[SENAH]

What is Oxygen Cycle?

A biogeochemical cycle is the movement of matter through the biotic and the
abiotic spheres of the ecosystem.

Like the nitrogen, carbon, and water cycles, the oxygen cycle is a
biogeochemical cycle.

In the oxygen cycle, oxygen atoms present in the earth circulate through a series
of intricate processes.

The oxygen cycle describes the movement of oxygen within and between its three main
reservoirs:
the atmosphere (air),
the biosphere (the global sum of all ecosystems)
and the lithosphere (Earth's crust)
[SANDRA]
THE ATMOSPHERE
The Atmosphere is of course the region of gases that lies above the Earths surface and
it is one of the largest reservoirs of free oxygen on earth

Oxygen is freed by the process called photolysis. This is when high energy
sunlight breaks apart oxygen bearing molecules to produce free oxygen.

One of the most well-known photolysis is the ozone cycle. O2 oxygen molecule is
broken down to atomic oxygen by the ultra violet radiation of sunlight. This free
oxygen then recombines with existing O2 molecules to make O3 or ozone.

This cycle is important because it helps to shield the Earth from the majority of
harmful ultra violet radiation turning it to harmless heat before it reaches the
Earths surface.

THE BIOSPHERE
The Biosphere is the sum of all the Earths ecosystems.

In the biosphere the main cycles are respiration and photosynthesis.

Respiration is when animals and humans breathe consuming oxygen to be used

in metabolic process and exhaling carbon dioxide.

Photosynthesis is the reverse of this process and is mainly done by plants and
plankton.

[SINO PA KAMEMBER]
THE LITHOSPHERE
. The largest reservoir of oxygen is the lithosphere.

The lithosphere mostly fixes oxygen in minerals such as silicates and oxides.

A portion of oxygen is freed by chemical weathering. When a oxygen bearing

mineral is exposed to the elements a chemical reaction occurs that wears it down
and in the process produces free oxygen.

Most of the time the process is automatic all it takes is a pure form of an element
coming in contact with oxygen such as what happens when iron rusts. A portion of
oxygen is freed by chemical weathering. When a oxygen bearing mineral is exposed to
the elements a chemical reaction occurs that wears it down and in the process
produces free oxygen.
These are the main oxygen cycles and each play an important role in helping to protect
and maintain life on the Earth.

[DARYL]
Oxygen Cycle
Oxygen, like carbon and hydrogen, is a basic element of life. In addition, in the form of
O3, ozone, it provides protection of life by filtering out the sun's UV rays as they enter the
stratosphere.
Plants mark the beginning of the oxygen cycle. Plants are able to use the energy of
sunlight to convert carbon dioxide and water into carbohydrates and oxygen in a
process called photosynthesis.

This means that plants "breathe" in carbon dioxide and "breathe" out oxygen.
Animals form the other half of the oxygen cycle. We breathe in oxygen which we use to
break carbohydrates down into energy in a process called respiration. Carbon dioxide
produced during respiration is breathed out by animals into the air. So oxygen is
created in plants and used up by animals, as is shown in the presentation. But the
oxygen cycle is not actually quite that simple. Plants must break carbohydrates down
into energy just as animals do.

[EUGENE]
How do plants contribute?

The oxygen cycle begins with plants and photosynthesis.

Through photosynthesis, plants convert the energy from the sun and water into
carbohydrates and oxygen.

During the day, plants hold onto a bit of the oxygen which they produced in
photosynthesis and use that oxygen to break down carbohydrates. But in order
to maintain their metabolism and continue respiration at night, the plants must
absorb oxygen from the air and give off carbon dioxide just as animals do. Even
though plants produce approximately ten times as much oxygen during the day
as they consume at night, the night-time consumption of oxygen by plants can
create low oxygen conditions in some water habitats.

[ANGELICA]
How do water contribute?

Oxygen in water is known as dissolved oxygen. When water runs over rocks,
oxygen enters and creates a lot of high surface area which allows oxygen to
transfer from the air into the water very quickly.

How do living organisms contribute?

Humans and animals breathe in oxygen and breathe out carbon dioxide through
their processes of metabolism, sparking the process of photosynthesis, once
again linking back to the plants contribution to the oxygen cycle.

Maintaining Oxygen Cycle

There has been speculation by scientific experts that the oxygen cycle may be
disturbed, and there may come a time when the amount of carbon dioxide is very
large and there are too few plants to convert it into Oxygen

It is imperative that we reduce pollution and protect our environment in order to

maintain a well-functioning oxygen cycle.