Biology

 

Biology is the study of life from a scientific standpoint. It is a broad-ranging natural science with various unifying themes that unite it as a single, coherent topic. All living organisms, for example, are made up of cells that process hereditary information contained in DNA and passed down to future generations. Evolution, which explains the unity and diversity of life, is another fundamental concept. Finally, all living organisms require energy in order to move, grow, reproduce, and manage their own internal environment.

Biologists can investigate life at many different levels of organization. From a cell's molecular biology through the morphology and physiology of plants and animals, as well as population evolution. As a result, biology is divided into several subdisciplines, each of which is defined by the nature of its study objectives and the instruments it employs. Biologists, like other scientists, use the scientific method to learn about the world around them by making observations, posing questions, generating hypotheses, and conducting experiments.

The diversity of life on Earth, which began more than 3.7 billion years ago, is enormous. From prokaryotic species like archaea and bacteria through eukaryotic organisms like protists, fungi, plants, and animals, biologists have attempted to explore and classify the diverse forms of life. These numerous living species contribute to an ecosystem's biodiversity by playing specialized roles in nutrient and energy cycling. 

Avocado

 

The avocado tree, which is said to have originated in south-central Mexico, belongs to the Lauraceae flowering plant family. The plant's fruit, often known as an avocado (or avocado pear or alligator pear), is a huge berry with a single enormous seed. Avocado trees are somewhat self-pollinating, and they're frequently propagated by grafting to ensure consistent fruit quality and quantity.

Avocados are grown in numerous countries with tropical and Mediterranean climates, with Mexico leading the way as the world's biggest avocado producer in 2019, producing 32% of the global total.

When mature, the fruit of domestic types has a buttery flesh. Avocados have green, brown, purplish, or black skin when ripe, and can be pear-shaped, egg-shaped, or spherical, depending on the variety. The fruits are harvested when still immature and matured after harvesting.  

The fruit of horticultural cultivars has a markedly higher fat content than most other fruit, mostly monounsaturated fat, and as such serves as an important staple in the diet of consumers who have limited access to other fatty foods (high-fat meats and fish, dairy products). Having a high smoke point, avocado oil is expensive compared to common salad and cooking oils, and is mostly used for salads or dips. 

Eliot Ness

 

Eliot Ness was a Prohibition agent in the United States, most known for his efforts to apprehend Al Capone and enforce Prohibition in Chicago. He was the leader of The Untouchables, a well-known Chicago-based law enforcement organization. His co-authorship of The Untouchables, a popular autobiography that was published shortly after his death, spawned multiple television and film adaptations that cemented Ness's posthumous reputation as an incorruptible crime fighter.

The Untouchables is a 1957 autobiographical memoir co-written by Eliot Ness and Oscar Fraley. The book follows Eliot Ness, a federal agent with the Bureau of Prohibition, as he fights crime in Chicago in the late 1920s and early 1930s with the support of a special team of agents nicknamed The Untouchables who were handpicked for their incorruptibility.

The book's main section is presented in first-person anecdotal form, as if taken directly from Ness's recollections; a foreword and afterword by Fraley provide historical context. In truth, although Ness authored a lengthy summary that Fraley used as a starting point, Fraley conducted most of the writing, made himself accessible for interviews, made his scrapbooks and other artefacts available for research purposes, and authorized the final version of the text shortly before his death.

The Untouchables, a popular television series that aired from 1959 to 1963, and the 1987 film The Untouchables were both inspired by the book. 

Treaty of Versailles

 

The Treaty of Versailles was the most important of the peace treaties that brought World War I to an end. The Treaty ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June 1919 in Versailles, exactly five years after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand which directly led to World War I. The other Central Powers on the German side of World War I signed separate treaties. Although the armistice, signed on 11 November 1918, ended the actual fighting, it took six months of Allied negotiations at the Paris Peace Conference to conclude the peace treaty. The treaty was registered by the Secretariat of the League of Nations on 21 October 1919.

