dark environments of ocean trenches, to lush rain forests, high mountaintops, and transition zones like this one, where ocean and terrestrial ecosystems meet.

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ENCYCLOPEDIC ENTRY VOCABULARY

The biosphere is made up of the parts of Earth where life exists. The biosphere extends from the deepest root systems of trees, to the dark environment of ocean trenches, to lush rain forests and high mountaintops.

Scientists describe the Earth in terms of spheres. The solid surface layer of the Earth is the lithosphere. The atmosphere is the layer of air that stretches above the lithosphere. The Earth’s water—on the surface, in the ground, and in the air—makes up the hydrosphere.

Since life exists on the ground, in the air, and in the water, the biosphere overlaps all these spheres. Although the biosphere measures about 20 kilometers (12 miles) from top to bottom, almost all life exists between about 500 meters (1,640 feet) below the ocean’s surface to about 6 kilometers (3.75 miles) above sea level.

Origin of the Biosphere

The biosphere has existed for about 3.5 billion years. The biosphere’s earliest life-forms, called prokaryotes, survived without oxygen. Ancient prokaryotes included single-celled organisms such as bacteria and archaea.

Some prokaryotes developed a unique chemical process. They were able to use sunlight to make simple sugars and oxygen out of water and carbon dioxide, a process called photosynthesis. These photosynthetic organisms were so plentiful that they changed the biosphere. Over a long period of time, the atmosphere developed a mix of oxygen and other gases that could sustain new forms of life.