Dirr 1

Eva Dirr

Kenya Goodson

ES 100

08 October 2020

1. How does photosynthesis contribute to the carbon cycle?

 Plants take in carbon dioxide from the atmosphere during photosynthesis

 Use energy from the sun to combine the carbon dioxide and water to form
carbohydrates.

2. What is respiration?

 Plants and animals release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere through the
process of respiration.
 Respiration releases energy from carbohydrates, with carbon dioxide as a
waste product.

3. Why is deforestation a concern?

 Plants store carbon as carbohydrates made from carbon dioxide from the
atmosphere.
 Land plants take up about a quarter of all carbon dioxide that enters the
atmosphere.
 If the forest are all getting cut down, there are less trees that take up the carbon
dioxide and therefore there is more pollution in the air.

4. What happens when carbon dioxide when it enters the ocean?

 Most of the carbon entering the ocean ends up in the deep ocean
 there it can be carried by currents for hundreds of years or be lost in sediments

5. What happens to the carbon cycle as a result of fossil fuel burning?

 In fossil fuels, the carbon is stored in long-chain hydrocarbons

 through combustion with oxygen in our cars or in factories, the carbon is
converted to CO2, which is released to the atmosphere.
 In addition, a number of other byproductsare also produced through
inefficiencies in combustion like CO which are atmospheric pollutants.

1. Why is nitrogen important for life?

 Nitrogen is an element essential to life.

 It is found in protein, DNA and RNA, and in chlorophyll molecules important
to photosynthesis.
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2. Why is fixation the important first step in the nitrogen cycle?

Fixation occurs when bacteria convert nitrogen gas into organic compounds that
living organisms can take up.

3. What is the difference between nitrification and denitrification?

 Nitrification is a two-step process

o soil bacteria first convert ammonium ions into nitrite ions
o then convert nitrite ions into nitrate ions.
 Denitrification occurs when soil bacteria convert nitrate ions into nitrogen gas.

4. What happens in ammonification?

Ammonification occurs when bacteria or fungi convert nitrogen gas or nitrogen

compounds into ammonium ions.

5. What happens sometimes when fertilizer is used for plants to grow?

Plants can absorb either nitrate ions or ammonium ions through their roots.

1. How does phosphorus enter the cycle through weathering?

 Over time, rain and weathering cause rocks to release phosphate ionsand other
minerals.
 This inorganic phosphate is then distributed in soils and water.

2. Why is phosphorus important for life?

 Phosphorus is an essential nutrient for animals and plants.

 It plays a critical role in cell development and is a key component
of molecules that store energy, such as ATP (adenosine
triphosphate), DNA and lipids (fats and oils).
 Insufficient phosphorus in the soil can result in a decreased crop yield.

3. How do people contribute to the phosphorus cycle? Does it have positive or

negative impacts?

Humans fertilize fields and if they overfertilize it has a negative impact because
excess phosphate can be lost from the soil.

4. What happens when you have an excess of phosphorus in the water system?

When fields are overfertilised (through commercial fertilisers or manure), phosphate

not utilised by plants can be lost from the soil through leaching and water run-off.
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This phosphate ends up in waterways, lakes and estuaries. Excess phosphate causes
excessive growth of plants in waterways, lakes and estuaries leading
to eutrophication.