Transcript Slide 1

CYCLES OF MATTER
The Water Cycle
 Nutrient Cycles
 The Carbon Cycle
 The Nitrogen Cycle
 The Phosphorus
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The Water Cycle
Water Chemical Properties
+
+
H
H
Two atoms of hydrogen
One atom of oxygen
o
-
Evaporation
Evaporation
The process by which
water changes from
liquid form to an
atmospheric gas
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Transpiration
Transpiration
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The process by which
water enters the
atmosphere by
evaporating from leaves
Condensation
Condensation
Heat from the sun changes
water into water vapor
 Water vapor produces
droplets of water
that form clouds
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Precipitation
Precipitation
Results when the water
droplets are large enough
and the water returns to
Earth’s surface
 The form may consist of
rain, snow, sleet, or hail
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Rain or snow falls from
clouds
Condensation
The movement through plants
The Clouds form
Transpiration
Precipitation
The rain falls
Evaporation
The vapor rises
Water Cycle Song
(to the tune of “She’ll Be Coming Around the Mountain”)
Water travels in a cycle, yes it does.
Use pointer finger to draw large circle in air.
Water travels in a cycle, yes it does.
Repeat above motion.
It goes up as evaporation,
Raise arms at side with palms up.
Forms clouds as condensation,
Brings hands together above head, forming large cloud shape with arms.
Then falls down as precipitation, yes it does.
Slowly lower arms at side with palms down, fingers moving.
The Carbon Cycle
Carbon Cycle
Importance of Carbon
Found in all living organisms
 Found in the oceans, air, and certain
types of rocks
 Less than 1 % circulates within the
biosphere
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Four Process of the Carbon Cycle
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Photosynthesis and Cellular Respiration;
decomposition of plants and animals
Release of CO2 into the atmosphere by
volcanoes
Burial of carbon rich remains of organisms,
their conversion into coal and petroleum (fossil
fuels) through the pressure of overlying earth
Human Activity: mining, burning of fossil
fuels, cutting and burning down of forests
Steps of the Carbon Cycle
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Carbon Dioxide is present in the atmosphere
Released in the air by volcanic activity,
burning of fossil fuels, and decomposition of
organic matter
Plants take in CO2 and use it to produce high
energy sugars (carbohydrates) during
photosynthesis
Carbohydrates are passed along the food chain
to other organisms
Steps of the Carbon Cycle
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Carbon is found in the oceans, along with calcium
and oxygen, in calcium carbonate (CaCO3), which is
produced by many marine organisms
Calcium carbonate can also be formed chemically in
certain marine environments; it accumulates in
marine sediments and in the bones and shells of
organisms
They eventually breakdown and the carbon returns to
the atmosphere
References
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Missouri Science Teaching and Education
Partnerships
Prentice Hall Biology by Miller and Levine
Phosphorus Cycle
Component
Input to soil
Loss from soil
The Phosphorus Cycle
Crop
harvest
Animal
manures
and biosolids
Atmospheric
deposition
Mineral
fertilizers
Plant
residues
Organic phosphorus
•Microbial
•Plant residue
•Humus
Leaching
(usually minor)
Plant
uptake
Soil solution
phosphorus
•HPO4-2
•H2PO4-1
Primary
minerals
(apatite)
Runoff and
erosion
Mineral
surfaces
(clays, Fe and
Al oxides,
carbonates)
Secondary
compounds
(CaP, FeP, MnP, AlP)
Phosphorus Cycle
Importance of Phosphorus
Components of nucleic acids
(DNA and RNA); life sustaining
molecules
 Part of biological membranes
 Absorbed by plants from the soil
or water and bind the phosphate
into organic compounds
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Phosphorus Facts
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Not common in the biosphere
Remains mostly on land in rock and soil
minerals, and in ocean sediments
Exists in the form of inorganic phosphates
Released by the breakdown of rocks and
sediments
Some is washed into rivers and streams, where
it dissolves
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Eventually ends up in oceans where it is used
by marine organisms
Some phosphates stay on land and cycle
between organisms and the soil
Organic phosphates move through the food
web, from producers to consumers, and to the
rest of the ecosystem
Graphic courtesy of www.cst.cmich.edu/centers/mwrc/ phosphorus%20cycle.htm
The Nitrogen
Cycle
Importance of Nitrogen
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All organisms need nitrogen to make amino acids, the
building blocks of proteins
Several different forms of nitrogen occur naturally in
the atmosphere
Nitrogen gas (N2) makes up about 78% of the Earth’s
atmosphere
Nitrogen-containing substances are found in wastes
produced by many organisms as well as dead or
decaying ones; examples are ammonia (NH3), nitrate
ions (NO3), and nitrite ions (NO2)
Importance of Nitrogen
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Nitrogen also exists in different forms in the
oceans and other large bodies of water
Human activity adds nitrogen to the biosphere
in the form of nitrate (a major component of
plant fertilizers)
Steps of the Nitrogen Cycle
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Only certain types of bacteria can use the form
of nitrogen gas
Bacteria that live in the soil, on the roots of
plants called legumes, can convert nitrogen gas
into ammonia (NH3): process is called
nitrogen fixation
Other bacteria convert ammonia into nitrates
and nitrites
Steps of the Nitrogen Cycle
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Once nitrates and nitrites are available, producers use
them to make their own proteins
Upon death, decomposers return the nitrogen back to
the soil as ammonia
The ammonia is taken back up by the producers
Other bacteria convert the nitrates back into nitrogen
gas: process is called denitrification
Denitrification releases nitrogen back into the
atmosphere