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Ecology: 5:2 Cycling of Materials

Total questions: 15

Worksheet time: 30mins

Name
Class
Date
1.

Which of the following statements about the nitrogen cycle is not true?

a)

Animals get nitrogen by eating plants or other animals.

b)

Plants generate nitrogen in their roots.

c)

Nitrogen moves back and forth between the atmosphere and living things.

d)

Decomposers break down waste to yield ammonia.

2.

Excessive use of fertilizer that contains nitrogen and phosphorus __

a)

affects the carbon cycle.

b)

may cause algal blooms in waterways.

c)

causes soil erosion.

d)

contributes to primary succession

3.

What role do bacteria play during the nitrogen cycle?

a)

Bacteria store nitrogen in wastes.

b)

Bacteria convert nitrogen into water.

c)

Bacteria turn nitrogen into phosphates.

d)

Bacteria transform nitrogen into molecules.

4.

Which of the following shows an effect on the carbon cycle of the increased burning of fossil fuels?

a)

More carbonates remain in fossil fuels

b)

More carbon dioxide is absorbed by organisms.

c)

More carbon dioxide is absorbed by the

atmosphere.

d)

More carbohydrates remain buried deep in the

ground.

5.

Which of the following does not contain carbon from the bodies of plants and animals that died millions of years ago?

a)

coal

b)

oil

c)

natural gas

d)

phosphate salts

6.

Which gas makes up 78 percent of our atmosphere but can be used by plants only when transformed by bacteria first?

a)

nitrogen

b)

oxygen

c)

hydrogen

d)

carbon dioxide

7.

Which statement describes how humans are affecting the balance of carbon in the atmosphere?

a)

Fewer agricultural crops are planted, reducing the amount of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere.

b)

Burning fossil fuels in great quantities has increased the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

c)

Overgrazing of grasslands has reduced the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

d)

Severe drought in large areas of the world has decreased the amount of carbon dioxide that is released into the atmosphere.

8.

Which of the following is responsible for making nitrogen in the atmosphere usable by living organisms?

a)

absorption of nitrogen into water systems

b)

conversion of nitrogen into carbohydrates by photosynthesis

c)

nitrogen-fixing bacteria

d)

decomposing bacteria

9.

All living things must be able to make proteins, and protein molecules always contain nitrogen. Which of the following trace the path of the nitrogen in the correct order?

1. After the lion dies, decomposers break down the lion's carcass and convert the nitrogen in it to ammonia in the soil.

2. De-nitrifying bacteria will convert the ammonia to nitrogen gas and release it into the atmosphere.

3. Nitrogen-fixing bacteria capture nitrogen from the air and convert it to a form that can be used by plants

4. Herbivores acquire nitrogen by eating the plants, and the lion acquires nitrogen by eating the herbivores

a)

4, 2, 1, 3

b)

1, 3, 4, 2

c)

3, 4, 1, 2

d)

3, 2, 1, 4

10.

Humans are affecting the carbon Cycle by

a)

burning fossil fuels

b)

using carbonates at an alarming rate

c)

using fertilizers

d)

replanting rain forests

11.

Humans usually get the phosphorous that their bodies need from

a)

eating plants and animals that contain phosphorous

b)

mining

c)

food additives

d)

drinking water

12.

In the Carbon cycle, where do the producers get their carbon?

a)

the atmosphere

b)

carbohydrates in plants

c)

fossil fuels

d)

animal remains

13.

Where are fossil fuels located?

a)

on the surface of the earth

b)

deep within the earth

c)

beneath the ocean floor

d)

all of the above

14.

Where would you most likely find nitrogen fixing bacteria?

a)

in the leaves of trees

b)

on the roots of legumes

c)

on dust particles in the atmosphere

d)

in blue-green algae

15.

Which of these is a large reservoir of nitrogen that is unusable by most organisms?

a)

soil

b)

atmosphere

c)

ocean

d)

space