1.

Carbon Cycle

a.

Hydrogen and Oxygen

b.

Oxygen is a colorless, odorless and tasteless gas. It readily dissolves in cold water. It is highly
reactive and form oxides with almost all elements except noble gases. It also exists in three
allotropic forms- monoatomic, diatomic and triatomic. Its chemical properties are as follows:

Atomic number -8

Density - 1.429 kg/m3 at 20°C

Melting point - 219 °C

Boiling point - 183 °C

Vanderwaals radius - 0.074 nm

While Hydrogen is a nontoxic, nonmetallic, odorless, tasteless, colorless, and highly

combustible diatomic gas. It's chemical properties are as follows:

Atomic number -1

Electronegativity according to Pauling - 2.1

Density - 0.0899*10 -3 g.cm -3 at 20 °C

Melting point - 259.2 °C

Boiling point - 252.8 °C

c.
Photosynthesis, Decomposition, Respiration and Combustion. Carbon cycles from the
atmosphere into plants and living things.

Plants pull in carbon dioxide out of the air through photosynthesis.

Decomposition is the process of breaking down plants.

Animals rely on plants for food, energy, and oxygen. Our cells require oxygen to break down the
food we consume through cellular respiration.

Combustion involves burning them to release energy.

d.

The carbon cycle is vital to life on Earth. Nature tends to keep carbon levels balanced, meaning
that the amount of carbon naturally released from reservoirs is equal to the amount that is
naturally absorbed by reservoirs. Maintaining this carbon balance allows the planet to remain
hospitable for life.

2. Nitrogen Cycle

a.

Amines, amino acids, and amides

b.
Amines are more basic than water and less basic than hydroxide ions. The lower aliphatic
amines are gaseous in nature with a fishy smell. Primary amines with three or four carbon
atoms are liquids at room temperature whereas higher ones are solids.

Amino acids are colorless, crystalline substance. Amino acids have high melting point (200-
300)oC due to ionic property. Solubility: Solubility of amino acids depends upon polarity, iso-
electric point, nature of solvent (pH) and temperature.

Amides are the least reactive of all the acid derivatives toward nucleophilic acyl substitution
reactions. Amides are much less basic than amines. It behave both as weak bases as well as
weak acids. It can be hydrolysed by boiling with water, acids or alkalis. And the melting and
boiling points of amides are higher than expected.

c.

Nitrogen fixation, nitrogen assimilation, ammonification, nitrification, and denitrification.

Nitrogen Fixation is the whole process that requires eight electrons and at least sixteen ATP
molecules.

Nitrification is the process that converts ammonia to nitrite and then to nitrate and is another
important step in the global nitrogen cycle.
Traditionally, all nitrification was thought to be carried out under aerobic conditions, but
recently a new type of ammonia oxidation occurring under anoxic conditions was discovered.

Denitrification is the process that converts nitrate to nitrogen gas, thus removing bioavailable
nitrogen and returning it to the atmosphere.

Ammonification - Various fungi and prokaryotes then decompose the tissue and release
inorganic nitrogen back into the ecosystem as ammonia in the process known as
ammonification. The ammonia then becomes available for uptake by plants and other
microorganisms for growth.

d.

The nitrogen cycle helps bring in the inert nitrogen from the air into the biochemical process in
plants and then to animals. Plants need nitrogen to synthesize chlorophyll and so the nitrogen
cycle is absolutely essential for them.

3. Phosporus Cycle

a.

Phosporus

b.

The melting point of phosphorus (white) is 44.1°C, boiling point (white) is 280°C, specific gravity
(white) is 1.82, (red) 2.20, (black) 2.25-2.69, with a valence of 3 or 5. Ordinary phosphorus is a
waxy white solid. It is colorless and transparent in its pure form. Phosphorus is insoluble in
water.

c.

Phosphorus moves in a cycle through rocks, water, soil and sediments and organisms. Over
time, rain and weathering cause rocks to release phosphate ions and other minerals. This
inorganic phosphate is then distributed in soils and water. Plants take up inorganic phosphate
from the soil.

d.

The phosphorus cycle matters because phosphorus is an essential nutrient for sustaining life on
Earth, where it plays a central role in the transfer of energy within organisms, the structure of
the genetic material, and in the composition of cell membranes, bones and

teeth.

4. Sulfur Cycle

a.

