Wate And Nutrient Cycles Flashcards
What do all living things require ?
Water and nutrients (like carbon and nitrogen)
What parts of the ecosystem are nutrients and water constantly being recycled by?
Abiotic and biotic
What forms does the water cycle finish and start with
Starts as a liquid and finishes in a gaseous form and back again
Why is the water cycle important ?
It provides land animals and plants with fresh water to survive
Where does the carbon cycle move between
Different organisms and the atmosphere
Water cycle 1st stage
Water is evaporated (turned into water vapour) using energy from the sun. This water comes from seas, lakes, rivers etc
Water cycle second stage
Water also evaporated from plant leaves via transpiration
Water cycle 3rd stage
The water vapour is carried upwards until it cools and condenses into clouds
Water cycle 4th stage
Water falls to the ground as precipitation (rain, hail, snow etc) wear it provide provides land organisms with freshwater
Water cycle stage 5
The water then drains into the sea via streams and rivers and the process begins again
Why is the carbon cycle needed by all living organisms?
It is a major component of biological molecules such as carbohydrates, lipid and protein
What does the carbon cycle allow?
Carbon to move from organisms into the atmosphere, so it can reabsorbed by plants and used in photosynthesis
Carbon cycle stage 1
Carbon in the form of carbon dioxide is taken in by photosynthesising plants and converted into glucose and other carbon compounds
Carbon cycle stage 2
Animals feed plants passing along carbon. This carbon can pass all the way down the food chain as I animals feed on each other.
Carbon cycle stage 3
Carbon is released back into the atmosphere in form of carbon dioxide by all living organisms when they respire
Carbon cycle stage 3
Carbon is released back into the atmosphere in form of carbon dioxide by all living organisms when they respire
Carbon cycle stage 4
Carbon returns to the environment by waste product when the organisms die
Carbon cycle stage 5
When there is lots of oxygen and it is warm and moist the waste materials and animals remains get digested by microorganisms called decomposers in the soil. This process releases carbon dioxide back into the atmosphere and puts mineral ions back into the atmosphere.
Carbon cycle stage 6
In certain conditions and over many years animals and plants remains are compressed into fossil fuels such as oil, natural gas and cold
Carbon cycle stage 7
Fossil fuels are burnt (combustion) by humans to produce energy which releases carbon dioxide back into the atmosphere
Carbon cycle stage 8
Humans also burn (combustion) word and other carbon containing compounds to produce energy which releases carbon back into the atmosphere as carbon dioxide
Percolation
The movement of water through soil
Ways mammals release water back into the water cycle
Urine and sweat
Examples of carbon only reached through burning
Coal, oil and gas
