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cycles of matter

Total questions: 40

Worksheet time: 20mins

Name
Class
Date
1.

Which of the following best describes how carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is changed by living organisms?

a)

it is absorbed by plants during photosynthesis

b)

it is exchanged for water vapor through the process of respiration

c)

it is created when factory workers burn fossil fuels

d)

it is used by plants and animals to convert organic carbon to oxygen

2.

How does this illustration demonstrate the Law of Conservation of Mass?

a)

Carbon is being created.

b)

Carbon is being destroyed.

c)

Carbon is not being created or destroyed but merely transferred from place to place.

d)

Carbon is being created, destroyed, and transferred from place to place.

3.

Which of the following is NOT a way carbon dioxide returns to the atmosphere?

a)

decay of organisms

b)

photosynthesis

c)

emissions by factories

d)

respiration

4.

How is carbon returned to the soil?

a)

respiration

b)

combustion

c)

photosynthesis

d)

decomposition

5.

What stage occurs in the water cycle when water vapor cools?

a)

evaporation

b)

condensation

c)

transpiration

d)

sublimation

6.

Which is NOT a greenhouse gas?

a)

oxygen

b)

carbon dioxide

c)

methane

d)

ozone

7.

Greenhouse gases...

a)

make plants green.

b)

produce oxygen.

c)

trap heat from the sun.

d)

decrease the Earth's temperature.

8.

What makes up 78% of the air we breathe?

a)

oxygen

b)

free nitrogen

c)

fixed oxygen

d)

carbon dioxide

9.

What is nitrogen fixing?

a)

Soil bacteria make nitrogen useful for producers.

b)

Producers make nitrogen useful for consumers.

c)

Nitrogen gas in the atmosphere creates complex compounds.

d)

Nitrogen combines with oxygen to make a useful gas.

10.

Which of the following best explains why nitrogen fixation must take place?

a)

Atmospheric nitrogen is unusable to plants and animals

b)

Animals must breathe in nitrogen

c)

Nitrogen must be returned to the atmosphere

d)

Nitrogen gets "stuck" in the soil and must be untrapped

11.

What process returns nitrogen back to the atmosphere?

a)

Nitrogen fixation

b)

Denitrification

c)

Elimination

d)

Respiration

12.
The oceans are a large carbon reservoir.
a)
True
b)
False
13.

What converts nitrogen gas into a usable form for plants and animals?

a)

bacteria

b)

rain

c)

fungi

d)

car exhaust

14.

Organisms that need nitrogen to survive.

a)

only plants

b)

only animals

c)

only bacteria

d)

all living things

15.

How do animals get the nitrogen they need?

a)

From the air they breathe

b)

From the water they drink

c)

From the food they eat

d)

From the sun

16.

Plants and animals cannot use nitrogen directly from the air.

a)

True

b)

False

17.

Which of the following puts an enormous amount of carbon in the atmosphere?

a)

photosynthesis

b)

burning fossil fuels

c)

cellular respiration

d)

decomposition

18.
What step of the water cycle is when plants gives off water vapor from photosynthesis?
a)
evaporation
b)
transpiration
c)
sublimation 
d)
condensation
19.
The carbon and oxygen cycle only affects the air/atmosphere.
a)
True
b)
False
20.

The precipitation that falls on land and then into rivers and lakes is called (a)   .

(answer with all lower case letters)

21.

What does decomposition do in the nitrogen cycle?

a)

changes nitrogen to gas

b)

puts nitrogen into soil

c)

puts nitrogen into the air

d)

gets rid of bacteria

22.

This is NOT a part of the phosphorus cycle.

a)

Phosphate is incorporated into sedimentary rocks

b)

Phosphate bound to soil

c)

Atmospheric phosphate

d)

Phosphate is absorbed from the soil by plants

23.
Phosphorous is passed from plants to ____ who eat them
a)
plants
b)
animals
c)
scavengers
24.
_____ brings phosphorous into our waterways. .
a)
precipitation
b)
runoff
c)
transpiration
d)
condensation
25.
Which of the following statements is true of the phosphorus cycle?
a)
Phosphorus enters the atmosphere as phosphates.
b)
The phosphorus cycle utilizes the processes of erosion, and weathering.
c)
Phosphates are used in carbohydrate and glucose storage.
d)
The phosphorus cycle utilizes bacteria to breakdown phosphates and make them available for plants.
26.
What role do decomposers play in the phosphorous cycle?
a)
absorb phosphorous 
b)
release phosphorous into atmosphere
c)
return phosphorous into the soil
d)
combustion
27.
This is released by the weathering of rocks.
a)
Carbon
b)
Oxygen
c)
Phosphorus
d)
Nitrogen
28.

Organisms that break down dead plants & animals and release nitrogen back into atmosphere...

a)

bacteria

b)

plants

c)

animals

d)

producers

29.
Photosynthesis
a)
absorbs CO2
b)
releases CO2
30.
Identify the cycle pictured.
a)
The Water cycle
b)
The Carbon cycle
c)
The Nitrogen cycle
d)
The Phosphorus cycle
31.
What is condensation?
a)
The part of the water cycle when the sun heats up water, turning it from a liquid into water vapor or steam. It rises from the ground into the air.
b)
The part of the water cycle when the water vapor in the air gets cold. The water turns back into a liquid and forms clouds.
c)
The part of the water cycle when clouds get heavy and can no longer hold the liquid water. This causes the water to fall from the sky to the earth as rain, snow, sleet, or hail.
32.
The carbon and oxygen cycle only affects the air/atmosphere.
a)
True
b)
False
33.
What do we call an area of underground water?
a)
cave stream
b)
oceanis
c)
aquifer
d)
liquifer
34.
Snow, sleet, hail, and rain are all examples of  ________________. 
a)
evaporation
b)
condensation
c)
accumulation
d)
precipitation
35.

What is B?

a)

Evaporation

b)

Transportation

c)

Precipitation

d)

Runoff

36.

What percentage of Earth’s water is freshwater?

a)

75%

b)

97%

c)

3%

d)

1%

37.
What percentage of the Earth’s fresh water is available for drinking?
a)
10%
b)
<1%
c)
3%
d)
15%
38.

What is shown by letter D in the diagram?

a)

runoff

b)

groundwater

c)

melting

d)

vapor

39.

When a solid turns into a gas without ever being a liquid

a)

Evaporation

b)

Precipitation

c)

Sublimation

d)

Condensation

40.

The moon is an energy source necessary for evaporation to occur

a)

True

b)

False

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