Biogeochemical Cycles Review

Nitrogen Cycle

100

Name something that nitrogen is a major component of?

Air, proteins, ammonia, etc

200

Nitrogen from the atmosphere being turned into usable nitrogen compounds like nitrates is a process called?

Nitrogen Fixation

300

What form of nitrogen is used by most plants?

Nitrates

400

What organism 'fixes' nitrogen?

Bacteria

500

Why is nitrogen essential to life?

Needed to make proteins and DNA

Carbon Cycle

100

In what form is carbon found in the atmosphere and oceans?

CO₂

200

Two processes that make up the carbon cycle are?

Photosynthesis and Cellular Respiration

300

What is the biggest reserve of carbon?

Compacted into rock below the surface of Earth 

400

Chemical equation for photosynthesis?

light + 6CO₂ +6H₂O -> C₆H₁₂O₆ + 6O₂

500

Large numbers of carbon are compressed organic matter buried deep under surface as this?

Fossil Fuels

Hydrological Cycle

100

Water goes from liquid to gas?

Evaporation

200

Water vapor in clouds converting to a liquid

Condensation

300

Evaporation from the leaves of trees?

Transpiration

400

Name a part of the cycle working against gravity?

Evaporation or transpiration

500

What drives the water cycle?

Solar energy

Phosphorus Cycle

100

Where are phosphates found on land?

rocks and soil minerals

200

In which organic molecule is phosphorous found?

DNA

300

What two parts of the human body (not a molecule) contain phosphorous?

Bones and Cell Membranes

400

What is geological uplift?

The process in which rocks are lifted upwards that allow the phosphorous to be accessible again.

500

Explain the difference between long and short term phosphorous cycles?

Short term involves the cycling of phosphorous from the soil, into plants that organisms eat and then the decaying organisms are broken down by decomposers who release the phosphorous back into the soil. Long term is the same except it adds the process of phosphates being weathered out of rocks and dissolving into the soil or being part of run off into water bodies.

Hodge Podge

100

How are humans upsetting the carbon cycle?

Burning of fossil fuels release more CO₂ into the atmosphere.

200

What are rain, snow, sleet, and hail examples of?

Precipitation

300

Deforestation and burning fossil fuels can lead to this weather phenomenon?

Global Warming

400

What are the three main types of greenhouse gases?

carbon dioxides, methane, and nitric oxides

500

What percentage of carbon dioxide makes up the greenhouse gases?

55%