The Nitrogen and Carbon Cycle

Question 1

What carbon process is plants, decomposers and animals to CO2 in atmosphere and oceans?

Answer 1

Respiration (returns it to the atmosphere).

Question 2

What carbon process is plants and animals to decomposers? [2]

Answer 2

• Death and decay.
• Excretion.

Question 3

What carbon process is fossil fuels to CO2 in atmosphere and oceans? Explain.

Answer 3

Combustion; the carbon in fossil fuels combines with oxygen to release CO2 into the atmosphere

Question 4

What carbon process is CO2 in atmosphere and oceans to plants? Explain.

Answer 4

Photosynthesis: Plants take CO2 out of the atmosphere to be used for this process.

Question 5

What carbon process is plants and animals to fossil fuels? Explain.

Answer 5

Fossilisation: If plants and animals die and do not decay fully, due to soil conditions their bodies are converted into fossil fuels.

Question 6

What carbon process is plants to animals?

Answer 6

Feeding and assimilation.

Question 7

What nitrogen process is nitrate to protein in plants?

Answer 7

Absorption+Assimilation: Plants absorb+assimilate the nitrates and combine them with carbohydrates to form Amino Acids and Proteins.

Question 8

What nitrogen process is protein in plants to protein in animals?

Answer 8

Feeding.

Question 9

What nitrogen process is protein in plants, animals, and nitrogen-fixing bacteria to protein in detritus(dead matter)?

Answer 9

Death.

Question 10

What nitrogen process is protein in detritus(dead matter) to ammonia?

Answer 10

Decomposition by fungi and bacteria(decomposers), which produces NH3 from the nitrogen compounds like DNA, proteins, and vitamins.

Question 11

What nitrogen process is ammonia to Nitrite(NO2-)?

Answer 11

Oxidisation of ammonia back to nitrate BY NITRIFYING BACTERIA.
THIS IS NITRIFICATION.

Question 12

What nitrogen process is Nitrite(NO2-) to Nitrate(NO3-)?

Answer 12

Oxidisation of nitrite back to nitrate BY NITRIFYING BACTERIA.
THIS IS NITRIFICATION.

Question 13

What nitrogen process is nitrate(NO3-) to nitrogen gas in soil?

Answer 13

Denitrification by denitrifying bacteria, who use nitrates as an energy source, converting them into Nitrogen gas.
THIS REDUCES THE AMOUNT OF NITRATE IN THE SOIL.

Question 14

What nitrogen process is Nitrogen gas in soil to protein in plants?

Answer 14

Nitrogen-fixing bacteria in root nodules make NH3 but it is converted into amino acids by the plant.

Question 15

What nitrogen process is nitrogen gas in soil to protein in denitrifying bacteria

Answer 15

Nitrogen-fixing bacteria in soil convert N2 gas into ammonia, used by the bacteria to make amino acids and proteins.