Name _______________________________________________
Period _____ Date __________
Cycling of Matter—NOTE HANDOUT
Recycling in the Biosphere

In most organisms ______________ of the body is made up of just ______________ elements.
 ____________________
 ____________________
 ____________________
 ____________________
The Cycle of Matter

Matter changes __________, but it does not _______________. It can be used over and over again in a
continuous cycle.
 If you crush a rock, for example, it does not vanish. Instead, it turns into sand and other bits of minerals.
 Although the matter may change form over time, the total amount of matter remains the same.
The Water Cycle

All living things need water to survive.
 Water moves between the ____________________, ____________________, and
____________________.
 Water molecules enter the atmosphere as ____________________ (a gas), when they evaporate from
the ocean or other bodies of water.

Evaporation


Transpiration


_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Sun heats the atmosphere.

Warm, moist air rises, and cools.

Water vapor condenses into droplets that form clouds.

As droplets become large enough, they return to the Earth’s surface in the form of
____________________.


Rain, snow, sleet, or hail.
Most precipitation runs along the surface of the earth until it enters a river or stream that carries the runoff
back to a lake or ocean.

Rain also seeps into the soil, some deeply enough to become ground water.

Water in the soil enters plants through the roots, and the water cycle begin again.
Nutrient Cycles

Nutrients
 _____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________

Every living organism needs nutrients to _______________________________________ and carry out
___________________________________________________________________________________________.
 Nutrients are passed between organisms and the environment through ____________________ cycles.
Elements Essential To Life Also Cycle Through Ecosystems

Biogeochemical cycles
 The cycling of carbon, nitrogen, phosphorous, and sulfur is just as important as the cycle of water
through ecosystems.
 _____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
 Many substances will change states, from solid, to liquid, to gas, as they move through their
cycles.
The Oxygen Cycle
 Plant, animals, and most other organisms need oxygen for ___________________________________________.
 The Story of the Oxygen Cycle

Plants release oxygen during photosynthesis. Oxygen can also be indirectly released by the cycling of
other nutrients, like carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorous. In turn, humans and other organisms take in
the oxygen and release it as carbon dioxide through respiration. Plants then take in the carbon dioxide,
utilize it as part of photosynthesis, and release oxygen as a waste product.
The Carbon Cycle

Carbon is a key ingredient of living tissue.

Calcium carbonate (CaCO3) is an important component of _________________________________________,
and is found in several kinds of rocks.

Carbon dioxide (CO2) is an important part of the atmosphere.
 CO2 is taken up by plants during _________________________, and given off by both plants and animals
during _________________________.

Biological processes, such as photosynthesis, respiration, and decomposition, take up and release carbon and
oxygen.

Geochemical processes, such as erosion and volcanic activity, release carbon dioxide to the atmosphere and
oceans.

Mixed biogeochemical processes, such as the burial and decomposition of dead organisms and their conversion
under pressure into coal and petroleum (fossil fuels), store carbon underground.

Human activities, such as ____________________, ____________________ and ____________________, and
burning ____________________, release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

Plants take in CO2 and use carbon to build ____________________ during photosynthesis.
 The carbohydrates are passed along food webs to animals and other consumers.

In the ocean, carbon is found along with calcium and oxygen in the form of____________________ .
 Calcium carbonate is formed by marine organisms.
 This accumulates in marine sediments and in the bones and shells of organisms.

As these break down, the carbon returns to the atmosphere.

Not all carbon molecules move freely thorough the cycle.

Areas that store carbon over a long period of time are called ____________________.
 Example: Forest land, where large amounts of carbon are stored in the cellulose of wood.
The Nitrogen Cycle

All organisms require nitrogen to make ____________________, which in turn are used to make
____________________.
 Many different forms of nitrogen are found in the biosphere.

Nitrogen gas (N2) makes up __________ of Earth’s atmosphere.

Ammonia (NH3), nitrate (NO3-), nitrite (NO2-), are found in wastes produced by many organisms and in dead and
decaying organic matter.

Nitrogen exists in several forms in the ocean and other large bodies of water.

Human activity adds nitrogen to the biosphere in the form of nitrate—a major component of plant fertilizers.

Although ____________________ is the most abundant form of nitrogen on Earth, only certain types of bacteria
can use this form directly.
 These bacteria live in the soil and on the roots of legumes, convert
____________________into____________________ .
 The process is called ________________________________________.

Now, other bacteria can convert the ammonia into nitrates and nitrites.
 Producers (plants) can use nitrates and nitrites to make proteins.

Consumers then eat the producers and reuse the nitrogen to make their own proteins.

When the consumers die, ____________________ return ____________________ to the soil as
____________________.
 The ammonia may be taken up again by other producers.
 Other soil bacteria convert ____________________ into ____________________, which releases
nitrogen into the atmosphere again.

This process is called ____________________.
The Phosphorous Cycle

Phosphorous is essential to living organisms because it forms part of important life-sustaining molecules such as
__________ and __________.
 Phosphorous is not very common in the biosphere.

Phosphorous is found mainly on land in ____________________ and ____________________, and in
____________________.
 Phosphorous exists in the form of inorganic phosphate.
 As the rocks and sediments wear down, phosphate is released.

On land, some of the phosphate washes into rivers and streams, where it dissolves.
 The phosphate eventually makes its way to the ocean, where it is used by marine organisms.

Some phosphate stays on land and cycles between organisms and the soil.
 When plants absorb phosphate from the soil or from water, the plants bind the phosphate into organic
compounds.
 Organic phosphate moves through the food web, from producers to consumers, and to the rest of the
ecosystem.
Nutrient Limitation

Primary Productivity
 _____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
 One factor that controls primary productivity of an ecosystem is the amount of
________________________________________.

If a nutrient is in short supply, it will limit an organisms growth.

Limiting nutrient
 _____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
 These ecosystems are considered to be ________________________________________ environments.

Oceans can be considered to be nutrient-poor.
 Sea water contains only .00005 % nitrogen (1/10,000 of the amount typically found in soil).
 In sea water and other saltwater environments, nitrogen is often the limiting nutrient.

In streams, lakes, and freshwater environments, phosphorous is typically the limiting nutrient.

Farmers are aware of nutrient limitation and apply fertilizer to their crops.
 Fertilizer contains nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium.
 These nutrient help plants grow larger and more quickly than they would in unfertilized soil.

As rain comes down on fertilized fields, runoff will flow into the oceans and freshwater lakes and ponds.
 This can result in a huge increase in limited nutrients (i.e. nitrogen).
 The results are ________________________________________ .

Algal Blooms
 Algae is a producer. When more nutrients are available, they grow and reproduce more quickly.
 If there are not enough consumers to eat the excess algae, algae can cover the surface of the water.

Some algae produce neurotoxins, and can disrupt the ecosystem.