Question

In each example, the hydrosphere is interacting with another subsystem of Earth. Identify the other subsystem.

Answer 1

The correct matches are:

1. Carbon dioxide in the air dissolves in ocean water - Atmosphere

2. Flowing water dissolves a variety of minerals - Geosphere

3. Transpiration is a process in which water evaporates from the leaves of plants - Biosphere

4. Lightning allows nitrogen atoms to dissolve in rain - Atmosphere

All of the natural cycles interact with more than one sphere, very often with all of them. This is the case with the water cycle, thus the basis of the hydrosphere. The water cycle is a cycle through which the water interacts with all other spheres. The water is used, stored, and released by the flora and fauna, thus it interacts with the biosphere. It is interacting with the geosphere by eroding the rocks. It moves through the atmosphere where it can become a form of precipitation, as well as interact with other substances, thus interact with the atmosphere as well.