Of the many provisions in the treaty, one of the most important and controversial required "Germany to accept the responsibility of Germany and her allies for causing all the loss and damage" during the war (the other members of the Central Powers signed treaties containing similar articles). This article, Article 231, later became known as the War Guilt clause. The treaty required Germany to disarm, make ample territorial concessions, and pay reparations to certain countries that had formed the Entente powers. In 1921 the total cost of these reparations was assessed at 132 billion marks (then $31.4 billion or £6.6 billion, roughly equivalent to US $442 billion or UK £284 billion in 2018). At the time economists, notably John Maynard Keynes (a British delegate to the Paris Peace Conference), predicted that the treaty was too harsh—a "Carthaginian peace"—and said the reparations figure was excessive and counter-productive, views that, since then, have been the subject of ongoing debate by historians and economists from several countries. On the other hand, prominent figures on the Allied side such as French Marshal Ferdinand Foch criticized the treaty for treating Germany too leniently.

Royal Flush

 

Poker is a card games in which players wager on which hand is the best according to the rules of the game in ways that are comparable to these rankings. Poker games differ in deck construction, number of cards in play, number dealt face up or face down, and number shared by all players, but they all include rules that include one or more rounds of betting.

In the majority of modern poker games, the initial round of betting starts with one or more players placing a forced wager (the blind or ante). In traditional poker, each player bets based on how valuable they perceive their hand is in comparison to the other players. The action then moves clockwise, with each player having to either match (or "call") the previous stake's maximum sum, or fold, forfeiting the amount bet thus far as well as any further involvement in the hand. When a player matches a wager, he or she has the option to "raise" (increase) the stake. When all players have either called or folded the last stake, the betting round is over. On any round in which all but one player folds, the remaining player takes the pot without having to expose their hand. If more than one player is still in the game after the last betting round, a showdown is held in which the hands are disclosed and the player with the best hand wins the pot.

With the exception of early forced bets, money is only freely put into the pot by a player who believes the bet has a positive expected value or is attempting to bluff other players for various strategic reasons. While the outcome of any given hand is influenced by chance, the players' long-term expectations are dictated by their behaviors, which are based on probability, psychology, and game theory.  

With wildcards, the highest hand is 5 of a kind.  Without wildcards, the highest hand is a Royal Flush.  A royal flush consists of the cards, Ace, King, Queen, Jack, Ten in all the same suit.

Gene Wilder

 

Mel Brooks directed Blazing Saddles, a satirical Western black comedy film released in 1974. Brooks, Andrew Bergman, Richard Pryor, Norman Steinberg, and Alan Uger wrote the picture, which stars Cleavon Little and Gene Wilder and is based on Bergman's story and draught. The picture got mostly positive reviews from critics and audiences, received three Academy Award nominations, and is currently placed No. 6 on the American Film Institute's 100 Years...100 Laughs list.

Governor William J. Le Petomane, a Yiddish-speaking Native American chief, and "a director" in line to assist invade Rock Ridge (a hint to Hitchcock) are among Brooks' supporting roles; he also dubs lines for one of Lili Von Shtupp's backing group. Slim Pickens, Alex Karras, and David Huddleston star among Brooks regulars Dom DeLuise, Madeline Kahn, and Harvey Korman in the supporting ensemble. Count Basie, the bandleader, makes a cameo appearance with his orchestra.

The Library of Congress designated Blazing Saddles as "culturally, historically, or aesthetically important" in 2006, and it was chosen for preservation in the National Film Registry. 

Ratatouille

 

Ratatouille is a computer-animated comedy film released by Walt Disney Pictures in 2007. It was directed by Pixar and produced by Pixar. It was Pixar's eighth feature, written and directed by Brad Bird, who took over from Jan Pinkava in 2005, and produced by Brad Lewis, based on an original concept by Bird, Pinkava, and Jim Capobianco. The title alludes to the French delicacy ratatouille, which is served at the conclusion of the film, as well as the main character's animal type, a rat. The story follows Remy, a rat who aspires to be a chef and attempts to attain his objective by forging an alliance with the garbage guy of a Parisian restaurant.

Patton Oswalt portrays Remy, an anthropomorphic rat who is interested in cooking; Lou Romano portrays Alfredo Linguini, a young garbage boy who befriends Remy; Ian Holm portrays Skinner, Auguste Gusteau's head chef; Janeane Garofalo portrays Colette Tatou, a rôtisseur at Gusteau's restaurant and the staff's only female chef; Peter O'Toole portrays Anton Ego,

Ratatouille's development began in 2000, when Pinkava wrote the film's first concepts. Bird was approached in 2005, following Pinkava's departure from Pixar, to direct the film and revamp the story. Bird and part of the film's crew also went to Paris in search of inspiration. The crew consulted chefs from both France and the United States to create the food animation featured in the film. Lewis worked as an intern at Thomas Keller's The French Laundry, when Keller created the confit byaldi, which was featured in the film. The film's music, which is inspired by Paris, was composed by Michael Giacchino. 

