Nutrient Cycling in the Biosphere

The process of plants losing water through their leaves is called ____.

• condensation
• evaporation
• transpiration
• exhaling

What is the only process that removes carbon from the atmosphere?

• combustion
• cellular respiration
• photosynthesis
• decomposition

From where can the carbon in coal, oil, and natural gas be found and extracted for use by humans?

• Biomass, such as tree trunks and roots

• the remains of dead organisms of the past

• carbon-fixing bacteria in swamp soil

• carbon dioxide dissolved in ocean water

What converts nitrogen into a useable form for plants and animals?

• bacteria
• fungi
• phytoplankton

• legumes

Which elements are in fertilizer?

• Nitrogen and Oxygen
• Phosphorous and Hydrogen
• Nitrogen and Phosphorous
• Carbon and Nitrogen

Which of the following causes all of the water on the planet to change its state (solid, liquid, gas) and move through the water cycle?

• amount of plant matter
• location of ice caps
• size of ocean
• temperature

What is water vapor doing when it changes to water?

• evaporating
• condensing
• precipitating
• runoff

What is this a picture of?

• Nitrogen cycle
• carbon cycle
• water cycle
• plant cycle

A particular golf course is using large amounts of nitrogen fertilizer. What process could move this nitrogen into a local stream?

• volatilization
• nitrogen fixation
• runoff
• ammonification

Organisms use nitrogen to form

• carbohydrates and lipids
• proteins and lipids
• lipids and nucleic acids
• proteins and nucleic acids