3.3 Cycles of Matter Quiz ANSWER KEY

Name :______

Period : ______

Date: ______

3.3 Cycles of Matter Quiz ANSWER KEY

1. Elements, chemical compounds, and other forms of matter are passed from one organism to another and from one part of the biosphere to another through biogeochemical cycles. (4 pts)

2. What are the 3 full prefixes in biogeochemical cycles? (2 pts)

Biological, geological, and chemical.

3. Define and explain transpiration. (2 pts)

Process in which one strain of bacteria is changed by a gene or genes from another strain of bacteria.

4. Where does all the water come from? (2 pts)

Moves between the ocean, atmosphere, and land.

5. In what 4 forms does water return to the Earth’s surface in the form of precipitation (4 pts):

Rain, snow, sleet, or hail.

5. The process in with water changes from liquid to an atmospheric gas is called evaporation. (2 pt)

6. What are all the chemical substances that an organism needs to sustain life? And what are the chemical “building blocks”? (2 pt)

Nutrients

7. Define nitrogen fixation. (2 pts)

Process of converting nitrogen gas into ammonia using bacteria which live in the soil with roots and plants called legumes.

8. Denitrification is the conversion of nitrates into nitrogen gas. (2 pts)

9. What is primary productivity? (2pts)

Rate at which organic matter is created by producers in an ecosystems.

11. Give the steps of the water cycle (4 pts):

1. During the day, the sun heats the atmosphere. [Evaporation; transpiration]

2. As the warm, moist air rises, it cools. [Condensation]

3. The water vapor condenses into tiny droplets that form clouds. [Condensation]

4. When the droplets become large enough, the water returns to Earth’s surface in the form of precipitation—rain, snow, sleet, or hail. [Precipitation]

5. (On land) precipitation runs along the surface of the ground until it enters a river or steam that carries the runoff back to an ocean or lake. Rain also seeps into the soil, some of it deeply enough to become ground water. Water in the soil enters plants through the roots, and the water cycle beings anew. [Runoff, seepage, root uptake]

12. Give the 4 main types of processes that move carbon through its cycle (4 pts):

• Biological processes(photosynthesis, respiration, and decomposition), take up and release carbon and oxygen.
• Geochemical processes (erosion and volcanic activity) release carbon dioxide to the atmosphere and oceans.
• Mixed biogeochemical processes (burial and decomposition of dead organisms and their conversion under pressure into coal and petroleum (fossil fuels)) store carbon underground.
• Human activities (mining, cutting, and burning forests, and burning fossil fuels) release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

13. Amino acids are the building blocks of ______. (2pts)

14. Organisms require ______to make amino acids. (2pts)

15. Without nitrogen, we cannot survive. What organism converts nitrogen gas into ammonia, and then into nitrates and nitrites for us? (1pts)

Bacteria.

16. Draw a simple diagram describing the phosphorous cycle. (3pts)