UNDERSTANDING THE CARBON CYCLE A forest fire will destroy the animals and plants of an
How does the human body return carbon to the
atmosphere in the carbon cycle?
Cellular respiration
The carbon cycle is one of the most important cycles to
living organisms. Carbon is one the most abundant
elements on earth, helping to form molecules such as
sugars, lipids, and proteins. There is a constant exchange
of carbon from the abiotic and biotic environmental
elements to the atmosphere. The breakdown of glucose is
known as cellular respiration, and creates the byproduct
carbon dioxide. This exhaled carbon dioxide is the method
by which humans return carbon to the carbon cycle. Plants
capture this carbon dioxide and use it to make sugars in a
process called photosynthesis. As organisms die, they
decompose and get compressed by soil, sand, or ice.
These remains result in stored fossil fuels, which will be
utilized by plants and extracted by humans for energy.
Their extraction can cause a buildup of carbon dioxide in
the atmosphere, leading to global warming.
 
Humans burn fossil fuels and wood, releasing carbon
dioxide into the atmosphere. This carbon dioxide is
then absorbed by trees for photosynthesis. These
processes are contibutory to which chemical cycle?
The carbon cycle
The carbon dioxide that is released and then absorbed by
plants is part of the carbon cycle because carbon dioxide
is made up of a carbon atom and two oxygen atoms. The
carbon cycle involves transfer of carbon from organic
sources (decaying animals and plants), to the soil as fossil
fuels and plant nutrients, to the air via plant absorption and
fossil fuel burning, and back to organic sources as plants
consume carbon dioxide in photosynthesis and animals
consume plants.
In the carbon cycle, animals can release carbon back into
the cycle through __________ or through __________.
respiration . . . decomposition
Animals can release carbon through respiration via
exhalation of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Animals
can also release carbon by decomposition, which breaks
down organismal waste and dead organisms, and puts the
carbon into the soil. Plants use photosynthesis to capture
carbon dioxide, and can store carbon via carbon fixation.
Humans can burn wood and fossil fuels into the
atmosphere, but most animals cannot release carbon via
such processes.
Which of the following is an example of human impact
on the carbon cycle?
The increased production of methane gases from
cattle farms
The cutting down of trees for lumber
The burning of fossil fuels
There are several ways that humans impact the carbon
cycle.  One of these is the burning of fossil fuels (often
associated with driving cars), which releases carbon
dioxide into the atmosphere. It is important to remember
that other human activities also impact the carbon cycle.
The cutting down of trees reduces the amount of CO2 that
can be taken out of the atmosphere.  One human impact
that is not frequently referenced is the amount of methane
gas (CH4) released into the atmosphere by cattle farms,
which is much harder to take out of the air than CO2.
If a forest fire occurs, what will happen to the carbon
in the forest?  
It will go into the atmosphere 
ecosystem, but it does not deplete that ecosystem of
minerals. Carbon, specifically, will rise into the atmosphere
as carbon dioxide (CO2). Since this is a gas, it will rise into
the atmosphere. Any other minerals will return to the
ground as ash. 
 
Where does all the carbon in organisms originate
from? 
Earth's atmosphere 
All the carbon in organisms was originally obtained by
plants from the earth's atmosphere. Plants fix carbon in
the form of carbon dioxide during photosynthesis. Then,
any animal that comes along and eats the plant gets the
carbon too. 
 
