Water
What is the primary source of energy that drives the water cycle?
The Sun
What is the primary way carbon dioxide is removed from the atmosphere.
Photosynthesis by plants.
What is the most abundant gas in Earth's atmosphere?
Nitrogen gas (N2)
Where can you find phosphorus? In the form of what?
In the form of phosphate rocks.
Mention 1 natural source where you can find sulfur in the form of sulfur dioxide.
Volcanic Activity or Dust/Biogenic Gases.
What is the process by which water vapor changes into liquid water?
Condensation
Name one human activity that significantly contributes to the increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide.
Burning fossil fuels.
What is the percentage composition of air?
78% Nitrogen
21% Oxygen
1% Other gases
How do pants acquire phosphorus for their growth?
Plants absorb phosphorus from the soil.
What are two human sources that contribute to the levels of sulfur in the cycle?
Human mining and extraction
Burning of fossil fuels
How does plants contribute to the water cycle?
Through photosynthesis, they generate water amongs other products like oxygen.
How do decomposers contribute to the carbon cycle?
Decomposers break down organic matter, releasing carbon dioxide back into the atmosphere.
Explain the process of denitrification in the nitrogen cycle.
Denitrification converts nitrates into nitrogen gas, returning it to the atmosphere.
What is the role of weathering in the phosphorus cycle?
Weathering breaks down rocks, releasing phosphate ions into the soil.
What are 2 concepts that can be found in the sulfur cycle that are also seen in other cycles?
Sedimentation
Condensation
Precipitation
Geological Uplift
Explain the process of the water cycle.
Evaporation, Condensation, and Precipitation. (Explanations may vary)
Explain the carbon cycle in detail.
CO2 in atmosphere
Photosynthesis turns CO2 into O2
Human & Animals break O2 turning it back to CO2
CO2 goes back to atmosphere
Cycle repeats
What is the name of the organisms related to the conversion of nitrogen into other compounds? Can you name two organisms that provide the conversion?
Decomposers. Example: Fungi and nitrogen fixing bacterias.
Mention the 3 primary concepts related to the phosphorus cycle.
What is sulfur important for in nature?
To create proteins.
Mention at least 4 concepts related to the cycle aside from PEC.
Runoff
Groundwater
Solar Energy
Transpiration
Water
Discuss the impact of deforestation on the global carbon cycle.
Deforestation reduces the number of trees available for photynsthesis, leading to an increase in atmospheric cabron dioxide levels.
Mention the 5 steps of the nitrogen cycle and a brief explanation for each.
Nitrogen Fixation > Assimilation > Ammonification > Nitrification > Denitrification
Explain the phosphorus cycle.
Answers may vary.
Mention the process of the sulfur cycle in detail.
Answers may vary.