ESS grade 10 test 1 Flashcards
What are biogeochemical cycles
pathways for molecules like water, carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus to move through all of Earth’s geological and ecological compartments.
water cycle in simple terms
rain precipitates water onto earth
water runs off into storage (ocean, lake, etc)
surface water evaporates into water vapor
water vapor forms clouds, condenses, then precipitates again
how does precipitation occur
water vapor inside the cloud gets cold
vapor condenses into liquid rain
types of precipitation
rai, hail, snow, sleet graupel
what is the source of all of our energy
the sun
how do states of matter change
solid to liquid (melting + energy)
liquid to gas (evaporating + energy)
gas to liquid (condensation - energy)
liquid to solid (freezing - energy)
How do animals excrete water
peeing, sweating, or breathing
how to plants excrete water
transpiration
- the process of water moving into the plant through roots
- then evaporating off of leaves which is called evapotranspiration
advection
when a cloud moves over land
percolation
when water rests (holding)
infiltration
when water goes into soil
assimilation
the process of plants absorbing water and incorporating vitamin rich molecules into their blood stream
evapotranspiration
water is sucked up through the roots through capillary action then is evaporated off the leaves
it is the complete process of how water is transferred from the ground to the atmosphere, including transpiration
why are oceans salty
as water runs off to the ocean, it erodes minerals like salt from the soil and carries it to the ocean. When water is evaporated, it leaves the salt behind.
sublimation
solid to gas
deposition
gas to solid
carbon cycle simple terms
inorganic cycle
- fossil fuels containing stored carbon are burned
- combustion releases the carbon into the atmosphere
organic cycle
- plants use carbon dioxide(sun and water) in photosynthesis and releases water, glucose, and atp
- animals eat that plant and use cellular respiration to release carbon dioxide and water
fossil fuels
once living organisms (carbon based)
percentage of the human body carbon
12-15%
carbon in the ocean
carbon dissolves in water
30% is absorbed from the atmosphere
some of it remains, some is used by organisms (phytoplanktin) and some evaporates right out
shells
made of calcium carbonate and when they fall to the bottom of the ocean, they compress making limestone
limestone
made of shells. when they break down (acidifies) it creates carbon dioxide and carbonic acid (contributing to the acidification of oceans and increase of carbon)
excess carbon in the atmosphere
contributes to climate change since it is a greenhouse gas (traps heat in the atmosphere)
keeping carbon locked in the ground is better for the atmosphere
positive feedback cycle
When the sun warms the ice, ice melts, causing more carbon to release into the atmosphere. This heats up the atmosphere causing more ice to melt and more co2 to release and the cycle repeats.
nitrogen cycle in simple terms
- nitrogen fixing bacteria fixes nitrogen (splits it apart)
- nitrogen bonds with water in the soil producing ammonium
- nitrifying bacteria breaks down the ammonium into nitrites and then nitrates
- nitrogen is absorbed by plants
- animals take in nitrogen by eating plants
- when a creature dies, nitrogen either gets absorbed by another plant (assimilation) or denitrifying bacteria breaks nitrogen away from the compound and releases it back into the atmosphere
how to break nitrogen triple bond
nitrogen fixing bacteria
lightning
habor process
habor process
man made synthetic fertilizers
why is nitrogen important
nitrogen is in dna and is responsible for the process of making proteins
what % of the atmosphere is nitrogen
78%
N2 in the atmosphere
a diatomic triple bond
nitrogen fixation
n2 is split into 2 nitrogen molecules
nitrogen fixing bacteria
bacteria living in the root nodules of legumes that split n2
legumes
soybeans, clover, peanuts, kudzu
what form of nitrogen (and enzyme) is usable by plants
ammonium (nitrogenase enzyme makes it useful) but not all plants like ammonium so nitrites and nitrates
nitrifying bacteria
take ammonium and convert it into nitrites and nitrates
denitrifying bacteria (and enzyme)
converts nitrates and nitrites back into nitrogen gas, nitrate reductase enzyme is what does this.
phosphorus cycle in simple terms
- phosphorus is in rocks
- after weathering + erosion then deposition, it can get compacted and cememnted and stay in rock.
- or after weathering, erosion, and deposition, the contact with water forms a compound phosphate
- phosphate travels through ground water and gets absorbed by plants
- plant uses phosporus for its own processes then the plant dies
- animal eats it then it poops or dies, either way it decomposes and goes back into the ground
- once in the ground it can either get reabsorbed by another plant or sink deeper and eventually become rock again in the ocean.
inorganic phosphorus cycle vs organic cycle length
millions of years for inorganic
hundreds of thousands of years for organic
whats unique about phosphorus
only cycle that doesnt involve or pass through atmosphere
why is phosphorus important
- its in dna and rna
- its the p in atp
- it is in the phospholipid bilayer in the animal cell membrane
lithosphere and type of rock
earth’s crust made of sedimentary rock
lithotroph
rock eating bacteria
how do phosphates end up in the soil and water
soil - leaching (absorbed into soil)
water - weathering, erosion, deposition
main ingredient in synthetic fertilizers
nitrogen and phosphorus
why is too much nitrogen and phosphorus (in synthetic fertilizer) bad for the enviornment
- when there is too much n and p, the plants cant use it having it sink into the ground water and end up in a water source
- the plants living in said water source rapidly reproduce with all the new nutrience
- they then end up covering the top of the water preventing ocean and sunlight from reaching life below
- this then suffocates life under the water
- when all the plants die, the decomposition process uses up dissolved oxygen in the water, bad for aquatic life
ammonification
the process in which nitrogen gas from decomposing plants/animals (organic material) is converted into ammonium
how is human activity related to biogeochemical cycles
deforestation, industrialization, and the burning of fossil fuels throw off the balance the natural flow of elements and contribute to climate change
Soil
soil hosts the largest diversity of organisms and stores carbon, water, and other nutrients
it is important to support safe soil practices
Where do plants get their nitrogen from
plants get nitrogen from soil
How is carbon stored during photosynthesis
carbon is stored as sugar during photosynthesis
Largest carbon resevoir
deep ocean
