A2 Biogeochemical Cycles Review

Question 1

What is the biogeochemical cycle?

Answer 1

-A pathway by which a chemical element or molecule moves through both biotic (biosphere) and abiotic (lithosphere, atmosphere, and hydrosphere) compartments of earth

Question 2

What is the rapid cycling of nutrients?

Answer 2

-Nutrients that are cycled from reservoirs (or storage places) pretty quickly
-e.g. carbon from producer to consumer to decomposer

Question 3

What is the slow cycling of nutrients?

Answer 3

-Cycling of nutrients that occurs when substances accumulate and are unavailable to organisms
-e.g. carbon reservoirs such as fossil fuel deposits take millions of years to form

Question 4

What are the unique properties of water?

Answer 4

1. Excellent carrier of dissolved minerals and other materials
2. An affective medium for transferring energy
3. A universal solvent
4. A relatively high boiling and melting point
5. Special cohesive and adhesive properties
6. High heat capacity
7. Unlike the solid and liquid phases of most substances, frozen water is less dense then liquid water

Question 5

What is the hydrologic (water) cycle?

Answer 5

-The circulation of water through the atmosphere

Question 6

List the hydrologic cycle processes

Answer 6

1. Evaporation
2. Condensation
3. Precipitation
4. Infiltration
5. Surface run off
6. Transpiration
7. Storage (in atmosphere, ice, snow, freshwater bodies, and oceans)

Question 7

How is the hydrologic cycle linked with the biogeochemical cycles?

Answer 7

-As water travels through biotic and abiotic components of the biosphere is carries a lot of material with it, including chemical nutrients

Question 8

What is a carbon sink?

Answer 8

-Places that store carbon (ocean is the largest)
-carbon is released during combustion, deforestation

Question 9

What is the greenhouse effect?

Answer 9

-Trapping of thermal energy by atmospheric gasses (e.g. CO2, H20, O3, etc)
-natural
-burning of fossil fuels, forests, etc has increases the release of certain atmospheric gasses, which has increases the greenhouse effect

Question 10

What is climate change?

Answer 10

-Change in global climate patterns
-caused by increasing greenhouse gasses and greenhouse effect
-effects: raising sea levels, loss of habitats and species diversity, major changes to climate and weather patterns

Question 11

What is stromatolites?

Answer 11

-Sedimentary rocks made up of ancient dead micro-organisms

Question 12

Why do organisms require nitrogen?

Answer 12

-Nitrogen is required to make proteins and genetic material (DNA)

Question 13

Why do organisms require phosphorus?

Answer 13

-All organisms require phosphorus as a part of DNA and ATP (the energy carrier essential to all cells)

Question 14

Does phosphorous cycle through the atmosphere?

Answer 14

-No, unlike carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur phosphorus does not cycle through the atmosphere

Question 15

Describe algal bloom

Answer 15

1. Nutrient runoff (nitrogen+phosphorus)
2. Algae grows a lot because of this
3. Algae die and decomposers consume them
4. Decomposers use up a lot of oxygen
5. Aquatic life die because of lack of oxygen

Question 16

Why do organisms need sulfur?

Answer 16

-All organisms require sulfur as an important component of proteins and vitamins

Question 17

What is the sulfur cycle?

Answer 17

-Shows how sulfur is converted into different forms as it is transported through the air, water and soil

Question 18

How is sulfur released?

Answer 18

-Released by decomposition of organic matter, volcanic off-gassing, and human activity