Carbon and Nitrogen Cycle - Weebly

1 Name _____ Period _____ Date _____ Mrs. Knight Biology I KHS Nitrogen and Carbon Cycles Web Quest Objective: To determine the importance of the Nitrogen and Carbon cycles and how these cycles function on Earth. Carbon Cycle Using a reliable search engine or the provided links, find appropriate websites to read and learn about the Carbon Cycle . 1. Complete the following animation: Cycle Go to the following website and answer the questions: 2. Carbon from the atmosphere: a.

2 Which organisms are responsible for absorbing Carbon from the atmosphere? b. What form (what compound) is the Carbon in? c. What is the name of this process? d. What is made as a result of this process? 3. How do animals and humans get the Carbon ? 4. How do animals return Carbon to the atmosphere? (There are two ways mentioned) 5. Looking at the Carbon Cycle , indicate the key steps of: e. Photosynthesis (from atmosphere to plant sugars) f. Consumption (eating) (from plant to animal to animal) g.

3 Respiration (returning Carbon to atmosphere by breathing out ) h. Decomposition (returning Carbon to soil by rotting into the ground) 6. Go to: Examine the picture. List two ways we (humans) might be altering the Carbon Cycle ? How does cutting down forest affect the amount of Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere? The Nitrogen Cycle Nitrogen is an essential part of proteins and DNA. Like Carbon , Nitrogen is recycled continuously. 1. Complete the animation: Then, review this website and answer the questions.

4 1. Where is most Nitrogen in the biosphere located? 2. This Nitrogen is not in a useable form. Plants and animals cannot simply absorb Nitrogen from the atmosphere. Therefore, it must be _____ , which means _____. 3. There are two ways that Nitrogen can NATURALLY be removed from the atmosphere: a) b) 4. What happens to Nitrogen inside of a plant? 5. How does the Nitrogen get to carnivores? 6. What happens to the Nitrogen when organisms die? 7. What is the name of the process, which returns Nitrogen to the atmosphere?

5 8. Go to the following site and place a number next to the steps involved in the Nitrogen Cycle : ed/ecosystem- jpgs/ Nitrogen - _____ denitrification = some nitrates are returned to atmosphere by denitrifying bacteria _____ assimilation = plants absorb nitrates, incorporate into proteins. Nitrogen in now in the food chain _____ Nitrogen - fixation = Nitrogen in atmosphere converted to ammonia by lightning or Nitrogen - fixing bacteria) _____ ammonification = dead plants/animals converted to ammonia by ammonifying bacteria _____ nitrification = ammonia converted to nitrates by nitrifying bacteria 9.

6 Reading the descriptions from #8, what type of ORGANISM do you notice is essential in nearly every stop of the Nitrogen Cycle ?