In 1960, electrical engineer David Latimer took a 10 gallon…
In 1960, electrical engineer David Latimer took a 10 gallon glass jar, added compost (soil rich in organic material being digested by a wide assortment of microbial life), a spiderwort seedling, and some water, and sealed it. He then placed it in his house where it could get indirect sunlight. He opened it once in 1972 to add some additional water but has otherwise kept it sealed since then. This jar represents perhaps the oldest known sealed ecosystem, in which the organisms present balance each other out, and nutrients are continually cycled between them. Photo credit: Daily Mail Copyright 2025 by Edmonds College Department of Biology. All rights reserved. Online sharing or distribution is prohibited. For exam use only in BIOL& 211: Majors Cellular Biology at Edmonds College. Outside help is not allowed. 1. What organisms and processes are producing carbon dioxide in this system, making it available as gaseous CO2 for the plant to fix? 2. In addition to fixing CO2 in order to make sugars, does the plant produce CO2? If yes, from what process? If no, why not? 3. What gas is the plant emitting that is needed by its other partners for their metabolic processes, and what is this gas turned into as a result of those processes? Please label your answers 1., 2., and 3. and explain each part fully and clearly.