Water Cycle
What is the process where water turns into vapor?
Evaporation
What gas do plants take in for photosynthesis?
Carbon dioxide (CO₂)
What do plants use nitrogen for?
To grow and make proteins
Where is most phosphorus found?
In rocks and soil
What do we call a path that cycles matter through living and nonliving things?
A biogeochemical cycle
What process forms clouds from water vapor?
Condensation
What gas do animals give off when they breathe?
Carbon dioxide
What organism helps change nitrogen in the soil?
Bacteria
How do plants get phosphorous?
From the soil through roots
What do we call plants that make their own food?
Producers
What is it called when rain or snow falls from clouds?
Precipitation
What do plants release during photosynthesis?
Carbon
What do decomposers do in the nitrogen cycle?
Return nitrogen to the soil
How does phosphorus enter the water cycle?
Rock erosion
What is one thing all cycles have in common?
They recycle matter on Earth
What is water that flows over the ground into rivers and lakes?
Runoff
How does carbon get into the atmosphere?
From burning fossil fuels or respiration
hat is nitrogen fixation?
Turning nitrogen gas into a form plants can use
Why is phosphorus important to living things?
It helps make DNA and bones
What do decomposers break down?
Dead plants and animals
What is the process where water soaks into the ground and becomes groundwater?
Infiltration
What process moves carbon from dead organisms back into the soil?
Decomposition
What process returns nitrogen gas back to the atmosphere?
Denitrification
Why doesn’t phosphorus cycle through the atmosphere like the others?
Because it’s a solid, not a gas
What are the four main biogeochemical cycles?
Water, Carbon, Nitrogen, and Phosphorus