Water Cycle
Which process in the water cycle involves water vapor cooling and changing into liquid droplets?
Condensation
Which process removes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere?
Which gas makes up most of Earth’s atmosphere?
Nitrogen
What element does the phosphorus cycle mainly involve?
phosphorus
What is eutrophication?
The enrichment of water with nutrients, often causing excessive algae growth
What is the name of the process where tectonic plates move due to heat-driven currents in the mantle?
Convection
What is the main energy source that drives the water cycle?
The sun
How is carbon returned to the atmosphere when plants and animals die?
decomposition
In the nitrogen cycle, which process returns nitrogen to the atmosphere?
Denitrification
Unlike the carbon and nitrogen cycles, the phosphorus cycle does not include which major component?
The atmosphere
What is the main effect of eutrophication on a body of water?
It causes excessive algae growth and reduces oxygen levels
Which type of plate boundary occurs when two plates move away from each other?
Divergent boundary
Plants release water vapor into the atmosphere through which process?
Transpiration
What human activity has contributed most to the increase of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere since the Industrial Revolution?
Burning of fossil fuels
Which process converts nitrogen gas (N₂) from the atmosphere into ammonia (NH₃)?
nitrification
How do plants obtain phosphorus?
By absorbing phosphate ions from the soil
Which nutrients are most responsible for causing eutrophication in aquatic systems?
Nitrogen and phosphorus
Which type of plate boundary occurs when two plates move toward each other?
Convergant boundary
Water returning to Earth’s surface from clouds is known as
Precipitation
Which of the following best explains why ocean acidification is linked to the carbon cycle?
Carbon dioxide dissolves in seawater forming carbonic acid
Why is nitrogen fixation important for life on Earth?
It converts atmospheric nitrogen into forms plants and animals can use to build proteins and DNA.
Which process is primarily responsible for releasing phosphorus from rocks into the soil and water?
Weathering
What happens to aquatic life when eutrophication causes an algal bloom?
Oxygen levels drop as algae die and decompose, leading to fish kills
What is the most common result of the movement of transform plate boundaries
earthquakes
When water seeps into the ground and replenishes aquifers, this process is called
Infiltration
Carbon stored in fossil fuels is part of which carbon reservoir (which "sphere")?
Geosphere
What is the main role of bacteria in the nitrogen cycle?
Converting atmospheric nitrogen into a form usable by plants
How can human activities disrupt the natural phosphorus cycle?
By adding excess phosphorus through fertilizers, leading to eutrophication in waterways
What is the term that describes a lack of oxygen?
Apoxic/apoxia
What geological feature is commonly formed at a convergent boundary where an oceanic plate collides with a continental plate?
Volcanoes and mountains