Name: __________________________
Date: _________________ Period ___
Water Cycle
Directions: Use the following sheet with the link from the power point that details the water cycle.
The _________ evaporates _________ from lakes and oceans. As the air rises,
it cools. The water vapor condenses into tiny droplets of ___________. The
droplets crowd together and form a __________. Wind blows the __________
toward the land. The tiny droplets join together and fall as precipitation to the
____________. The water soaks into the ground and collects in
__________________. The ___________ that never ends has started again!
Use the diagram to identify the different parts of the Water Cycle
1. _____________________________
2. _____________________________
3. _____________________________
4. _____________________________
5. _____________________________
Name: ___________________________
Date: ___________________ Per. ____
The Carbon Cycle
Objectives:
1. To describe how carbon cycles naturally through living and nonliving parts of an ecosystem.
2. To understand that carbon is essential for living things
3. To understand that burning fossil fuels adds carbon to the cycle and contributes to global
warming
Directions: Read The Carbon Cycle sheet and make a list of all the places in which carbon is found on
Earth. Then you will play an online interactive game in which you will play the role of a carbon atom.
As you play the game take notes so that you can answer the assessment questions that follow.
The link below is provided for you on the Ecology power point.
Log onto: www.windows.ucar.edu/earth/climate/carbon_cycle.html
Pre-game assignment:
List all the places in which carbon is found on Earth
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
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Notes from the Carbon Cycle game:
Include information about (1) where you went, and (2) how you got to your destination.
Post-game questions:
1.
How many stops DID you make on your trip?
2. How many stops CAN you make? Will your journey ever end?
3. Is everyone’s journey the same? Why or why not?
4. What would happen if we burned more fossil fuels?
Name: ______________________
Date: ________________ Per. ___
“Window to the Universe: The Nitrogen Cycle”
Objectives:
1. To recognize and explain the nitrogen cycle
2. To explain why nitrogen is essential to living things
3. To recognize that the nitrogen cycle is complex and nonlinear traveling between organisms and the
physical environment
Directions: Read the page The Nitrogen Cycle and answer the following questions. Please do not
write on the article because there is only a classroom set. Please return when done!
1.
Where is nitrogen found on Earth?
2. Does it move from place to place or stay still?
3. Why is it important?
Directions for activity:
Nitrogen travels with the help of bacteria, water, lightning, plants and animals. Nitrogen reservoir signs
are placed around the room and these are the places to which nitrogen can travel. For this activity you are
playing the role of a nitrogen atom. You will travel through the nitrogen cycle (i.e., to different stations
around the room) based on rolling dice. You will carry a nitrogen passport and stamp it each time you get to
a nitrogen reservoir station. Then toss the die at the reservoir to find out what your next destination will
be. Write a note in the passport to indicate how you are getting from one place to another based on what
the die says.
Discussion questions (use the article to help with questions d, e and f):
a.
b.
c.
d.
How many stops DID you make on your trip?
Will your journey ever end?
Was everyone’s journey the same? Why not?
What would happen if a farmer used too much fertilizer? (In this game, that would mean
that everyone started from the fertilizer station at the same time.)
e.
What would happen if we burnt too many fossil fuels?
f.
Livestock farming creates a large amount of animal waste. How would this affect the nitrogen
cycle?
Name: ____________________________
Date: ____________________ Period ___
The Phosphorus Cycle
Directions: Study the diagram and describe how phosphorus cycles through the ecosystem. If you need
additional help read the section in your textbook titled the phosphorus cycle.
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How is the phosphorus cycle different from all of the other nutrient cycles?
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