Phosphorus Cycle 1
A(n) increase in phosphorus in bodies of water can cause organisms such as ____________ to grow uncontrollably
increase & algae
Weathering causes phosphorus to break free from the rocks and wash away into the ground. Then, the phosphorus gets mixed in the soil. Some phosphate from the land _____________ into rivers & streams & eventually to the ocean.
a. percolates
b. assimilates
c. precipitates
d. runs off
d. runs off
_________ take in phosphate when they absorb it from soil or water.
Plants
Which cycle includes photosynthesis?
carbon cycle
Two plates sliding past each other is called a ________________ boundary
divergent
What is the correct order of statements that describe what happens when excess fertilizer runs off into a nearby body of water?
1. All other organisms, like fish, start to die.
2. Algae grow uncontrollably and block the sun from plants that grow underneath them
3. Decomposers break down the dead algae and plants and use up a lot of oxygen.
4. Plants die
2, 4, 3, 1
Dead organisms release phosphates into the soil or water when they _______________.
a. decompose
b. release waste
c. eat other organisms
d. transpire
a. decompose
How is phosphorus different from the carbon and water cycle?
phosphorous never enters the atmosphere.
Transpiration occurs in which cycle?
water cycle
A ___________________ is a crack or fracture in the earth's crust that is associated with this movement.
fault
Where does excess phosphorus come from?
a. from rocks
b. from fertilizers
c. from plants
d. all of the above
e. Choices a & b
b. from fertilizers
Phosphate moves through the ______________ when consumers eat plants.
food chain
Plants absorb phosphorus through their _________.
roots
As more and more layers are deposited, the older rock layers end up at the bottom of the sequence and the newer ones toward the top. This is called
a. Geological time scale
b. assimilation
c. absolute age
d. law of superposition
d. law of superposition
_____________ is the process where water is heated and turns from a liquid to a gas (water vapor)
evaporation
Phosphorous is found in rocks.
____________ causes phosphorus to break free from the rocks and wash away into the ground.
weathering
Humans and other animals return phosphorus to the land _______.
a. by releasing waste
b. ad then back to the atmosphere
c. by eating plants
d. by eating decomposers
a. by releasing wasteaste
How do farmers remove phosphorous from the land?
a. when they add fertilizer to their crops to help them grow
b. when farmers harvest crops, they remove the crops and the phosphorus that goes along with them
c. when they remove animals' waste
d. through runoff
b. When farmers harvest crops, they remove the crops and the phosphorus that goes along with them.
The age of a rock or fossil compared to another rock or fossil is called
relative age
Nitrification is when bacteria turn toxic ammonia into usable forms like ____________ and ___________
nitrates and nitrites
The phosphate in water settles into the bottom and becomes parts of rocks or ______________.
sediment
List 2 molecules that phosphorous makes up.
ATP, DNA or RNA.
After many years, the rocks at the bottom of the water move and rise to form new land formations like volcanoes and islands. This process is called ______________.
uplifting
_________________ occurs when rock layers are eroded away then buried under more rock layers. This results in a gap in the fossil record because the fossils that would have
unconformity
When organisms break down food for energy, they release carbon into the air in the form of carbon dioxide gas (CO2) in a process called _________________
cellular respiration