Denver, Colorado

 

Colorado is a state in the Western United States' Mountain West sub region. It includes the majority of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the Colorado Plateau's northeastern section and the western edge of the Great Plains. Colorado is the eighth-largest and most populous state in the United States.

The Lindenmeier Site, which contains items dating from around 9200 BCE to 1000 BCE, has been occupied by Native Americans for more than 13,000 years; the eastern side of the Rocky Mountains was an important migration route for early peoples that migrated throughout the Americas. "Colorado" is derived from the Spanish term for "red-colored." On February 28, 1861, the Territory of Colorado was established, and on August 1, 1876, U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant signed Proclamation 230, admitting Colorado as the 38th state to the Union. Colorado is known as the "Centennial State" because it became a state exactly one hundred years after the United States Declaration of Independence was signed.

Wyoming is to the north, Nebraska is to the northeast, Kansas is to the east, Oklahoma is to the southeast, New Mexico is to the south, Utah is to the west, and the Four Corners is to the southwest. Mountains, woods, high plains, mesas, canyons, plateaus, rivers, and desert areas characterize Colorado's scenery. Colorado is located in the western and southwestern United States and is one of the Mountain States.

Denver is Colorado's capital and most populated city. Coloradans are the name given to residents of the state, while the term "Coloradoan" is occasionally used. Colorado is a rather rich state, with a household income rating of eighth in 2016 and a per capita income ranking of eleventh in 2010. Government and defense, mining, agriculture, tourism, and increasingly various types of manufacturing are all important sectors of the economy. Climate change is predicted to have a significant impact on Colorado's agriculture, forestry, and tourism industries, as temperatures rise and water supply decreases. 

Archangel Gabriel

 

Gabriel is an archangel in Abrahamic religions, originally mentioned in the Hebrew Bible.

Gabriel appears to the prophet Daniel in the Hebrew Bible to explain his visions. The archangel is also mentioned in the Book of Enoch and other early Jewish texts. Gabriel, along with archangel Michael, is described as Israel's guardian angel, defending its people from the angels of other nations.

The Annunciation traditions are told in Luke's Gospel, in which the angel Gabriel appears to Zechariah and the Virgin Mary, foretelling the births of John the Baptist and Jesus (Luke 1:11–38). Gabriel is revered as a saint by many Christian denominations, including Anglicanism, Eastern Orthodoxy, and Roman Catholicism. 

What is Romeo's Last Name in "Romeo and Juliet"?

 The Capulets and Montagues have a long history of bad blood in Shakespeare's famous play, "Romeo and Juliet." While most people know the titular lovers, the characters' families are just as important to the story. Interestingly, no other character in the play has both a first and a last name. Romeo's parents are only identified as Montague and Lady Montague, while everyone else is given a first name, or a formal title, like Prince Escalus and Friar Laurence. Like most things in Shakespearean dramas, this is likely a deliberate choice to further drive home the importance of the two major families in this star-crossed tragedy.

Source: Spark Notes|Date updated: June 3, 2021

What Does "et cetera" mean literally in Latin?

 The phrase "et cetera" is a Latin phrase that literally means "and the others." The word "et" means "and," and "cetera" is a plural of "ceterus," meaning "the other" or "the other part, that which remains." The phrase has been part of our language since the early 1400s. Before the 20th century, it was most commonly abbreviated as "&c." although etc. is now used more often.

Source: Etymonline|Date updated: May 21, 2001

Who Is the Author of "Alice In Wonderland"?

 

Lewis Carroll's novel Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (often shortened to Alice in Wonderland) was published in 1865. (the pseudonym of Charles Dodgson). It relates the story of Alice, a little girl who falls down a rabbit hole into a subterranean fantasy world full with strange, anthropomorphic creatures. It is widely regarded as one of the great works in the literary nonsense genre. The story toys with logic, resulting in enduring popularity among adults and children alike.

