Biology Ch. 3, Section 4

True or False: Although phosphorus is of great biological importance, it is not abundant in the biosphere.

True

True or False: Oceans are nutrient-poor compared to many land areas.

True

True or False: The growth of crop plants is typically limited by one or more nutrients that must be taken up by plants through their roots.

True

True or False: only certain types of bacteria that live in the soil and on the roots of legumes can use nitrogen gas directly.

True

How does water cycle through the biosphere?

Water continuously moves between the oceans, the atmosphere, and land—sometimes outside living organisms and sometimes inside them.

Give 4 examples of precipitation

1. rain 2. snow 3. sleet 4. hail

Nitrogen-containing substances such as ammonia (NH3), nitrate ions (NO3), and nitrite ions (NO2) are found in what 3 things?

1. soil 2. in the wastes produced by many organisms 3. in dead and decaying organic matter.

Human activities that affect cycles of matter on a global scale include what 4 things?

1. the mining and burning of fossil fuels 2. the clearing of land for building and farming, 3. the burning of forests, 4. the manufacture and use of fertilizers.

Nitrogen gas (N2) makes up ____ percent of Earth's atmosphere.

78

True or False: As matter moves through biogeochemical cycles, new matter may be created or some matter may be destroyed in the process.

As matter moves through these cycles, it is never created or destroyed—just changed.

____ cycles of matter pass the same atoms and molecules around again and again.

Biogeochemical

_____ consist of any and all activities performed by living organisms.

Biological processes

How does oxygen participate in parts of the carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus cycles?

By combining with these elements and cycling with them through parts of their journeys.

____is a major component of all organic compounds, including carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids. (see image section 4, slide 19)

Carbon

_______ is continually exchanged through chemical and physical processes between the atmosphere and oceans.

Carbon dioxide

In relation to nitrogen, what happens when consumers eat the producers?

Consumers eat the producers and reuse nitrogen to make their own nitrogen-containing compounds.

In relation to nitrogen, what role do the decomposers play?

Decomposers release nitrogen from waste and dead organisms as ammonia, nitrates, and nitrites that producers may take up again.

______ nitrogen exists in several forms in the ocean and other large water bodies.

Dissolved

What is the importance of the main nutrient cycles?

Every organism needs nutrients to build tissues and carry out life functions.

True or False: Groundwater can never penetrate deeply enough into the ground to become part of underground reservoirs. (see image section 4, slide 15)

False

True or False: There are certain organisms that do not need nutrients to build tissues and carry out life functions

False: Every organism needs nutrients to build tissues and carry out life functions

True or False: Nutrient cycles work together like gears.....however, if one nutrient is in short supply - if any wheel "sticks" - the system will still continue to function (See image section 4, slide 47)

False; if one nutrient is in short supply, the wholesystem slows down or stops altogether

True or False: oxygen is used in respiration by multicellular forms of life; however, oxygen is not necessary for most single-celed organisms

False; it is required for both multicellular and single-celled organisms.

Micronutrients such as calcium, magnesium, sulfur, iron, and manganese are necessary in relatively large amounts, and are sometimes included in specialty fertilizers.

False; only necessary in small amounts

_____ include volcanic eruptions, the formation and breakdown of rock, and major movements of matter within and below the surface of the earth.

Geological processes

Excess fertilizer is often carried into surface water or groundwater by _______.

Preipitation

What happens if an essential nutrient is in short supply?

Primary productivity will be limited

Phosphate is released when what 2 things wear down?

Rocks and sediments

What are nutrients?

The chemical substances that an organism needs to sustain life

a dramatic increase in the amount of algae and other primary producers due to the increase in nutrients.

algal bloom

Sometimes an aquatic ecosystem receives a large input of a limiting nutrient—for example, runoff from heavily fertilized fields. The result of this runoff can be an ____.

an algal bloom

A small amount of nitrogen gas is converted to usable forms by lightning in a process called____.

atmospheric nitrogen fixation.

What isn't carbon included in chemical fertilizers?

because plants acquire carbon dioxide from the atmosphere

Unlike the one-way flow of energy, matter is recycled within and ___ ecosystems.

between

Like water, nutrients pass through organisms and the environment through _____ cycles.

biogeochemical

Elements pass from one organism to another and among parts of the biosphere through closed loops called

biogeochemical cycles

Once other phosphates are dissolved, it eventually makes its way to the ocean, where marine organisms process and incorporate it into ______

biological compounds.

