if the greenhouse is sealed from the outside atmosphere, how would you predict this isolated system to differ from the carbon cycle of the outside world? remember that this closed system only contains plants. drag each variable into the appropriate column.
movement of carbon from the atmosphere to living organisms
movement of carbon from living organisms to the atmosphere
long - term carbon storage in the atmosphere
long - term carbon storage in living organisms
increase
decrease
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# Brief Explanations:
1. **Movement of carbon from the atmosphere to living organisms**: In a sealed greenhouse with only plants, plants perform photosynthesis (taking in atmospheric CO₂). But since the system is closed and plants will eventually respire or decompose (but only plants are present), initially, photosynthesis takes CO₂ from the atmosphere to plants. However, over time, as plants respire or die (and decompose, but in a closed system with only plants, decomposition would be limited, but let's analyze each part): Wait, actually, let's break down each variable:
   - **Movement of carbon from the atmosphere to living organisms**: Plants take in CO₂ from the atmosphere via photosynthesis. In the outside world, there are other sources/sinks, but in the sealed greenhouse (only plants), the atmospheric CO₂ is taken up by plants. But as plants respire, they release CO₂. However, the "movement from atmosphere to living organisms" (photosynthesis) – in the sealed system, the atmospheric CO₂ is being used by plants. But if we compare to the outside world (which has more sources like fossil fuel burning, etc.), in the sealed greenhouse, the atmospheric CO₂ available for plants to take in: initially, plants take it, but as plants grow and then maybe die, but let's think about each category. Wait, maybe a better approach:
   - **Movement of carbon from living organisms to the atmosphere**: Plants respire, releasing CO₂. In the outside world, animals also respire, but in the sealed greenhouse, only plants respire. However, the rate: in the outside world, there are more organisms, but in the sealed greenhouse, plants will respire. But let's think about the balance.
   - **Long - term carbon storage in the atmosphere**: In the outside world, long - term storage in the atmosphere is small, but in the sealed greenhouse, as plants take in CO₂ (photosynthesis) and release it (respiration), but if plants die and decompose (slowly, since no decomposers maybe? Wait, the problem says "only contains plants". So no decomposers. So when plants die, their carbon is stored in their biomass. So:
     - **Movement of carbon from the atmosphere to living organisms (photosynthesis)**: In the sealed system, plants take in atmospheric CO₂. But in the outside world, there are other processes. However, in the sealed greenhouse, the atmospheric CO₂ is being used by plants. But if we consider the "movement" – in the outside world, this movement is balanced by other processes, but in the sealed system, as plants grow, they take in CO₂. But wait, the question is how the isolated system (sealed greenhouse with only plants) differs from the outside world. Let's analyze each variable:
       - **Movement of carbon from the atmosphere to living organisms**: In the outside world, this includes plants, but also maybe some other uptake (e.g., ocean uptake). In the sealed greenhouse, only plants take up CO₂ from the atmosphere. But over time, as plants respire, they release CO₂. However, the initial movement: when the system is sealed, the atmospheric CO₂ is taken up by plants (photosynthesis). But if we think about the "movement" rate: in the outside world, there are more sources of CO₂ (fossil fuels) and more sinks. In the sealed greenhouse, the atmospheric CO₂ available for plants to take in: as plants grow, they take in CO₂, so the movement from atmosphere to living organisms – in the sealed system, compared to the outside world, maybe this movement is limited by the amount of atmospheric CO₂. But perhaps a better way:
       - **Movement of carbon from living organisms to the atmosphere (respiration)**: In the outside world, animals and plants respire. In the sealed greenhouse, only plants respire. So the amount of carbon moving from living organisms (plants) to the atmosphere: in the outside world, more organisms (animals) respire, so in the sealed greenhouse, this movement would be less? Wait, no – the question is how the isolated system differs. Let's re - evaluate:
         - **Movement of carbon from the atmosphere to living organisms**: In the outside world, there are processes like fossil fuel burning that add CO₂ to the atmosphere, and plants take it in. In the sealed greenhouse, there's no new CO₂ from outside, so the atmospheric CO₂ is being taken up by plants. But as plants respire, they release it. However, the "movement from atmosphere to living organisms" (photosynthesis) – in the sealed system, the atmospheric CO₂ is being used by plants. But if we compare to the outside world, in the outside world, the atmospheric CO₂ is replenished by fossil fuels, etc., while in the sealed greenhouse, the atmospheric CO₂ is only from plant respiration and initial amount. So the movement from atmosphere to living organisms: in the sealed system, as plants grow, they take in CO₂, so this movement happens, but in the outside world, there are more sources of CO₂ for plants to take in. Wait, maybe I'm overcomplicating. Let's use the following logic:
           - **Movement of carbon from the atmosphere to living organisms**: Decrease. Because in the outside world, there are more sources of CO₂ (e.g., human activities, animal respiration) that keep the atmospheric CO₂ at a level that plants can take in. In the sealed greenhouse, the atmospheric CO₂ is being taken up by plants, and there's no external source to replenish it. So the amount of CO₂ available in the atmosphere for plants to take in (movement from atmosphere to living organisms) will decrease over time as plants use it up.
           - **Movement of carbon from living organisms to the atmosphere**: Decrease. In the outside world, there are animals, decomposers, and more plants, so more respiration. In the sealed greenhouse, only plants respire, so the amount of carbon moving from living organisms (plants) to the atmosphere is less than in the outside world.
           - **Long - term carbon storage in the atmosphere**: Decrease. In the outside world, long - term storage in the atmosphere is small, but in the sealed greenhouse, as plants take in CO₂ (photosynthesis) and store it in their biomass (long - term storage in living organisms), the atmospheric CO₂ (long - term storage) will decrease because the CO₂ is being used by plants.
           - **Long - term carbon storage in living organisms**: Increase. In the outside world, carbon is stored in living organisms, but also in soil, fossils, etc. In the sealed greenhouse, as plants grow (photosynthesis takes in CO₂ and stores it in plant biomass) and there are no decomposers to break down the dead plants (since only plants are present), the carbon in living organisms (plant biomass) will increase over time (as plants grow and then maybe die, but without decomposers, the dead plants' carbon is still in the system as biomass, so long - term storage in living organisms increases.

2. Now, let's match each variable to Increase or Decrease:
   - **Movement of carbon from the atmosphere to living organisms**: Decrease (because atmospheric CO₂ is used up by plants with no external replenishment, so less CO₂ available to move from atmosphere to living organisms compared to outside world).
   - **Movement of carbon from living organisms to the atmosphere**: Decrease (only plants respire, fewer organisms than outside world, so less carbon moves from living organisms to atmosphere).
   - **Long - term carbon storage in the atmosphere**: Decrease (CO₂ is taken up by plants and stored in living organisms, so atmospheric storage decreases).
   - **Long - term carbon storage in living organisms**: Increase (plants take in CO₂ and store it in their biomass; with no decomposers, the carbon in living organisms (plant biomass) accumulates over time).

# Answer:
- Movement of carbon from the atmosphere to living organisms: Decrease
- Movement of carbon from living organisms to the atmosphere: Decrease
- Long - term carbon storage in the atmosphere: Decrease
- Long - term carbon storage in living organisms: Increase

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