What do we call the material that is burned that increases carbon emissions?
Fossil Fuels
How much of our air is nitrogen?
78% (Acceptable 75-80%)
What type of organisms are responsible for cycling carbon & nitrogen through an ecosystem?
Decomposers
What process do plants do that takes carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere?
Photosynthesis
By what process does Nitrogen enter animals?
Feeding or eating (of plants)
Where does all of the energy in a food web come from?
The Sun
Name the two types of decomposers
Bacteria Fungi
What is the major difference between groundwater and runoff?
Ground water is underground and runoff is above ground.
Nitrogen is a/an ______________ meaning that it is the smallest unit of this substance that cannot be broken down.
Element
How long has the Earth been around?
4.6 Billion Years
What is a fossil fuel?
Answer must have: Animal or plant remains (or both) Compressed over a long period of time (millions of years)
How does free nitrogen make it's way back into the atmosphere?
Bacteria
What does nitrogen fixation mean?
Adding other elements to make compounds.
What is causing the shells of ocean life to become compromised?
Rising acidity (decreasing pH) in the oceans due to carbon dioxide.
What type of organism is capable of both increasing carbon dioxide into the atmosphere AND taking it out of the atmosphere?
Plants
What is an amino acid?
The building block of a protein.
Where do we find the organisms that fix nitrogen?
On the roots of legumes (plants).
Where does photosynthesis take place in a plant cell?
Chloroplast