The storyline, structure, characters, and images of one of the best-known and most popular works of English-language fiction have had immense influence in popular culture and literature, especially in the fantasy genre. The text has been translated into at least 97 languages and has never gone out of print. Many adaptations for theatre, movie, radio, art, ballet, theme parks, board games, and video games have been made. Carroll followed up with Through the Looking-Glass in 1871, as well as a condensed version for young children, The Nursery "Alice," in 1890. 

Scotland Is A Country Where People Have the Most of What Colored Hair?

 

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and covers the northern third of the island of Great Britain. It shares a border with England to the south, and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, with the North Sea to the east and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the south-west. In addition to the mainland, the country has more than 790 islands, including the Northern Isles and the Hebrides.

The Kingdom of Scotland emerged as an independent sovereign state in the Early Middle Ages and continued to exist until 1707. By inheritance in 1603, James VI, King of Scots, became King of England and King of Ireland, thus forming a personal union of the three kingdoms. Scotland subsequently entered into a political union with the Kingdom of England on 1 May 1707 to create the new Kingdom of Great Britain. The union also created a new Parliament of Great Britain, which succeeded both the Parliament of Scotland and the Parliament of England. In 1801, Great Britain itself entered into a political union with the Kingdom of Ireland to create the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.

Less than 2% of the world's population have red hair. That's approximately 140 million people. Scotland boasts the highest percentage of natural redheads, with 13% (40% might carry the gene there) while Ireland comes in second with 10%.

What Was the Mexican Chili Pepper, "Jalapeno" Named After?

 

The jalapeno is a chili pepper pod cultivar of the genus Capsicum annuum that is medium in size. A ripe jalapeño chili measures 5–10 cm (2–4 in) in length and has a round, firm, smooth flesh that measures 25–38 mm (1–11+12 in) in width. It can have a pungency range of 3,500 to 8,000 Scoville heat units. It is commonly harvested and consumed when still green, but it is also allowed to fully mature and turn red, orange, or yellow on rare occasions. It has a larger range of flavors and is often milder than the Serrano pepper.

The ripe red jalapeño is known as huachinango, while the chile gordo, also known as cuaresmeo, is another name for the jalapeño . The name jalapeño comes from the Spanish word Xalapa (sometimes written Jalapa), which refers to the capital of Veracruz, Mexico, where the pepper was traditionally grown. The name Xalapa comes from the Nahuatl language. 

Who Played "The Silence of the Lamb's" 'Hannibal Lecter'?

 

The novelist Thomas Harris developed the character of Dr. Hannibal Lecter. Serial killer Hannibal Lecter feeds his victims. He was a respected forensic psychiatrist before his capture, and after his prison, FBI agents Clarice Starling and Will Graham contact him to assist them discover other serial killers.

In Harris's 1981 thriller Red Dragon, Lecter made his debut as a villain in a minor role. Manhunter (1986), starring Brian Cox as Hannibal Lecter, was based on the novel. The Silence of the Lambs (1988) included a larger part for Lecter, and Anthony Hopkins earned an Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in the 1991 film adaption. Hopkins played Lecter again in a 2001 adaptation of the 1999 novel Hannibal, in which he eludes arrest, and in a 2002 version of Red Dragon.

Hannibal Rising (2006), the fourth novel in the series, delves into Lecter's upbringing and growth as a serial killer. Gaspard Ulliel portrayed him in the 2007 film adaption. Mads Mikkelsen portrays Lecter in the NBC television series Hannibal (2013–2015), which focused on his connection with Graham. Mikkelsen earned a Saturn Award for his performance.

The American Film Institute rated Lecter (as portrayed by Hopkins) the greatest villain in American cinema in 2003. He was voted one of the 100 greatest characters of the previous 20 years by Entertainment Weekly in 2010. 

Who Was the Second Man to Walk on the Moon?

 

Buzz Aldrin is a former astronaut, engineer, and fighter pilot from the United States. As a pilot on the Gemini 12 mission in 1966, Aldrin completed three spacewalks, and as the lunar module pilot on the Apollo 11 mission in 1969, he and mission commander Neil Armstrong were the first two persons to walk on the Moon. Aldrin is presently the final remaining crew member of Apollo 11, following the deaths of Armstrong in 2012 and Michael Collins in 2021.

