Question

Which of the following gave the term biosphere?
A) Ernst Haeckel
B) Arthur Tansley
C) Elton
D) Eduard Suess

Answer 1

Hint: Earth's environment sphere includes the atmosphere, the hydrosphere, the lithosphere, and the biosphere. The biosphere is a global ecosystem composed of living organisms called biota and the abiotic also called non-living factors from which they derive energy and nutrients.

Complete answer:
The biosphere is a system characterized by the continuous cycling of matter and flow of solar energy in which certain large molecules and cells are self-reproducing. Water is a major predisposing factor for all living beings. The various elements like carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, phosphorus, and sulphur, when combined forms proteins, lipids, carbohydrates, and nucleic acids, provide the building blocks, the fuel, and the direction for the creation of life.

Energy flow is required to maintain the structure of organisms by the formation and splitting of phosphate bonds in energy-rich molecules. Organisms are cellular in nature and always contain some sort of enclosing membrane structure, and all have nucleic acids that store and transmit genetic information from one generation to another.

- The term "biosphere" was coined by geologist Eduard Suess in 1875 and he defined it as the place on Earth's surface where life dwells.
- Ernst Haeckel- He was a German naturalist and zoologist. He proposed the statement “ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny”. He also coined several terms used for the classification of organisms.
- Arthur Tansley- He was an English Botanist. He coined the term ecosystem.
- Elton- He was an English ecologist who gave his own definition of niche.

Thus, the correct answer is option ‘D’ i.e, Eduard Suess.

Note: The geosphere consists of the lithosphere (the rock and soil), the hydrosphere (the water), and the atmosphere (the air). All life on Earth depends ultimately upon green plants and upon the water. Plants utilize sunlight by photosynthesis to produce the food upon which animals feed and to provide oxygen as a by-product for respiration.