CHAPTER 4 : BIOGEOCHEMICAL CYCLES

Question 1

The water cycle distributes water among atmosphere,
biosphere, surface, and groundwater.

Answer 1

Material Cycles

Question 2

what are the
essential elements that also move through biological, atmospheric, and earth systems (biogeochemical
cycles).

Answer 2

Carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorous

Question 3

•The most familiar material cycle
•Most of the earth’s water is stored in the oceans

Answer 3

Hydrologic Cycle

Question 4

Solar energy continually ___ the water, and winds distribute water vapor around the globe.

Answer 4

evaporates

Question 5

Water that ___ over land surfaces, in the form of rain, snow, or fog, supports all terrestrial (land-based) ecosystems

Answer 5

condenses

Question 6

Living organisms emit the moisture they have consumed through
___ and ___

Answer 6

respiration and perspiration

Question 7

what is responsible

•for metabolic processes within cells,
•for maintaining the flows of key nutrients through ecosystems,
•for global-scale distribution of heat and energy

Answer 7

water

Question 8

The ___ carried back to the ocean each year by surface
runoff or underground flow is the renewable supply available for
human uses and sustaining freshwater-dependent ecosystems.

Answer 8

40,000 km³

Question 9

This cycle begins with the intake of carbon dioxide (CO2)
by photosynthetic organisms

Answer 9

Carbon-Oxygen Cycle

Question 10

dual purpose of carbon for organisms

Answer 10

(1) it is a structural component of organic molecules, and
(2) the energy-holding chemical bonds it forms represent
energy “storage”

Question 11

Photosynthesis produces plant cells from
carbon in the air (plus hydrogen and oxygen in
water). __ is eventually
released during respiration, closing the cycle.

Answer 11

Carbon dioxide

Question 12

Processes that release carbon into the atmosphere are referred to
as ___

Answer 12

carbon sources (cellular respiration & combustion)

Question 13

while ___ are processes that
absorb more carbon than they release

Answer 13

carbon sinks’ (forest and oceans)

Question 14

The path followed by an individual carbon
atom in the carbon-oxygen cycle may
be quite ____, depending on how it is used in an
organism’s body.

Answer 14

direct and rapid

Question 15

why is carbon dioxide is one of the so-called greenhouse gases

Answer 15

because
it absorbs heat radiated from the earth’s surface, retaining it
instead in the atmosphere

Question 16

nitrogen cycle

Answer 16

Nitrogen fixation
Nitrification
Assimilation
Ammonification
Denitrification

Question 17

NO3-

Answer 17

nitrate

Question 18

NH4+

Answer 18

ammonium

Question 19

it is the most important nutrient for proper growth and development
of plants because of its vital role in biochemical and physiological
functions (Leghari et al., 2016)

Answer 19

nitrogen cycle

Question 20

how many nitrogen are stored in the atmosphere

Answer 20

78%

Question 21

bacterial activity is essential
before the plant can use nitrogen in a process called ___

Answer 21

nitrogen fixation

Question 22

Nitrogen cycle affects atmospheric concentrations of the three most
important human-caused greenhouse gases:

Answer 22

carbon dioxide,
methane, and nitrous oxide

Question 23

In natural ecosystems, nitrogen is often the ___.
When a nutrient is limiting,
adding more of it will increase
growth, e.g., it will cause plants to grow taller than if nothing
were added

Answer 23

limiting nutrient

Question 24

step by step process of water cycle

Answer 24

evaporation
condensation
precipitation

Question 25

step by step process of carbon cycle

Answer 25

emission
respiration
decomposition
combustion

Question 26

step by step process of nitrogen cycle

Answer 26

nitrogen fixation
nitrification
denitrification

Question 27

___ is a vital nutrient for plant growth and productivity. It is stored in rocks and found in the atmosphere only in small particles of dust

Answer 27

Phosphorus (P)

Question 28

Phosphorus is a key component of molecules that store energy, such as ___

Answer 28

ATP, DNA and lipids

Question 29

what means ATP

Answer 29

adenosine triphosphate

Question 30

step by step process of phosphorus cycle

Answer 30

Weathering
Absorption by plants
Absorption by animals
Return of phosphorous back in the ecosystem

Question 31

Phosphorus is found in the rocks in abundance. That is why the phosphorus
cycle starts in the earth’s crust. The phosphate salts are broken down from
the rocks. These salts are washed away into the ground where they mix in the
soil.

Answer 31

weathering

Question 32

The phosphate salts dissolved in water are absorbed by the plants.

Answer 32

Absorption by plants

Question 33

The animals absorb phosphorus from the plants or by consuming plant-eating
animals.

Answer 33

Absorption by animals

Question 34

When the plants and animals die they are decomposed by microorganisms

Answer 34

Return of phosphorous back in the ecosystem

Question 35

The ultimate source of phosphorus

Answer 35

rocks

Question 36

The phosphorus cycle is really a ___

Answer 36

one-way path

Question 37

The release of phosphorus from rocks and mineral compounds is normally ___, but mining of fertilizers has greatly speeded its use and movement in the environment.

Answer 37

very slow