How do organisms move carbon through the carbon
cycle?
Respiration, decomposition, sedimentation, and
photosynthesis
While not all organisms are capable of all three means of
moving carbon to different stores, there are organisms that
do respire, photosynthesize and upon death some will sink
into the ocean's bottom and become sediment. All four are
methods by which carbon is moved through the biosphere
into other stores. Respiration and decomposition release
carbon containing compounds into the atmosphere, and
decomposition also releases carbon into the soil and
ocean. Sedimentation allows carbon trapped in the bodies
of phytoplankton and other micro marine photoautotrophs
to be eventually moved by geological forces into the
lithosphere of the Earth. Photosynthesis is in generally a
method by which solar light energy is converted to
chemical energy stored in the form of glucose a six carbon
sugar using carbon dioxide and water as substrates. 
Attempt to draw out the Carbon cycle to the best of
your abilities without looking up a photo before
answering this problem.
The ocean floor
All of the other choices asides from the ocean floor are
major carbon stores. The atmosphere contains large
amounts of carbon dioxide despite composing just a
fraction of a percent of the Earth's atmosphere. The
lithosphere contains large amounts of coal, oil and natural
gas all of which are various mixtures of carbon containing
compounds. The ocean dissolves and stores large amount
of the atmosphere's carbon dioxide and the biosphere is
all inclusive of living organism which are carbon based
and contain a wide variety of carbon compounds. 
By what method is the majority of carbon moved from
the lithosphere to the atmosphere?
The burning of fossil fuels
Only three of the five answers listed move carbon from the
lithosphere to the atmosphere and of these the burning of
fossil fuels moves the majority of the carbon that is moved
from the lithosphere to the atmosphere. 
What kind of organism sequesters the most carbon
from the atmosphere?
Plants 
Due to cell structure containing cell walls composed of
cellulose made of the densely interwoven sheets of the
six-carbon sugar glucose plants sequester large amounts
of carbon in their cell walls.
UNDERSTANDING THE NITROGEN CYCLE
Why can plants not utilize naturally occurring nitrogen
gas?
Plants cannot break the triple bond between the two
nitrogen atoms
Like carbon, nitrogen is one the most abundant elements
in biotic factors. Nitrogen gas is highly abundant in our
atmosphere, however it cannot be utilized by humans and
plants while in its gaseous state because of the very
strong triple bond between the two nitrogen atoms. For
plants to use nitrogen, they must have it converted to
ammonium or nitrate by bacteria found in the soil and
roots. The process of converting nitrogen gas to
ammonium is called nitrogen fixation. Decomposition of
plants and animals also releases ammonium into the
ground. This ammonium can be further converted to
nitrate with the help of nitrifying bacteria. Returning
nitrogen back to the atmosphere is called denitrification.
This process is carried out by some bacteria found in
lakes and swamps. These bacteria are anaerobic, so they
use the nitrate and release nitrogen gas into the air.
 
Which of the following is most directly responsible
for nitrogen fixation?
Bacteria
Nitrogen fixation is mostly done by bacteria living in the
soil. Plants need nitrogen to grow, but they cannot use it
straight from the atmosphere or as ammonia from the soil.
Humans and animals largely obtain their necessary
nitrogen by consuming plants, and do not fix nitrogen or
rely directly on bacteria for the process.
 
Which of the following biological processes is
not linked to the nitrogen cycle?
Condensation
Condensation is not part of the nitrogen cycle. It is part of
the water cycle, during which water molecules condense
together in the atmosphere to form clouds.
 
Nitrification is the process of
turning __________ into __________.
NO2- . . . NO3-
Nitrification is the process by which nitrite (NO2-) is
converted to nitrate (NO3-). This is the final step required
in the processes used to oxidize nitrogen wastes
(ammonia) to usable nitrate ions.
The conversion of gaseous nitrogen to ammonia (N2 to
NH3) describes nitrogen fixation, and is usually done by
nitrogen-fixing bacteria. 
The conversion of nitrate to plant matter (NO3- to plants)
describes the process of assimilation.  evaporates from the ocean?
The conversion of nitrate to gaseous nitrogen (NO3- to
N2) describes denitrification, and is performed by
denitrification bacteria.  condensation, causing the water to form clouds after it
The conversion of animal waste to NH3 describes
ammonification, and is accomplished by saprobiotic
(decomposing) bacteria.
How do plants obtain nitrogen?  Where are most of the water located on Earth?
From the soil using their roots  In the oceans
The nitrogen in plants comes from the soil. Bacteria in the
soil take nitrogenous wastes and convert it into forms of
nitrogen that plants can use. Plants then take up
nitrogen through their roots.  on earth.
What is the largest natural reservoir nitrogen on
earth?
The Earth's atmosphere
The atmosphere is composed of 78% nitrogen gas and
while by mass the atmosphere is less massive than the all
the other choices the other choices are not primarily
composed of nitrogen and contain relatively little
compared to the nitrogen in the atmosphere.
 
Is the majority of the Earth's nitrogen immediately
available for use by plants and other living
organisms? Why?
No, most of it exists as inorganic nitrogen gas and is
not immediately usable to most organisms.
Since the nitrogen gas that composes 78% of the
atmosphere is not immediately usable to all organisms
except for nitrogen-fixing organisms the nitrogen that
composes the Earth's major nitrogen reserve is not
immediately usable to most organisms. 
 
Which of the following is not a way in which nitrogen
is fixed?
Volatilization
Volatilization is a process by which fixed nitrogen is
released back into the atmosphere as N2 gas. 
 
