Section 5 Cycling of Matter

Principles of Ecology Study Guide B Answer Key SECTION 5. CYCLING OF MATTER 1. Description: process in which water or snow falls to Earth 2. Description: process in which water droplets reenter the atmosphere 3. Description: process in which water vapor is released from plant leaves 4. Description: process in which water vapor in the atmosphere condenses to form clouds 5. oxygen, respiration 6. photosynthesis, carbon dioxide, respiration 7. carbon dioxide 8. respiration, decomposition 9. Combustion 10. nitrogen fixation is a process in which certain types of bacteria convert gaseous nitrogen into ammonia 11. (1) Phosphate is released by the weathering of rocks. (2) Plants and some fungi take up phosphate in their roots. (3) Phosphorus moves from producers to consumers via the food web. (4) During decomposition, phosphorus is returned to the soil. (5) Some phosphorus leaches into the water supply, and may become locked into sediments at the bottom of the water body. Over time, the sediments form rocks, and the cycle starts again when phosphate is released by these rocks when they erode. 12. Many power plants burn some type of fossil fuel to generate electricity. Widescale use of electricity would cause excessive amounts of carbon to be released into the atmosphere. 13. Answers will vary. A good answer might be: Particles thrown up into the atmosphere by the impact would have blocked and reduced the amount of sunlight reaching the Earth for several years. This would have adversely affected photosynthesis, disrupting the biogeochemical cycles. 14. a biogeochemical cycle is the movement of a particular chemical through the biological (living), geological (nonliving/earth), and chemical parts of an ecosystem 15. the movement of water from the atmosphere to the surface of Earth, below ground, and back Principles of Ecology Study Guide B Name ______________________________ Class ___________________ Date __________________ Section 5: Cycling of Matter Study Guide B KEY CONCEPT Matter cycles in and out of an ecosystem. VOCABULARY hydrologic cycle nitrogen fixation biogeochemical cycle MAIN IDEA: Water cycles through the environment. Fill in the chart with a description of each process that describes how water moves through an ecosystem in the hydrologic cycle. Process Description 1. precipitation 2. evaporation 3. transpiration 4. condensation MAIN IDEA: Elements essential for life also cycle through ecosystems. Complete the following sentences with the proper terms. 5. Plants, animals, and most other organisms need ___________________ for cellular ___________________. 6. Oxygen is released as a waste product by plants during the process of ___________________. Animals takes in this oxygen and release it as ___________________ during the process of ___________________. 7. In the carbon cycle, plants use energy from the Sun to convert ___________________ from the air into organic material that becomes a part of the plant’s structure. 8. Carbon is released to the atmosphere as carbon dioxide when you breathe during the process of ___________________ or through the ___________________ of dead organisms. 1 Study Guide B Principles of Ecology Section 5: Cycling of Matter Name ______________________________ Class ___________________ Date __________________ Study Guide B continued 9. ___________________, or the burning of fossil fuels, also adds carbon dioxide to the atmosphere. 10. What is nitrogen fixation? _______________________________________________________________ 11. List five steps that occur during the phosphorus cycle. _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ MAIN IDEA: Natural and human activities can disrupt biogeochemical cycles and ecosystems. 12. Explain how widescale use of electrical power could cause a disruption in the carbon cycle. _______________________________________________________________ 13. Many scientists link the extinction of dinosaurs to an asteroid crashing into Earth 65 million years ago. Describe one way this naturally occurring event might have disrupted biogeochemical cycles enough to initiate a global mass extinction. _______________________________________________________________ Vocabulary Check Use the following word origins to answer the questions below. Word Part Meaning bio- life chem- chemical geo- earth hydro- water 14. What is a biogeochemical cycle? _______________________________________________________________ 15. What is the hydrologic cycle? _______________________________________________________________ 2 Study Guide B Principles of Ecology Section 5: Cycling of Matter