Unit 1 - cycles of matter

Question 1

hydrological cycle

Answer 1

• water exists in the environment as a solid, liquid, and gas and is recycled.
• is related to all other biogeochemical cycles

Question 2

The role of water in the cycles of matter (fun facts about water) (4)

Answer 2

• water is a product of cellular respiration (known as metabolic water)
• more than 97% of water in the biosphere is in liquid form
• water is a greenhouse gas
• transfers heat and dissolved materials

Question 3

polarity

Answer 3

negative and positive ions that make up an element

Question 4

hydrogen bonding (4)

Answer 4

• cohesion: water sticking to water
• adhesion: water sticking to other things
• density: the space between water molecules
• heat capacity: measure of how much heat a substance can absorb or release before changing temperature

Question 5

biogeochemical cycles

Answer 5

• the ways that elements or compounds move between living and nonliving things

Question 6

what is a nutrient reservoir?

Answer 6

a place in the ground where substances are stored

Question 7

rapid cycling

Answer 7

substances cycling between nutrient reservoirs quickly

Question 8

slow cycling

Answer 8

substances cycling between nutrient reservoirs slowly

Question 9

Carbon cycle

Answer 9

travel from the atmosphere into organisms in the Earth and then back into the atmosphere over and over again. Most carbon is stored in rocks and sediments, while the rest is stored in the ocean, atmosphere, and living organisms.

Question 10

carbon sinks (reservoirs) include:

Answer 10

• trees
• fossil fuel deposits
• the ocean (largest)
• limestone rock

Question 11

rapid cycling and slow cycling - how carbon is released from reservoirs

Answer 11

quickly - forest fires

slowly - weathering

Question 12

Nitrogen Cycle

Answer 12

In order to move through the different parts of the cycle, nitrogen must change forms.

1. Nitrogen fixation: nitrogen in the atmosphere
2. Ammonification: nitrogen fixing bacteria in the soil turns it into ammonium
3. turns into nitrate
4. can go through biotic community (organisms)
5. Denitrification denitrifying bacteria and then it goes back into the atmosphere

Question 13

Why we need nitrogen?

Answer 13

required in proteins and DNA (nucleus acids) in our bodies

Question 14

what are legumes (nitrogen cycle)

Answer 14

tiny bumps called nodules on plants roots (soybean and peas) where nitrogen fixing bacteria live

Question 15

crop rotation (nitrogen cycle)

Answer 15

the nitrogen is depleted so they add excess nitrogen into the soil

Question 16

the form of nitrogen plants can use

Answer 16

nitrate

Question 17

Phosphorus cycle

Answer 17

• found in living organisms, land, and water but does NOT cycle through the atmosphere
• short term cycle: in wastes from living organisms
• long term cycle: in bedrock of earths crust (weathering makes them dissolve)
• it enters the food chain through photosynthesis

Question 18

why do we need phosphorus

Answer 18

• marine animals use it for their bones and shells

- it is apart of our DNA, ATP, and a major part in our bones and teeth

Question 19

Algea blooms

Answer 19

• excess nutrients (fertilizer) getting into the soil and causing algae blooms
• can form dead zones, because they use up all the oxygen

Question 20

Sulfer cycle

Answer 20

• enters the atmosphere through plants and volcanos
• returns to the land by acid precipitation
• bacteria makes sulfer usable for plants

Question 21

why do we need sulfer

Answer 21

it is a component of proteins and vitamins

Question 22

What are some possible solutions Human impacts on all cycles

Answer 22

Phytoremediation - using plants and bacteria to clean toxic spills in the environment
Preserving wetland - they act as a filtration system

Question 23

productivity and the three largest areas of productivity

Answer 23

the rate at which an ecosystems producers capture and store energy over time

• tropical rainforest
• algae beds and reefs
• swamps and marshes

open ocean = no productivity

Question 24

how are oil and gas formed

Answer 24

from plankton that died,

Question 25

how is coal formed

Answer 25

dead plant material