Aldrin was born in Glen Ridge, New Jersey, and graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1951 with a degree in mechanical engineering, third in his class. During the Korean War, he was commissioned into the United States Air Force and served as a jet fighter pilot. He completed 66 combat missions and downed two MiG-15 fighter jets.

Aldrin was selected as a member of NASA's Astronaut Group 3 after completing a Sc.D. in astronautics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, making him the first astronaut with a doctoral degree. Line-of-Sight Guidance Techniques for Manned Orbital Rendezvous was his dissertation thesis, earning him the nickname "Dr. Rendezvous" from fellow astronauts. His first space journey, on Gemini 12, took place in 1966, and he spent more than five hours on extravehicular activities. Three years later, on July 21, 1969, at 03:15:16 UTC, Aldrin stepped onto the Moon for the first time, nineteen minutes after Armstrong, while command module pilot Collins remained in lunar orbit. 

What Country Did the Guitar Originate From?

 

The guitar is a fretted musical instrument with six strings in most cases. It is played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand while pressing the strings against frets with the fingers of the opposite hand, which is held flat against the player's body. Strike the strings with a plectrum or individual finger picks. The sound of the guitar is projected either acoustically through the instrument's resonant chamber or electronically using an electronic pickup and amplifier.

The classical guitar (Spanish guitar/nylon-string guitar), the steel-string acoustic guitar, and the Hawaiian guitar (played across the player's lap) are the three primary forms of modern guitar. Flat top guitars (usually with a big sound hole) and archtop guitars (sometimes known as "jazz guitars") are two types of traditional acoustic guitars. The vibrations of the strings are amplified by the hollow body of the guitar, which functions as a resonating chamber, producing the tone of an acoustic guitar. The classical Spanish guitar is frequently played as a solo instrument, employing a thorough fingerstyle approach in which each string is individually plucked by the player's fingers rather than strummed. In the United States, the word "finger-picking" can also refer to a certain folk, blues, bluegrass, and country guitar playing heritage.

The guitar descended from the guitarra latina, a late-medieval instrument with a waisted body and four strings, and was most likely invented in Spain in the early 16th century. With a less noticeable waist, the early guitar was narrower and deeper than the modern guitar. It was closely connected to the vihuela, a guitar-shaped instrument that replaced the lute in Spain. 

Poker

 

Poker is a family of card games in which players wager on which hand is the best according to the rules of the game in ways that are comparable to these rankings. Poker games differ in deck construction, number of cards in play, number dealt face up or face down, and number shared by all players, but they all include rules that include one or more rounds of betting.

In the majority of modern poker games, the initial round of betting starts with one or more players placing a forced wager (the blind or ante). In traditional poker, each player bets based on how valuable they perceive their hand is in comparison to the other players. The action then moves clockwise, with each player having to either match (or "call") the previous stake's maximum sum, or fold, forfeiting the amount bet thus far as well as any further involvement in the hand. When a player matches a wager, he or she has the option to "raise" (increase) the wager. When all players have either called or folded the last stake, the betting round is over. On any round in which all but one player folds, the surviving player takes the pot without having to expose their hand. If more than one player is still in the game after the last betting round, a showdown is held in which the hands are disclosed and the player with the best hand wins the pot.

With the exception of early forced bets, money is only freely put into the pot by a player who believes the bet has a positive expected value or is attempting to bluff other players for various strategic reasons. While the outcome of any given hand is influenced by chance, the players' long-term expectations are dictated by their behaviors, which are based on probability, psychology, and game theory.

Since the turn of the century, poker has grown in popularity, evolving from a primarily recreational activity enjoyed by a small group of enthusiasts to a widely popular activity enjoyed by both participants and spectators, including online, with many professional players and multimillion-dollar tournament prizes. 

California's Pacific Coast Highway

 

State Route 1 is a prominent north–south state route that travels along the majority of California's Pacific coastline. It is California's longest state road, with a total length of slightly over 656 miles. Pacific Coast Highway (PCH), Cabrillo Highway, Shoreline Highway, and Coast Highway are all names for sections of SR 1. Its southern terminus is Interstate 5 (I-5) in Orange County near Dana Point, while its northern terminus is U.S. Route 101 (US 101) in Mendocino County near Leggett. SR 1 also runs parallel to US 101 at times, most notably for a 54-mile stretch between Ventura and Santa Barbara counties, as well as across the Golden Gate Bridge.

