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Cycles of Matter

Cycles of Matter. Recap:. Matter is made up of tiny particles called atoms. Living organisms consist mainly of: Hydrogen, oxygen, carbon, and nitrogen Life’s most important compounds include: Water, carbohydrates, lipids, nucleic acids, and proteins. Biogeochemical Cycles.

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Cycles of Matter

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  1. Cycles of Matter

  2. Recap: • Matter is made up of tiny particles called atoms. • Living organisms consist mainly of: • Hydrogen, oxygen, carbon, and nitrogen • Life’s most important compounds include: • Water, carbohydrates, lipids, nucleic acids, and proteins

  3. Biogeochemical Cycles • Cycles of matter include: • Biological processes • Geological processes • Chemical processes • AND human activity can play an important role • Energy flows through an ecosystem whereas matter is continuously recycled

  4. Cycles of Matter • The important cycles of matter in an ecosystem include • water cycle • carbon cycle • nitrogen cycle • phosphorus cycle

  5. The Water Cycle • Water is essential for life • Water continually moves from the Earth’s surface to the atmosphere and back in a process known as the water cycle.

  6. Nutrient Cycles • Nutrients- chemical substances that organisms need to sustain life

  7. The Carbon Cycle • Carbon is an element that is found in all living things. • Carbon is cycled through the processes of photosynthesis and respiration • Plants take the carbon dioxide and use it to make glucose during photosynthesis • During respiration, mitochondria use oxygen to break down glucose for energy.

  8. The Nitrogen Cycle • Nitrogen is an element that has to be “fixed” before most organisms are able to use it. • The changing of free nitrogen gas to a useable form is called nitrogen fixation • Most nitrogen fixation is performed by bacteria that live in bumps called nodules on the roots of certain plants. • These plants are known as legumes and include clover, beans, peas, alfalfa, and peanuts. • Nitrogen returns to the environment through animal wastes which are broken down by decomposers.

  9. Roles of Bacteria in the Nitrogen Cycle • Nitrogen-fixing bacteria that live in nodules on the roots of plants change nitrogen gas into nitrogen compounds. • Bacteria that are decomposers recycle nitrogen compounds in the soil • Other bacteria release free nitrogen to the air. What would the role of animals be? • Consume nitrogen when eating plants, or organisms that eat plants • Return nitrogen to the soil through wastes

  10. Phosphorus Cycle • Phosphorus is essential to living things because it plays a vital role in vital molecules such as DNA and RNA. • It is NOT abundant in the atmosphere unlike carbon oxygen and nitrogen

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