18 Questions
What is the primary means by which water is transferred from the Earth's surface to the atmosphere in the water cycle?
Evaporation
What is the process by which plants release water vapor into the air?
Transpiration
Which of the following is NOT a component of the carbon cycle?
Stratosphere
What is the term for the movement of matter through the biotic and abiotic environment?
Biogeochemical Cycle
What is the process by which organic matter is broken down into simpler substances?
Decomposition
What is the ultimate source of energy for the water cycle?
Solar energy
What percentage of the gases in the atmosphere is made up of carbon dioxide?
0.04%
What is the primary source of carbon for plants?
Atmosphere
Where is carbon stored in large quantities?
Carbon-rich deposits
What process returns CO2 to the atmosphere when organisms die?
Decomposition
What is the term for the movement of carbon through the abiotic and biotic components of an ecosystem?
Carbon Cycle
What is formed when dead plant and animal matter is subjected to intense heat and pressure?
Fossil fuels
What is the primary role of denitrifying bacteria in the nitrogen cycle?
Converting nitrates back into nitrogen gas
What is the term for the excess of nutrients in water, leading to dense plant growth and animal death due to oxygen depletion?
Eutrophication
What is the process by which nitrogen is converted into a usable form for plants?
Nitrification
What is the primary source of nitrogen for plants?
Nitrates in the soil
What is the outcome of excessive fertilizer use in the nitrogen cycle?
Eutrophication in nearby water bodies
What is the role of nitrogen-fixing bacteria in the nitrogen cycle?
Converting atmospheric nitrogen into a usable form
Study Notes
Nitrogen Cycle
- Nitrogen in the atmosphere is converted into usable nitrogen compounds through nitrogen fixation and nitrification by special bacteria.
- Plants absorb nitrates and use them to make proteins.
- Consumers eat plants and transfer the nitrogen into their bodies to make proteins.
- When organisms die or produce waste (ammonia), nitrogen compounds can be converted back into nitrates or turned back into nitrogen gas by denitrifying bacteria.
- Human impacts on the nitrogen cycle include the addition of fertilizers to the soil, leading to excess nitrogen and eutrophication in nearby lakes and ponds.
Important Bacteria
- Nitrifying Bacteria: Convert ammonia into usable nitrogen compounds (nitrites and nitrates) through nitrification.
- Denitrifying Bacteria: Convert nitrates back into nitrogen gas, completing the nitrogen cycle.
Biogeochemical Cycles
- The particles that make up matter cannot be created or destroyed, and must be produced from chemicals that already exist in the environment.
- Biogeochemical cycles involve the movement of matter through the biotic and abiotic environment.
The Water Cycle
- The series of processes that cycle water through the environment:
- Liquid water evaporates, forming water vapor that moves through the atmosphere.
- Water vapor condenses, forming liquid water or ice crystals.
- Liquid water or ice crystals return to Earth as precipitation.
- Water falling on land may enter the soil and groundwater or move across the surface of land into lakes, rivers, and oceans.
- Water taken in by plant roots may be released from leaves through transpiration.
The Carbon Cycle
- The biogeochemical cycle in which carbon is cycled through the lithosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere, and biosphere.
- Most carbon cycled in the atmosphere occurs between carbon dioxide and photosynthesizing plants and microorganisms.
- Most carbon is stored in carbon-rich deposits, such as fossil fuels.
- Carbon dioxide makes up approximately 0.04% of the gases in the atmosphere.
- Biotic reservoirs (e.g., trees) and abiotic reservoirs (e.g., fossil fuels, oceans) store carbon.
- Carbon is returned to the atmosphere through cellular respiration and decomposition.
Test your understanding of biogeochemical cycles, including the carbon, nitrogen, and water cycles. Learn how matter is transformed and conserved in the environment. Identify ways to mitigate carbon emissions and demonstrate your knowledge of states of matter.
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