Cycles Test 2023 Questions and Answers
with complete solution
Which of the cycles has no atmospheric component?
Phosphorous Cycle
Transpiration
Is the loss of water vapor from plants and is released into the atmosphere
Evaporation
When water is converted from liquid to water vapor
Infiltration
Water entering the soil
Percolation
Water moving through the soil
Name 3 ways in which water in the atmosphere may eventually return to the
oceans
1. groundwater movement
2. surface runoff
3. precipitation into the ocean
What 2 biological processes are responsible for cycling carbon in the
environment?
1. Photosynthesis
2. Respiration
What is meant by oceans being regarded as the "carbon sink"
Contains a lot of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and it stores calcium carbonate.
Other then Carbon Dioxide, what other forms is Carbon found in the atmosphere?
1. CH4 (Methane)
2. CO (Carbon Monoxide)
Where does all of the extra carbon come from? and what is the process that
releases it?
Extra carbon comes from fossil fuels, which is made of detritus. Burning the fossil fuels
releases it
Chemical Formula: Nitrogen
N2
Chemical Formula: Nitrous Oxide
N202
Chemical Formula: Ammonia
NH3
Chemical Formula: Nitrate
N03-
Chemical Formula: Nitrite
N02-
Nitrogen Fixation
, The conversion of atmospheric nitrogen into ammonia and is carried out by nitrogen-
fixing bacteria. Process that turns ammonia into ammonium .
Nitrification
The conversion of ammonia into nitrite or the conversion of ammonium intro nitrate.
In what forms is nitrogen readily taken up by autotrophs?
Ammonium and Nitrate Ions
How do heterotrophs get the nitrogen they need?
By eating autotrophs
What do organisms use nitrogen for? In what organic molecules is it essential?
Organisms use nitrogen to build amino acids. It is essential in proteins and nitrogenous
bases
Organisms, especially animals, give off various forms of nitrogen rich wastes.
What is the name of the process in which these wastes are converted back into
ammonia?
Ammonification
Dentrification
The conversion of nitrogenous compounds, especially nitrates, back into atmospheric
nitrogen
Nitrogen fixation and denitrification are carried out by what types of organisms?
Bacteria
How is nitrous oxide released into the environment?
Farming Practices
"Fixing Nitrogen" has become a big human business. For what purpose are
humans producing this nitrogen?
Artificial Fertilizers
Two ways in which phosphorous in aquatic systems may be returned to
terrestrial ecosystems
1. mining
2. uplifting over geological time
What other important human use do phosphates serve besides the use of
fertilizers?
1. DNA
2. ATP
3. Cell Membranes
4. RNA
What is contributing to the complexity of the Sulfur Cycle compared to other
cycles?
The large number of oxidation states the element can assume
How is sulfur naturally released into the atmosphere?
Volcanic Eruptions and by Weathering
What human activities release sulfur into the atmosphere?
The burning of fossil fuels is the activity that humans release Sulfur into the atmosphere
Acid Rain
An environmental concern surrounding the release of sulfur into the atmosphere
The element that is most limiting
Phosphorous
with complete solution
Which of the cycles has no atmospheric component?
Phosphorous Cycle
Transpiration
Is the loss of water vapor from plants and is released into the atmosphere
Evaporation
When water is converted from liquid to water vapor
Infiltration
Water entering the soil
Percolation
Water moving through the soil
Name 3 ways in which water in the atmosphere may eventually return to the
oceans
1. groundwater movement
2. surface runoff
3. precipitation into the ocean
What 2 biological processes are responsible for cycling carbon in the
environment?
1. Photosynthesis
2. Respiration
What is meant by oceans being regarded as the "carbon sink"
Contains a lot of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and it stores calcium carbonate.
Other then Carbon Dioxide, what other forms is Carbon found in the atmosphere?
1. CH4 (Methane)
2. CO (Carbon Monoxide)
Where does all of the extra carbon come from? and what is the process that
releases it?
Extra carbon comes from fossil fuels, which is made of detritus. Burning the fossil fuels
releases it
Chemical Formula: Nitrogen
N2
Chemical Formula: Nitrous Oxide
N202
Chemical Formula: Ammonia
NH3
Chemical Formula: Nitrate
N03-
Chemical Formula: Nitrite
N02-
Nitrogen Fixation
, The conversion of atmospheric nitrogen into ammonia and is carried out by nitrogen-
fixing bacteria. Process that turns ammonia into ammonium .
Nitrification
The conversion of ammonia into nitrite or the conversion of ammonium intro nitrate.
In what forms is nitrogen readily taken up by autotrophs?
Ammonium and Nitrate Ions
How do heterotrophs get the nitrogen they need?
By eating autotrophs
What do organisms use nitrogen for? In what organic molecules is it essential?
Organisms use nitrogen to build amino acids. It is essential in proteins and nitrogenous
bases
Organisms, especially animals, give off various forms of nitrogen rich wastes.
What is the name of the process in which these wastes are converted back into
ammonia?
Ammonification
Dentrification
The conversion of nitrogenous compounds, especially nitrates, back into atmospheric
nitrogen
Nitrogen fixation and denitrification are carried out by what types of organisms?
Bacteria
How is nitrous oxide released into the environment?
Farming Practices
"Fixing Nitrogen" has become a big human business. For what purpose are
humans producing this nitrogen?
Artificial Fertilizers
Two ways in which phosphorous in aquatic systems may be returned to
terrestrial ecosystems
1. mining
2. uplifting over geological time
What other important human use do phosphates serve besides the use of
fertilizers?
1. DNA
2. ATP
3. Cell Membranes
4. RNA
What is contributing to the complexity of the Sulfur Cycle compared to other
cycles?
The large number of oxidation states the element can assume
How is sulfur naturally released into the atmosphere?
Volcanic Eruptions and by Weathering
What human activities release sulfur into the atmosphere?
The burning of fossil fuels is the activity that humans release Sulfur into the atmosphere
Acid Rain
An environmental concern surrounding the release of sulfur into the atmosphere
The element that is most limiting
Phosphorous
