APES Nitrogen Cycle
Authored by Jessica Alderman
Science
10th - 12th Grade
NGSS covered
Used 592+ times
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About
This quiz focuses on the nitrogen cycle, a fundamental biogeochemical process in environmental science and ecology. Designed for high school students in grades 10-12, the questions assess understanding of the five major steps of nitrogen transformation: nitrogen fixation, nitrification, assimilation, ammonification, and denitrification. Students must demonstrate knowledge of chemical formulas and identify different nitrogen compounds including atmospheric nitrogen (N₂), ammonia (NH₃), ammonium ion (NH₄⁺), nitrite (NO₂⁻), and nitrate (NO₃⁻). The quiz requires students to understand the role of specialized bacteria in each transformation step, recognize the importance of legume root nodules in nitrogen fixation, and comprehend how nitrogen moves between atmospheric, terrestrial, and biological reservoirs. Students need to grasp that nitrogen is essential for protein synthesis in living organisms and understand both natural processes and human interventions like fertilizer production that affect the nitrogen cycle. Created by Jessica Alderman, a Science teacher in the US who teaches grades 10-12. This comprehensive assessment serves multiple instructional purposes in an Advanced Placement Environmental Science (APES) course, functioning effectively as a unit review before major assessments, homework to reinforce classroom learning, or formative assessment to identify knowledge gaps in biogeochemical cycles. Teachers can use this quiz as a warm-up activity to activate prior knowledge before introducing human impacts on the nitrogen cycle, or as targeted practice for students struggling with chemical transformations in environmental systems. The questions align with NGSS standards HS-LS2-5 (cycling of matter and energy in ecosystems) and support AP Environmental Science learning objectives related to biogeochemical cycles and their disruption by human activities. This resource strengthens student understanding of ecosystem processes essential for success in advanced environmental science coursework.
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20 questions
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1.
MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTION
30 sec • 1 pt
The step in the nitrogen cycle where plants take up nitrate and use it to make biological molecules is:
Tags
NGSS.HS-LS2-3
2.
MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTION
30 sec • 1 pt
The step in the nitrogen cycle where bacteria convert ammonia (NH3) to nitrate (NO3-) is:
Tags
NGSS.MS-LS2-3
NGSS.MS-ESS2-1
3.
MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTION
30 sec • 1 pt
The process where some bacteria remove nitrate from the soil by converting it to nitrogen gas is:
Tags
NGSS.HS-LS2-3
4.
MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTION
30 sec • 1 pt
What part of the nitrogen cycle deals with the conversion of nitrogen in waste products or dead organisms into ammonia?
5.
MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTION
30 sec • 1 pt
What is the first step in the nitrogen cycle, in which gaseous nitrogen is converted into ammonia?
Tags
NGSS.MS-LS2-3
NGSS.MS-ESS2-1
6.
MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTION
30 sec • 1 pt
Nitrogen gas accounts for what percentage of the atmosphere?
7.
MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTION
30 sec • 1 pt
Nitrogen is essential for living organisms to make:
Tags
NGSS.MS-LS1-7
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