What is the main way that fixed nitrogen is released
back into the atmosphere?
Denitrifying microbes
Only two options here actually lead to the conversion of
fixed nitrogen to atmospheric nitrogen, volatilization and
denitrification of which denitrification is a relatively rapid
process carried out by numerous denitrifying microbes
thus making it the greater contributor to the return of
nitrogen to the atmosphere from fixed nitrogen. 
 
UNDERSTANDING THE WATER CYCLE
 
In the water cycle, how does water return to the
ground?
Precipitation
The water cycle is an important aspect of all ecosystems.
It involves biotic and abiotic factors, which play a role in
the pathways that move water in the water cycle. The
water cycle is a recycling process that has no starting
point, nor ending point. It can be divided into three stages:
gas, liquid, and solid. The evaporation of water from
bodies of water, such as an ocean, returns it to the
atmosphere. This water, now in the clouds as vapor, can
be converted back to liquid, which is known as
condensation. The cooling of vapor in the clouds makes
precipitation that is returned to the ground as rain, sleet,
hail, and snow.
 
In the water cycle, what happens to water after it
It condenses into clouds
The next step of the water cycle after evaporation is
leaves the ocean. The clouds are then able to transport
the water over land and return it to the soil via
precipitation.
Most of the planet's water is located in the oceans as
saltwater. The earth's surface is about 71% covered by the
oceans, and those oceans hold about 96% of all the water
Which of the following could affect the infiltration of
water into the surface of the soil?
Concrete sidewalks
Roads
Infiltration is the process by which water can seep or be
absorbed into the soil, which makes the soil wet or turns
the water into groundwater. If there is something covering %20from%20ATM,in%20Santa%20Cruz
the soil, like a road or a sidewalk, then the water cannot %20Zambales%20alone.
be absorbed and instead sits on the hard surface. Parks
and gardens allow the soil to be exposed and the water Pollution has been one of the major contributors to
cycle to continue. economic losses of businesses and the government.
  Who do you think should be more responsible for this
In the water cycle, where does the water go once it - individual people or the government? Explain.
has evaporated? 
Rain clouds in the atmosphere  Coal-fired plant is still the major source of our
Evaporation is the process of water moving from the liquid electricity. Do you think that the development of
phase to the gaseous phase and rising into the renewable energy sources should be an economic
atmosphere. Once water has evaporated, it rises up into priority? Discuss your answer.
the atmosphere where it cools and forms clouds. During
precipitation, this water may turn into river, lake, or ground Do you think the efforts of the government in the fight
water, which plants may have access to through their against nature destruction is enough? Why?
roots.
  One of the major developments in any country is real
Water loss from plant leaves is called __________. estate. Does housing estate affect the environment
transpiration  we live in? Why?
When plants lose water through their leaves, it is called
transpiration. This happens when it gets too hot and the
water they have stored evaporates and escapes from the
stomata of their leaves. Respiration refers to the cellular
process by which energy is produced. Perspiration is also
known as sweating and is used to prevent overheating.
Precipitation is the falling of water (in one of several forms)
from the atmosphere.
 
How does water enter the atmosphere?
Evaporation, transpiration, and sublimation
Evaporation, transpiration, and sublimation are the three
processes by which water is vaporized and allowed to
enter into the atmosphere. Transpiration is the process by
which water is lost from plants during photosynthesis and
respiration. Evaporation is the process by which water is
vaporized by absorbing enough solar energy to break
away from the rest of the water molecules, note the body
of water does not come to a boil during evaporation.
Sublimation is the vaporization of ice into water vapor in
much the same way that evaporation occurs.
 
Which part of the water cycle is a principal-agent of
erosion?
Precipitation and runoff
Only precipitation and runoff are the only two hydrologic
cycle processes from the potential answers that result in
major erosion.
 
How much of the world's freshwater is locked up in
glacial ice?
68.7%
The glacial ice of the Arctic and Antarctic along with
mountain glacial peaks compose 68.7% of all the fresh
water on Earth.

Share your thoughts on these key questions and post

your answers here. Comment on your classmate's
responses.
One pressing issue in this time is the destruction of
the environment not only by our fellow Filipinos but
by the foreigners especially China in Zambales.
Suppose you had the opportunity to ask three
questions to a 2022 Presidential Candidate, what
would these be and what do you think their answers
might be?For reference:
https://www.senate.gov.ph/press_release/2018/0918
_delima1.asp#:~:text=Based%20on%20records