Biogeochemical cycles of matter involve what 3 processes?

biological processes, geological processes, and chemical processes

List 2 examples of how carbon dioxide can be released into the atmosphere

burning of fossil fuels and the clearing and burning of forests

Organisms release ____ in the form of carbon dioxide gas by respiration.

carbon

What is released into the environment when organisms die and decomposers break down the bodies?

carbon

Plants take in _____ during photosynthesis, which is used to build carbohydrates.

carbon dioxide

The three pathways, or cycles, that move ____, ____, and _____ through the biosphere are especially critical for life

carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus

Geologic forces can turn accumulated carbon into _____ or _______.

carbon-containing rocks or fossil fuels

____ and ____ processes include the formation of clouds and precipitation, the flow of running water, and the action of lightning.

chemical and physical

If the air carrying it cools, water vapor condenses into tiny droplets that form ____.

clouds.

Carbohydrates pass through food webs to ____.

consumers.

Other soil bacteria obtain energy by converting nitrates into nitrogen gas, which is released into the atmosphere in a process called _____.

denitrification.

Name 4 examples of biological processes.

eating, breathing, "burning" food, and eliminating waste products.

When precipitation is absorbed into the soil, it is called Precipitation can also be absorbed into the soil, and is then called ___.

groundwater

The nutrient whose supply limits productivity is called the _____.

limiting nutrient

How does matter move through the biosphere?

matter is recycled within and between ecosystems (unlike the one-way flow of energy)

Some phosphate stays on land and cycles between organisms and _____.

soil

What are biogeochemical cycles powered by? (see image section 4, slide 4

the flow of energy

How do nutrients pass through organisms and the environment

through biogeochemical cycles.

Water can also enter the atmosphere by evaporating from the leaves of plants in the process of ____.

transpiration.

Carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere by ______ activity or by _____ activities

volcanic; human

Water molecules typically enter the atmosphere as ____ when they evaporate from the ocean or other bodies of water. (See image section 4, slide 12)

water vapor

What is the most abundant form of nitrogen on Earth?

Nitrogen gas

_______ phosphate moves through the food web, from producers to consumers, and to the rest of the ecosystem.

Organic

____ forms a part of vital molecules such as DNA and RNA.

Phosphorus

On land, some precipitation flows along the surface in what scientists call ____ until it enters a river or stream that carries it to an ocean or lake.

runoff

Groundwater can enter plants through their ___, or flow into rivers, streams, lakes, or oceans.

roots

How do humans add nitrogen to the biosphere?

Humans add nitrogen to the biosphere through the manufacture and use of fertilizers

How does nutrient availability relate to the primary productivity of an ecosystem?

If ample sunlight and water are available, the primary productivity of an ecosystem may be limited by the availability of nutrients.

What happens if there are not enough consumers to eat the algae?

If there are not enough consumers to eat the algae, an algal bloom can cover the water's surface and disrupt the functioning of an ecosystem.

What happens to other phosphate when it is washed into rivers and streams?

It dissolves

Calcium, magnesium, sulfur, iron, and manganese are all types of _______.

Micronutrients

All organisms require ______ to make amino acids, which are used to build proteins and nucleic acids, which combine to form DNA and RNA.

nitrogen

In the ocean and other saltwater environments, _____ is often the limiting nutrient.

nitrogen

The bacteria convert nitrogen gas into ammonia, in a process known as _____.

nitrogen fixation.

Most fertilizers contain large amounts of what 3 things that help plants grow better in poor soil?

nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium,

When water cycles through the biosphere, it continuously moves between the ____, the ____, and ____ - sometimes outside living organisms and sometimes inside them.

oceans; atmosphere; land

Plants bind phosphate into ______ when they absorb it from soil or water.

organic compounds

Phosphorus in the form of inorganic phosphate remains mostly on land, in the form of _____ and _____; and in the ocean, as _______ and _______.

phosphate rock and soil minerals; dissolved phosphate and phosphate sediments.

In streams, lakes, and freshwater environments, ____ is typically the limiting nutrient.

phosphorus

Oxygen gas in the atmosphere is released by one of the most important of all biological activities called

photosynthesis.

When the droplets become large enough, they fall to Earth's surface as _____ in the form of rain, snow, sleet, or hail.

precipitation

Ecologists are often interested in an ecosystem's ______ —the rate at which primary producers create organic material.

primary productivity

Other soil bacteria convert fixed nitrogen into nitrates and nitrites that primary producers can use to make what 2 things?

proteins and nucleic acids.

Oxygen is used in ____by all multicellular forms of life, and many single-celled organisms as well.

respiration