An All-American Road designation has been given to the roadway. The road serves as a significant roadway in the Greater Los Angeles Area, the San Francisco Bay Area, and several other coastal urban areas, in addition to providing a scenic path to several sites along the coast.

SR 1 was constructed in phases, with the first segment opening in the 1930s in the Big Sur region. However, as new segments of the route opened, different names and numbers were assigned to them. The full route was not formally classified as SR 1 until the 1964 state highway renumbering. Despite the fact that SR 1 is a popular route because of its beautiful splendor, numerous landslides and erosion near the coast have forced some stretches to be closed for long periods of time for repairs or rerouted inland. 

Greenland

 

Greenland is the world's largest island, lying east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans. Greenland is a self-governing territory under the Danish Kingdom. Though geographically part of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally linked to Europe (particularly, the colonial powers of Norway and Denmark) for over a millennium, dating back to 986. The Inuit, whose ancestors moved from Alaska through Northern Canada and gradually settled across the island by the 13th century, make up the bulk of the population.

Danish explorers returned to Greenland in the early 17th century. Denmark and Norway asserted sovereignty over the island in order to boost trade and power. Norway lost authority over Greenland in 1814 when the union was dissolved due to its low position. Greenland joined Denmark in 1814 and was completely incorporated in 1953, according to the Danish constitution.

Greenlanders became Danish citizens in 1953, thanks to the Constitution. Greenland joined the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) in 1961, after Denmark joined as a founding member in 1960. Greenland's participation lasted until 1973, when Denmark joined the European Communities. Greenland and Denmark joined the European Economic Community (EEC) in 1973. In a referendum in 1982, however, the majority of the population opted for Greenland to leave the EEC. Greenland was designated as an OCT (Overseas Countries and Territories) of the EEC, which is now the European Union, in 1985. (EU). All Greenlandic nationals (OCT-nationals) are EU citizens as a result of the linked relationship with the EU.

Northeast Greenland National Park, the world's largest and northernmost national park, is located in Greenland. It covers 375,292 square miles of Greenland's interior and northeastern shore, and is larger than all but twenty-nine countries in the globe. It was founded in 1974 and expanded to its current size in 1988.

Greenlanders voted in favor of the Self-Government Act in 2008, which transferred more power from the Danish government to the local Greenlandic government. In 1979, Denmark granted Greenland home rule; in 2008, Greenlanders voted in favor of the Self-Government Act, which transferred more power from the Danish government to the local Greenlandic government. Greenland has gradually taken over policing, the judicial system, company law, accounting, auditing, mineral resource activities, aviation, law of legal capacity, family law and succession law, aliens and border controls, the working environment, and financial regulation and supervision under the new structure. The Danish government still controls monetary policy as well as international affairs, including defense. It also provided a DKK 3.4 billion annual subsidy, which would gradually decrease over time. Greenland expects to expand its economy as a result of increasing revenue from natural resource extraction. The 2016 Arctic Winter Games were held in Nuuk, the capital. Greenland has one of the largest renewable energy shares in the world, at 70%, with hydropower accounting for the majority of it. 

Carbon Dioxide

 

Carbon dioxide (chemical formula CO2) is a colorless gas with a density about 60% higher than that of dry air. Carbon dioxide consists of a carbon atom covalently double bonded to two oxygen atoms. It occurs naturally in Earth's atmosphere as a trace gas. The current concentration is about 0.04% (410 ppm) by volume, having risen from pre-industrial levels of 280 ppm. Natural sources include volcanoes, hot springs and geysers, and it is freed from carbonate rocks by dissolution in water and acids. Because carbon dioxide is soluble in water, it occurs naturally in groundwater, rivers and lakes, ice caps, glaciers and seawater. It is present in deposits of petroleum and natural gas. Carbon dioxide is odorless at normally encountered concentrations. However, at high concentrations, it has a sharp and acidic odor.

As the source of available carbon in the carbon cycle, atmospheric carbon dioxide is the primary carbon source for life on Earth and its concentration in Earth's pre-industrial atmosphere since late in the Precambrian has been regulated by photosynthetic organisms and geological phenomena. Plants, algae and cyanobacteria use light energy to photosynthesize carbohydrate from carbon dioxide and water, with oxygen produced as a waste product.