Sulfate

b.

is an odorless, tasteless, light yellow solid. It is a reactive element that given favorable
circumstances combines with all other elements except gases, gold, and platinum. Sulfur
appears in a number of different allotropic modifications: rhombic, monoclinic, polymeric, and
others.

c.

Mineralization, Oxidation, Reduction and Incorporation

Mineralization is imperative to learn about how exactly the sulfur undergoes mineralization in
the sulfur cycle. For this case, sulfur is mainly cycled throughout the soil environment and sea
water in the marine environment.

Oxidation is the process of losing an electron from an element or compound. In the sulfur cycle
there is a sulfide oxidation and a sulfur oxidation, each of these processes are performed by
microbes in anaerobic environments such as a hotspring.

Incorporation involves the process of changing sulfide into organic compounds. This can include
metal-containing derivatives. Microorganisms have the ability to immobilize sulfur compounds,
which ultimately results in subsequent incorporation of these sulfur compounds into the
organic form of sulfur.. The sulfur cycle is important because of how abundant it is in our
environment. Take a look at our interactive coggle to learn about each of these parts more in
depth.

d.

The sulfur cycle is essential as it balances the concentration of sulfur in different reservoirs so as
to make the Earth a hospitable place for life.

5. Oxygen Cycle

a.

In the contemporary atmosphere, they include oxygen, nitrogen, water vapour, carbon dioxide,
carbon monoxide, methane, ozone, nitrogen dioxide, nitric acid, ammonia and ammonium ions,
nitrous oxide, sulfur dioxide, hydrogen sulfide, carbonyl sulfide, dimethyl sulfide, and a complex
array of non-methane hydrocarbons.

b.
Oxygen is a colorless, odorless and tasteless gas. It readily dissolves in cold water. It is highly
reactive and form oxides with almost all elements except noble gases. It also exists in three
allotropic forms- monoatomic, diatomic and triatomic. Its chemical properties are as follows:

Atomic number -8

Density - 1.429 kg/m3 at 20°C

Melting point - 219 °C

Boiling point - 183 °C

Vanderwaals radius - 0.074 nm

c.

Photolysis is the process by which oxygen is released in the atmosphere. In the process, high-
energy sunlight breaks apart oxygen-bearing molecules to produce free oxygen.

The ozone cycle is an outcome of the photolysis process. An oxygen molecule (O2) is broken
down to atomic oxygen by the ultraviolet radiation of sunlight. This free oxygen then
recombines with existing O2 molecules to make O3 or ozone. This cycle is important because it
helps to shield the Earth from the majority of harmful ultraviolet radiation by turning it into
harmless heat before it reaches the Earth’s surface.

d.

The Oxygen Cycle is an essential biogeochemical Cycle to maintain the concentration and level
of Oxygen in the atmosphere. The Oxygen Cycle is one of the main reasons for the existence of
life on earth. Without Oxygen, the biosphere could not exist.

6. Rock Cycle

a.
Rocks

b.

Properties that help geologists identify a mineral in a rock are: color, hardness, luster, crystal
forms, density, and cleavage. Crystal form, cleavage, and hardness are determined primarily by
the crystal structure at the atomic level. Color and density are determined primarily by the
chemical composition.

c.

Crystallization, erosion and sedimentation, and metamorphism

Crystallization

Magma cools either underground or on the surface and hardens into an igneous rock. As the
magma cools, different crystals form at different temperatures, undergoing crystallization. For
example, the mineral olivine crystallizes out of magma at much higher temperatures than
quartz. The rate of cooling determines how much time the crystals will have to form. Slow
cooling produces larger crystals.

Erosion and Sedimentation

Weathering wears rocks at the Earth’s surface down into smaller pieces. The small fragments
are called sediments. Running water, ice, and gravity all transport these sediments from one
place to another by erosion. During sedimentation, the sediments are laid down or deposited.
In order to form a sedimentary rock, the accumulated sediment must become compacted and
cemented together.

Metamorphism

When a rock is exposed to extreme heat and pressure within the Earth but does not melt, the
rock becomes metamorphosed. Metamorphism may change the mineral composition and the
texture of the rock. For that reason, a metamorphic rock may have a new mineral composition
and/or texture.
d.

The rock cycle is an important aspect of our dynamic Earth because it enables rocks to change
to different types of rock depending on their location.