unit 7 concept 2 Flashcards
(18 cards)
Biogeochemical cycles
the movement of a particular form of matter through the living and nonliving parts of an ecosystem
Matter can neither be
created nor destroyed, and Earth is a closed system, these essential nutrients must be continuously cycled
water is necessary for the
life processes of all living things
water cycle stages (6)
- Precipitation: water falls to Earth as a liquid (usually rain, sleet or snow)
- Infiltration: some water seeps underground from the surface of the earth
- Aquifer: An underground layer of permeable rock that can hold water - Runoff: liquid water that isn’t infiltrated runs along the surface and collects in bodies of water
- Evaporation: sun heats liquid water to vapor and it rises to the atmosphere
- Transpiration: water rises back into the atmosphere as water vapor from plants
- Condensation: water vapor condenses to form clouds before precipitating again
water is found in (3)
Earth’s surface (including oceans, lakes, rivers, etc.)
- 97% is in the ocean
- Of the 3% that is freshwater, 2% is frozen in glaciers
- Under Earth’s surfaces (groundwater, aquifers)
- In atmosphere
- In living organisms
Water cycle and living organism (3)
- ALL organisms take in water for nutrient transport, chemical reactions, diffusion, etc. (AKA life processes)
Also means they have to eliminate water too (Ex. urine/feces)
⁃ All organisms release water when breaking down food for energy (cellular respiration)
- Plants take in water to make sugar (photosynthesis)
Human impact on water cycle (3)
Deforestation: less transpiration (water rising back into the atmosphere as water vapors from plants)
- Shifts rainfall patterns
Infrastructure development: more runoff, less infiltration
- Higher flood risk
- Pollution/nutrient runoff
- Eutrification
Eutrification
when a body of water becomes overly enriched with nutrience, causing excessive algaue growth
carbon is the
basis of all organic molecules and is found in a VARIETY of chemical forms
AKA Carbon changes chemical forms as it cycles (unlike water, which is always H2O).
Ex. Carbon is CO2, in the atmosphere, but C6H12O6 as glucose in plants.
carbon is found in (5)
Macromolecules: large molecules necessary for life
- Proteins (muscle, skin, etc.)
- Carbohydrates (starches, sugars)
- Lipids (fats)
- Nucleic acids (DNA and RNA)
- Our atmosphere (as CO2)
- Minerals and rocks
- Fossil fuels (coal, oil, natural gas)
- Organic (living) materials in soil or aquatic sediments
SO EVERYTHING
carbon cycle stages
- Photosynthesis: plants capture CO2 from the atmosphere and use it to make sugar
- Cellular Respiration: CO, released into atmosphere as waste from metabolism
- Consumption: one organism eats another for carbon
- Decomposition: decomposers break down carbon from dead organisms, recycling it in the soil.
- Fossilization: converts carbon from once-living organisms into fossil fuels through intense heat and compression.
- Combustion: CO2 released into atmosphere from burning.
Carbon cycle and living organisms (3)
Decomposers (like bacteria, earthworms, and fungi) break down dead materials and return nutrients (like carbon) to the soil.
Photosynthetic organisms (like plants and algae) remove CO, from the atmosphere and convert it into simple sugars.
Animals, plants and fungi do cellular respiration in order to break down carbon-rich foods for energy.
Human impact on carbon cycle
- Combustion: when wood or fossil fuels, which contain carbon, are burned → causing major levels of CO2 in the atmosphere
Nitrogen, like carbon,
takes on a variety of chemical forms
It is found in:
In the
atmosphere in the form of a gas – N2 (elemental nitrogen)
- Plants and animals cant use nitrogen in N2 form, (makes up 78% of the air btw)
- Thus need processes to convert nitrogen into a useable form
- AKA nitrogen is a limiting factor (limits the amount life you can create)
Nitrogen is Found in (4)
- Macromolecules: Proteins and Nucleic acids
- Fossil fuels
- Waste
- Soil
nitrogen cycle main stages
- Nitrogen fixation: Bacteria (or lightning!) in the soil or water convert nitrogen (from the air or water) into forms that plants can use.
- Consumption: one organism eats another and obtains the nitrogen in it.
- Decomposition: decomposers, like bacteria, break down dead matter, returning nitrogen to the soil.
- Ammonification:
Bacteria convert nitrogen from waste (urine and feces) into ammonia.
- Ammonia is the waste product produced by decomposers as they break down other organisms - Nitrification: Bacteria convert nitrogen in ammonia into nitrates and nitrites to be absorbed by plants in their roots.
- This is how nitrogen enters the food chain and eventually reaches us. - Denitrification: bacteria convert nitrogen in ammonia to N2 so it can go back into the atmosphere.
Nitrogen cycle and living organisms (3)
The nitrogen cycle is different from other geochemical cycles in that no step is completed without the help of living organisms.
- Bacteria is most important living organism in converting nitrogen to different forms.
- Fungi and other decomposers breakdown nitrogen-rich waste and put it in the soil
Human impact on nitrogen cycle
- Fertilizers: The use of fertilizers adds WAY too much nitrogen to the soil, creating an imbalance.
- excess nitrogen can runoff and cause eutrification
combustion: can also release nitrogen into the atmosphere
