PAP Bio: CYCLING OF MATTER & ENERGY

Students designed an experiment to model the carbon cycle. The students combined water & carbon dioxide-producing disks in a sealed flask. The flask represented earth's atmosphere, and the lamp represented the sun.

Which component can be added to the flask to reduce the concentration of carbon dioxide in the model atmosphere created by the discs?

• Bacteria to use carbon during nitrification.

• Plants to absorb carbon in the process of photosynthesis.

• Snails to use carbon through cellular respiration.

• Mushrooms to absorb carbon during decomposition.

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NGSS.MS-ESS2-1

NGSS.MS-LS1-6

NGSS.MS-LS2-3

Which statement is an example of how carbon moves through a food chain as part of the carbon cycle?

• Producers release carbon dioxide, and consumers take it in.

• Producers take in carbon dioxide, and consumers release it.

• Producers take in carbon from the soil, and they release it when they decompose.

• Producers release carbon into the soil, and consumers take it in from the soil.

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NGSS.MS-LS2-3

What would be the most likely effect of a wildfire that burned a large area of a forest?

• More sugars and starches would be available for animals in the area.

• The availability of fossil fuels for use by industries in the area would be reduced.

• Less carbon dioxide would be removed from the atmosphere in the area by plants.

• An increase in animal respiration would increase the release of carbon dioxide in the area.

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NGSS.MS-LS2-3

NGSS.MS-LS2-4

As part of the nitrogen cycle, animals acquire some amino acids by doing which of the following?

• Breathing air

• Eating plants

• Drinking water

• Producing waste

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NGSS.MS-LS2-3

Atmospheric nitrogen has to be combined with other elements, or fixed, in order to be used by plants. Lightning is one way that nitrogen is fixed. When lightning occurs, the extreme heat breaks the bonds in nitrogen molecules, allowing nitrogen to combine with oxygen and form nitrogen oxides.

In what way is most of the nitrogen fixed by lightning made available for use by plants?

• It is moved by the wind to dry areas.

• It is incorporated into the exoskeletons of flying insects that eat plants.

• It is inhaled and exhaled by birds roosting in trees during rainstorms.

• It is carried by rain into the soil.

The diagram shows the flow of organic molecules through an ecosystem. One process that occurs in this ecosystem is labeled X, and another that occurs is labeled Y.

Which two processes are identified as X and Y?

• X: respiration

  Y: predation

• X: adaptation

  Y: decomposition

• X: fermentation

  Y: nitrogen fixation

• X: decomposition

  Y: respiration

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS2-3

The carbon cycle includes processes that release carbon into the atmosphere and places that act as carbon reservoirs. The diagram shows both major processes that release carbon and major carbon reservoirs.

Which of these disruptions could cause an excess output in the carbon cycle?

• The destruction of trees

• Decrease in marine life

• An reduction in the use of fossil fuels

• Thickening of ocean sediments

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NGSS.MS-ESS2-1

NGSS.MS-ESS3-4

Which of the following explains how water undergoes a change of state in one stage of the water cycle in order to move from the ocean's surface to the atmosphere?

• Liquid water that is heated by the sun becomes a gas vapor and rises.

• Water vapor rises as it is cooled by the ocean.

• Liquid water that is heated by the sun condenses into precipitation.

• Water vapor collects in droplets of fog over the ocean's surface.

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NGSS.MS-ESS2-4

NGSS.MS-PS1-4

The diagram shows the process of evaporation over the ocean. What is the most likely effect of this process on the land areas nearby?

• Increased drought conditions.

• Decreased erosion of the shoreline.

• Increased precipitation.

• Decreased solar radiation.

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NGSS.MS-ESS2-4

A student made an incomplete carbon cycle model as shown.

The student wants to add an arrow to represent how the deer obtains carbon in the carbon cycle. Which of the following additions to the model would be most appropriate?

• An arrow from the tree and grass to the deer representing the deer eating the grass and trees.

• An arrow from the air to the deer representing the deer breathing the air.

• An arrow from the water to the deer representing the deer drinking the water.

• An arrow from the sun to the deer representing photosynthesis.

Answer explanation

Deer obtain carbon in the carbon cycle by consuming autotrophs, such as grass and trees, that have carbon stored in their tissues from the process of photosynthesis.

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS2-3