Cycling of Matter
SECTION 2.6
Today’s Task
 Working on your own you are going to read section
2.6 and make your own notes on the following
biogeochemical cycles


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The Water Cycle
The Carbon Cycle
The Nitrogen Cycle
 Make sure to write the definition for biogeochemical
cycle
 Colour in the worksheets given to you
Let’s Take a Look at your Notes:
 Biogeochemical Cycle – the movement of matter
from through the biotic and abiotic environment.
 Water Cycle

Shows how water takes different forms and moves through the
environment
Water evaporates from the surface water (lakes, rivers, oceans),
travels to the clouds, falls down again as rain, snow or hail.
 Water that falls on land can move through the soil and form
ground water or enter lakes/rivers and be surface water
 Water also moves from the roots to the leaves of plants and then
leaves the plant by way of transpiration

 Carbon cycle:
 Most exchange happens by way of photosynthesis – making
sugar (energy) from carbon dioxide
 Carbon deposits – when carbon is stored (fossil fuels, plant
tissues)
 Carbon sinks – when CO2 is stored in oceans (dissolved in
water)
 Humans can affect the cycle:
Car exhaust increases CO2
 Deforestation means that there are fewer trees photosynthesizing
 Leads to global warming
 Melting ice caps, increasing temperatures

 Nitrogen Cycle:
 Most N used is taken from the atmosphere, changed into
useable forms by nitrogen fixing bacteria
 This useable forms of N can be used to make proteins
 Lightening can also “fix” N
 N goes into the soil and when producers are consumed it is
passed on to the consumers.