Water Cycle
The process by which water enters the atmosphere
What is evaporation?
The organism that is most important to the nitrogen cycle
What are bacteria?
The process by which carbon is affixed into glucose in plants
What is photosynthesis?
This system/sphere is made up of all the living things on planet earth
What is the biosphere
Where does the majority of our oxygen come from?
Phytoplankton
process in which water falls from the atmosphere as rain, snow, sleet, or hail.
What is Precipitation?
The form of nitrogen in the atmosphere
What is N2
The process by which animals release carbon into the atmosphere
What is respiration?
This system/sphere is made up of all the water in and on planet earth
What is the hydrosphere?
What organisms breathe in oxygen?
Plants and animals
What is it called when a gas turns into a liquid?
Condensation
Nitrifying bacteria convert nitrites into this form of nitrogen which is useable by plants and animals
What is nitrates?
What is diffusion?
The movement of carbon dioxide (CO2) between the atmosphere and the oceans. CO2 breaks down into oceans
This system/sphere is made up of all the gases trapped above the surface of planet earth
What is the atmosphere?
What is combustion?
The act of burning
release of water vapor into the atmosphere from stomata in the leaves of plants.
What is transpiration?
The process that releases nitrogen from organisms into the soil as ammonium
What is decomposition?
1 billion tonnes of this are produced by volcanoes each year, while 35 billion tonnes of this are produced by burning fossil fuels each year
What is CO2 (or cabon dioxide)?
This system is made of all the rocks, earth, and soil in the Earth
What is the geosphere?
Phytoplankton are said to release how much of the oxygen in Earth's atmosphere?
More than 50%
Name the steps of the water cycle in order
Evaporation, Transpiration, Condensation, Precipitation
What happens during Nitrogen Fixation?
Atmospheric nitrogen (N₂) is converted into ammonia (NH₃) by nitrogen-fixing bacteria, or by high-energy events like lightning.
When plants and animals die, but still release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, it is because of this process
What is decomposition?
True or False: Matter is never created or destroyed but cycles through one form or chemical into another
What is True?
These pioneering microorganisms evolved the ability to use sunlight to split water, releasing oxygen as a byproduct. Over billions of years, this oxygen accumulated in the atmosphere was called what?
The Great Oxidation Event