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In a sealed terrarium, how does the CO2 and O2 recycling process take place?
Question Date: 2013-12-10
Answer 1:

Great question!
In a sealed terrarium, CO2 and water (H2O) (in the presence of photons from sunlight) are converted into sugars (CH2O)n and oxygen (O2) by plants through a process call photosynthesis. Plants release litter (dead plant material) that gets decomposed (eaten and metabolized) by small organisms (like bacteria and fungi) in the terrarium’s soil. This process releases CO2 back to the terrarium air and consumes O2 (it also releases nutrients which plants take up by the roots to grow). Plants also metabolize some of the sugars they produce (they breathe too!), therefore also consuming some O2.


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