Biogeochemical+Cycles

Pictures say 1000 words, so include as many as possible.

The Water Cycle 1. Define the major processes/terms involved in the water cycle: Precipitation, Transpiration, Runoff, Evaporation, Percolation, Groundwater  **-Precipitation:** falling products of condensation in the atmosphere, as rain, snow, or hail    **-Transpiration:** the passage of water through a plant from the roots through the vascular system to the atmosphere. **-Runoff:** is a place where precipitation hits the ground and run into rivers, lakes, or oceans  **-Evaporation:** matter or the quantity of matter evaporated or passed off in vapor    -**Percolation:** the slow movement of water through the pores in soil or permeable rock. **-Groundwater:** the water beneath the surface of the ground, consisting largely of surface water that has seeped down: the source of water in springs and wells. 2. Insert a picture for the water cycle 3. What percentage of all the water on earth is fresh? What percentage of the fresh water is available for drinking? Three percent of the worlds water is fresh water. 99 percent of that is frozen in ice caps and only less than 1% is available for drinking. 4. are humans negatively affecting the water cycle? Excellent answer, You went over the top! -Mr. B  -Humans add hydro-carbons to the air causing the “green house effect” -Our building of concrete roads, asphalt parking lots, and roofing homes drains the water quicker into city sewers.This causes less water to saturate the water table in the ground. Less for plants and humans later. -Pollution causes the water to turn less useful but when it goes through the cycle and rains turns into acid rain -farming methods like cutting down forests, especially in mountainous areas because it either adds chemicals into run off water, or cause the water to flow back quickly it also creates land erosion

The Carbon Cycle 5. Describe the short term carbon cycle  Carbon is exchanged rapidly between animals and plants through respriation and photosynthesis and by gas between the oceans and atomshpere. 6. Describe the long term carbon cycle. How are carbon compounds found in plant converted into fossil fuels over millions of years? Over millions of years, carbon in the air is combined with water to form weak acids that very slowly dissolve rocks. This carbon is carried to the oceans where some forms coral reefs and shells. These sediments may be moved deep into the Earth by drifting continents and eventually released into the atmosphere by volcanoes. 7. How are humans negatively affecting the carbon cycle? The carbon cycle is very delicate and humans are affecting it negatively. Carbon is everywhere it is in everything living. We are putting mpre carbon into the air then the cycle can take out All of the carbon we are putting into air is causing golbal warming. Humans are putting carbon into the air through fossil fuels which is putting tons CO2 into the air We are stopping the carbon from coming back out of the air with deforestation which stops trees from having photosynthesis The extra Co2 is going to cause grasslands to invade and make all grasslands grown and take over other area.

By, Dylan Patel

8. What are greenhouse gases? What is the greenhouse effect? What is global warming? **greenhouse gas**- a gas that adds to radiation is basically a gas that's absorption of solar radiation is accounted for the greenhouse effect **What is the greenhouse effect?** When the earths surface warms from the result of pollution of gases in the atmosphere. The effects are becoming more and more likely and are causing climate changes. **What is global warming ?** Global warming is when greenhouse gases get trapped in an atmosphere and then warms the earth. 9. According to scientists, how are humans causing global warming? pollution causes global warming all over the world The Nitrogen Cycle 10. Describe the following terms in the nitrogen cycle: atmospheric nitrogen, nitriogen fixation and nitrogen fixing bacteria, nitrifications, assimilation, ammonification, and denitrification.  **-Atmospheric** **Nitrogen:** The gas that makes up 78 percent of the air we breathe.  **-Nitrogen fixation:** The process of nitrogen gas from the air being turned into a compound in the soil by bacteria that live in the root nodules of certain plants  **-Nitrogen Fixing Bacteria: A** ny bacteria that combines nitrogen with oxygen or hydrogen to create compounds that is usable by plants **-Nitrification: T**he biological oxidation of ammonia with oxygen into nitrite followed by the oxidation of these nitrites into nitrates. **-A** **ssimilation: T** he conversion of nutrient into the fluid or solid substance of the body, by the processes of digestion and absorption **-A** **mmonification:** The transformation of ammonia from amino acids  **-Denitrification:** The process of releasing nitrogen back into the atmosphere. It may also be nitrates transforming into nitrogen. Need a picture of the Nitrogen Cycle-Mr. B



11. What are the usable forms of nitrogen used by plants?? Nitrates and Ammonia Even though 80 percent of Earth’s atmosphere is made up of nitrogen gas, plants cannot use it directly to make proteins, nucleic acids, and other nitrogen containing molecules that they need to survive. Plants use nitrogen fixation to convert nitrogen in the atmosphere to ammonia, which plants can use. Plants can also use nitrates as a source of nitrogen. **12.** How are humans negatively impacting the environment by using and making nitrogen compounds?-**Annalee Jackson** Needs a picture- I don't know what picture shows the negative effect of nitrogen compounds. Nitrogen Compounds are used in the making of fertilizers. Negative effect- Pollution: Runoff. This causes the natural amout of nitrate to increase and may increase nitrogen in food.

13. What is eutrophication? How is it caused? - **Kosha Patel**  Eutrophication - the process of adding too much fertilizer by run-offs. Bacteria causes the oxygen levels to drop which kills organisms. Phosphorus Cycle 14. Where is phosphorus found? Where is it not found? phosphorus is commonly found in inorganic [|phosphate rocks]. Elemental phosphorus exists in two major forms – [|white phosphorus] and [|red phosphorus]. Due to its high reactivity, phosphorus is never found as a free element in nature on Earth. match striking surface crystal structure of black phosphorus.

15. How does it from rock to living organisms? Weathering of rocks with phosphate minerals is due to rain. The erosion puts the inorganic phosphate into the soil where is it swiftly absorbed by plants and put into organic molecules, such as DNA. When plants have phosphorus, they are either eaten by animals or die. Because animals eat plants, they then have the phosphorus which is made into animal mass. Once animals with phosphorus die, their decomposition returns into the soil from their tissue so other plants or fungi can use it. 16. What are the usable forms of phosphorus? Phosphorus is in baking powder, fertilizer, detergents, and toothpaste. Phosphorus compounds are also widely used in explosives, friction matches, and fireworks. 