Previous Year Question

The Amazon Rainforest is popularly referred to as the “Lungs of the Earth” or the “Lungs of the World”. According to NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the Amazon is often called the “lungs of the world”; it produces oxygen through photosynthesis and stores enormous quantities of carbon. The Amazon therefore plays a major role in Earth's carbon cycle and the global climate system.

An important scientific qualification should also be noted: “Lungs of the Earth” is a popular analogy and does not mean that most of the net oxygen humans breathe comes from the Amazon. According to NOAA, roughly half of Earth's oxygen production comes from the ocean, mainly from phytoplankton, algae and other photosynthetic organisms. Thus, for the given examination options, the Amazon Rainforest is the correct answer, but the expression should not be interpreted as a literal scientific statement.