Download cycles of matter worksheets

WATER CYCLE
I
1. What is being recycled?
WATER
2. In what ways does water leave Earth’s surface and enter the atmosphere? Evaporation
and transpiration
3. How does water return to the Earth’s surface? Precipitation in forms of rain, ice, snow,
hail, sleet
4. What is the major reservoir for this molecule? Ocean and large bodies of water
5. Why is this cycle important to the ecosystem? Water is perhaps the
most important component of any ecosystem. All living organisms need water to
grow and survive. In an ecosystem water cycles through the atmosphere, soil,
rivers, lakes, and oceans. Some water is stored deep in the earth.
6. What is the difference between evaporation and transpiration?
Evaporation is accounts for the movement of water vapor to the air from sources
such as the soil, canopy interception, and waterbodies.
Transpiration is the movement of water within a plant and the subsequent loss of
water as vapor through stomata in its leaves.
7. Identify two ways humans may impact the cycle, be sure to clarify if the human
impact is positive or negative.
We pump it for drinking, farming, and mining. We pollute for a number of reasons
all of which reduces the amount of drinking/potable water. Iirrigation;
Urbanization; Combustion; Deforestation
CARBON CYCLE
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What is being cycled? Carbon
What molecules are involved? Carbon, oxygen, water
List the biotic components of the cycle. Plants, animals, fungus, bacteria and protist
List the abiotic components of the cycle. Air, dirt, water, dirt
What is the major reservoir of carbon? 1) in rocks (this includes fossil fuels), 2) dissolved in ocean
water, 3) as plants, sticks, animals, and soil (which can be lumped together and called the land
biosphere), and 4) as a climate-warming gas in the atmosphere.
6. Plants remove CO2 from the atmosphere is a process called: photosynthesis
7. Plants and animals release CO2 into the atmosphere in a process called: respiration
8. How is carbon returned to the atmosphere? Organisms return carbon dioxide to
the atmosphere by respiration. It is not just animals that respire. Plants, algae and
microorganisms do too Carbon dioxide is also released into the atmosphere when fossil fuels
such as coal and oil, and wood, are burned.
9. Why is this cycle important to the ecosystem? All living organisms are built of carbon
compounds. It is the fundamental building block of life and an important component of many
chemical processes.
10. Identify two ways humans may impact the cycle, be sure to clarify if the human impact is
positive or negative. Humans affect the carbon cycle through the exhalation of carbon dioxide,
the burning of fossil fuels, deforestation and other poor agricultural practices. Burning fossil
fuels and deforestation leads to a disruption in the balance of the carbon cycle.
1. What is being cycled? Phosphorus
2. What molecules are involved? key component of molecules that store energy, such
as ATP (adenosine triphosphate), ADP, DNA and lipids (fats and oils)
3. List the biotic components of the cycle: Plants, animals, fungus, bacteria and
protists
4. List the abiotic components of the cycle: water, rocks soil,
5. What is the reservoir of phosphorus? sedimentary rock
6. Why is the phosphorous referred to as a local cycle? Phosphorous cycle
does not deal with the atmosphere. It only deals with water, soil and organisms.
7. Why is this cycle important to the ecosystem? It is an essential nutrient for plants
and animals.
8. Identify two ways humans may impact the cycle be sure to clarify if the human
impact is positive or negative. Humans impact the environment mainly by the
use of fertilizers and raising livestock, especially hogs. Fertilizers and hog waste
are high in phosphorus, which makes its way into the soil (where it is necessary
in moderate amounts) and, due to runoff, in water.
Nitrogen Cycle
LightingAtmospheric
nitrogen fixation
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What is being cycled? Nitrogen
What molecules are involved? Nitrites, nitrates, ammonium, proteins, DNA and RNA
List the biotic components of the cycle. Animals, plants, bacteria, fungus, protists
List the abiotic components of the cycle. Soil, atmosphere, lighting
What is the reservoir of nitrogen? Air is 79% of nitrogen
What happens to the nitrogen stored in dead plants and animals? It is decomposed into the
soil.
7. Plants use nitrogen in the form of nitrates.
8. Why is this cycle important to the ecosystem? Nitrogen is an important component of complex
molecules such as amino acids and nucleotides, which lead to the creation of proteins and
DNA, the building blocks of all life.
9. Identify two ways humans may impact the cycle, be sure to clarify if the human impact is
positive or negative.
Humans affect the nitrogen cycle through activities that increase the amount of nitrogen that is
biologically available in an ecosystem. The major culprits are fossil fuel combustion and the
application of nitrogen-based fertilizer. Fossil fuel combustion releases nitric oxides and
combines with other elements in the air to form smog and acid rain.