1. 3.4 Workbook Review *Vocab *Key Questions (at top of wkbk)
*What is important about each cycle?

2. Recycling in the Biosphere
1. The four elements that make up over 95% of the body in most organisms are oxygen, sulfur, nitrogen and hydrogen
False – CARBON
2. Matter moves through an ecosystem in cycles
True
3. Chemical and physical processes include the formation of clouds and precipitation, “burning food”, and the flow of running water
False - LIGHTNING

3. 4. The illustration draws an analogy between the way energy drives matter to cycle in an ecosystem and the way water causes a waterwheel to turn. Give an example of another analogy that could be used to show the relationship between energy and the cycles of matter.
Ex: wind causing windmill to turn; car engine causing wheels to turn; foot pushing bicycle pedal around and around…

4. 5. Explain why Earth is considered a closed system
Matter does not enter or escape the earth. They are recycled through organisms.
6. How might building a new highway affect the cycles of matter?
Building a highway means clearing out trees, plants, and habitats of organisms, which limits nutrient availability. This prevents the nutrients from being recycled
THE WATER CYCLE:
7. What role do plants play in the water cycle?
Absorb groundwater through roots
*Transpiration - plants lose water through leaves (evaporation through tiny pores)

5. 8. Draw a diagram explaining the water cycle
8. Draw a diagram explaining the water cycle. LABEL the processes involved as biological or physical/chemical

6. 9. Complete the chart about the carbon cycle
PROCESSES THAT CAUSE CARBON TO MOVE INTO THE ATMOSPHERE
PROCESSES THAT CAUSE CARBON TO MOVE OUT OF THE ATMOSPHERE
PROCESS
DESCRIPTION
Respiration
Photosynthesis
Release of CO2 and other gases into the atmosphere through vents in Earth’s crust
Organisms eat and break down food, releasing CO2 through cellular respiration
Plants use of sunlight and CO2 to produce carbohydrates
Volcanic Activity
Ex: Dissolving, fossil fuels, others?
CO2 dissolves in rainwater; animals are decomposed, pressurized and converted to fossil fuels over time

7. 10. The carbon in coal, oil, and natural gas came from A
10. The carbon in coal, oil, and natural gas came from A. combustion of fossil fuels B. remains of dead organisms C. carbon-fixing bacteria in swamp soil D. carbon dioxide dissolved in ocean water
B. remains of dead organisms
11. How does most of the carbon in an organism’s body return to the environment after the organism dies? A. decomposers break down into simpler compounds B. heat from the sun causes carbon in the body to evaporate C. geological processes cause it to turn into fossil fuel D. rainwater dissolves carbon in body and carries to the ocean
A. decomposers break down into simpler compounds
12. Human processes mainly contribute to A. release of carbon dioxide (CO2) into the atmosphere B. decrease of total amount of carbon found on earth C. depletion of carbon dioxide reserves in atmosphere D. increase in carbon contained in rock material
A. release of carbon dioxide (CO2) into the atmosphere

8. 13 – 16 about Nitrogen Cycle!
13. Nitrogen in the form of ammonia, nitrate, and nitrite is found in the soil
True
14. Nitrogen fixation is the process in which certain bacteria convert nitrogen gas into nitrates
False- Ammonia
15. Denitrification is the process by which some soil bacteria convert nitrates into nitrogen gas
TRUE
16. All organisms require nitrogen to make amino acids, which in turn are used to build carbohydrates
False – proteins

9. 17 – 21 about Phosphorus cycle!
17. Phosphate is released as rocks and sediment wear down
True
18. Plants absorb phosphate from the soil or water.
19. Phosphorus is the most abundant gas in the atmosphere
False – nitrogen (about 75%!! More than oxygen…)
20. Organic phosphate is taken up by producers during photosynthesis and released by cellular respiration
False – carbon dioxide
21. Phosphorus forms part of the important life-sustaining molecules such as DNA and RNA
True (So does nitrogen…)
22. Plants absorb phosphorus from the atmosphere or water
False - soil

10. 23. List and describe the biological steps in the nitrogen cycle
*Nitrogen fixation – bacteria take nitrogen gas from atmosphere and fix (make it stick) it into soil
Once in soil, plants absorb it into their roots
Consumers eat producers and reuse the nitrogen to make compounds
Decomposers release nitrogen from dead organisms into soil
Bacteria convert it back to a gas - *denitrification

11. 24. What is atmospheric nitrogen fixation, and how does it affect organisms
When lightning strikes, some atmospheric nitrogen is converted to usable compounds in soil to be used by organisms (wow!)
25. How do humans add nitrogen to the biosphere?
Fertilizers!! (good or bad…)
26. Which parts of the phosphorus cycle are geological processes?
Geological activity- marine sediment turned into rock and washes phosphates from rock to ocean

12. 27. The visual analogy compares interlocking gears to the major nutrients – potassium, phosphorus, and nitrogen. What other “gears” would be affected if these stopped working?
Plants and organisms could be added to the analogy
Plants cannot live without these vital nutrients, thus…
Consumers would not have oxygen produced by plants
Consumers would not get their food sources

13. 28. If a nutrient were in short supply in an ecosystem, how might it affect an organism?
Limit organism’s growth, or even survival
29. When is a substance a limiting nutrient?
When it is scarce or cycles very slowly and limits an ecosystem’s growth
30. Compare and contrast the flow of energy through an environment with the flow of matter through that same environment
Matter moves differently than energy.
Energy is captured by producers and passes from one trophic level to the next, and some energy is lost at each step.
Matter is recycled within and between ecosystems. Elements pass from one organism to another and through nonliving things in the environment – these loops are called **biogeochemical cycles

14. The End! Whew!
Focus on your vocabulary terms, and the “key questions” found at the beginning of the workbook