SCIENCE 8 – QUARTER 4, WEEK 6

CYCLES IN NATURE
Common Biogeochemical Cycles are:
(1) Water Cycle or Hydrologic Cycle is a continuous movement of water from the atmosphere to the earth back to the atmosphere. It involves the
following vital processes:
a. Precipitation – The movement of water from the atmosphere to the earth.
b. Evaporation –The movement of water in the form of water vapour from the earth to the atmosphere.
c. Condensation – The change in the state of water vapor to liquid water when in contact with a liquid or solid surface or cloud condensation
nuclei within the atmosphere.
d. Transpiration – The water movement through a plant and its evaporation from aerial parts, such as leaves, stems and flowers.
In this cycle;
(a) Water from the transpiring plants, oceans, rivers and lakes
evaporates into the atmosphere
(b) These water vapours subsequently cool and condense to form
clouds and water.
(c) Water returns to the earth as rain and snow.

Role of Living Things in the Water Cycle:

1. Plants
a. Plants take in water through their roots by absorption.
b. Plants give off water vapour from leaves (stomata) through transpiration.
2. Animals
a. Animals drink water or obtain water from their food.
b. Animals give off a certain amount of water through exhalation, sweating, or exercise.
3. Humans
Consider your day-to-day activities especially those which pertain to conservation of water on the earth’s surface.
(2) Carbon-Oxygen Cycle:

Most of the carbon dioxide enters the living world through photosynthesis. The
organic compounds synthesised are passed from the producers (green plants) to the
consumers (herbivores and carnivores). During respiration, plants and animals release carbon
back to the surrounding medium as carbon-dioxide. The dead bodies of plants and animals as
well as the body wastes, which accumulate carbon compounds, are decomposed by micro-
organisms to release carbon dioxide. Carbon is also recycled during burning of fossil fuels.

The Role of Carbon

1. Carbon is a major building block in organisms as it is a component of carbohydrates, fats, proteins, ATP, and nucleic acid.
2. Carbon forms carbon dioxide (CO2), a component of the atmosphere which acts as a major storage “bank” for the recycled carbon in the
biosphere.
3. Carbon dioxide enters the plant body as a raw material for photosynthesis.
4. Carbon is stored in the earth’s crust, in the limestone shells of marine organisms, and as fossil fuels or deposits of coal, oil, and natural
gas.
Oxygen required for respiration in plants and animals enters the body directly from the surrounding medium (air or water). Oxygen returns to
the surroundings in the form of Carbon-dioxide or water. It also enters the plant body as carbon dioxide and water during photosynthesis and is
released in the form of molecular oxygen as a by-product in the same process for use in respiration. Thus, the cycle is completed.
The Role of Oxygen
1. Oxygen (O2) is one of life’s major building blocks. About every fourth atom in the body of an organism is an oxygen atom.
2. Oxygen serves as an acceptor of hydrogen atoms in the respiration process.
3. Together with hydrogen atoms, oxygen forms water (H2O) molecules during respiration.
4. Oxygen enables heterotrophic cells to transform energy through oxidation of food materials.
The two major life processes involved in the carbon-oxygen cycle-
photosynthesis and respiration. During photosynthesis, plants use CO2 along
with water and the sun’s energy to produce glucose and release O2. During
respiration, both plants and animals use O2 to break down glucose. The by-
products are CO2 and H2O.

The Role of Living Things in the Carbon-Oxygen Cycle

1. Plants utilize carbon dioxide (CO2) in the process of photosynthesis to make food and produce oxygen.
2. Animals utilize O2 to break down food in the process of cellular respiration and bring out glucose (to be used by cells) and CO2.
Another part of the cycle is decomposition, a process by which organisms like bacteria break down the tissues and excretions of the other
organisms to simple substances. The process of decay releases the carbon from the compounds retained in the bodies of organisms when they die.
Carbon is the released to the atmosphere as CO2. In the same way, as O2 is used in the burning of fuels (factories, volcanoes, etc.), CO2 is released.
Impact of Humans in the Carbon-Oxygen Cycle
Let us consider water pollution. Phytoplanktons are the producer protists that live in bodies of water. Their photosynthetic activity accounts for
a great deal of oxygen supplied to our atmosphere. A thin layer of oil that spreads over the ocean waters would cut off the light supply needed by
phytoplanktons to continue their photosynthetic process. The same layer of oil plus other water contaminants added to the water by people will also
bring about poisonous effects on the other organisms present.
Another example is the large quantity of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere which may bring about a condition known as greenhouse effect.
The heat that is radiated from the earth’s surface is trapped by large amount of CO2. In short, CO2 acts like the roof of a greenhouse. It holds heat
close to the earth.

(3) Nitrogen Cycle:

Nitrogen of the atmosphere is in the elemental
form and cannot be used as such by living organisms. It
has to be “fixed” i.e. combined with other elements such as
hydrogen, carbon or oxygen to become usable for the
green plants. Nitrogen is continuously entering into the air
by the action of denitrifying bacteria and returning to the
cycle through the action of lightning and electrification.
Processes Involved in the Nitrogen Cycle
1. Ammonification – This is the process of releasing ammonia (NH3) from decaying proteins by means of bacterial action.
2. Nitrification – This refers to the action of a group of solid bacteria on ammonia producing nitrates (NO3).
3. Denitrification – This process is carried out by denitrifying or anaerobic bacteria which break down ammonia, nitrates, and nitrites (NO2), liberating
free nitrogen.
4. Nitrogen Fixation – This refers to the process by which certain bacteria in the soil or in the roots of legumes plants convert free N2 into compounds
that the plants can use.
Role of Nitrogen in Living Thing
Every protein is made up of amino acids. Every amino acid is composed of an amino acid group. An amino group is made up of one atom of
nitrogen and two atoms of hydrogen (NH2). In each organism’s body, there are several amino acids that compose varying protein structures. As we all
know, these variations bring about individual differences. Other important molecules also contain nitrogen (N2).
The Flow of Nitrogen in the Cycle
Gaseous nitrogen composes 78% of our atmosphere in the form of a two-atom molecule (N2). In spite of this amount, plants still cannot use
nitrogen directly as a nutrient. Certain types of bacteria, the nitrogen-fixing bacteria, can utilize atmosphere N2. These bacteria are found within nodules
in the roots of clover, alfalfa, peas, makahiya, and other members of the legume family.
After the nitrogen fixation process, nitrogen from air is converted to nitrates. Plants absorb NO3 as a group of soil minerals. Inside the plant
bodies, N2 from NO3 combines chemically with oxygen, hydrogen (H2), and carbon (C) to build up proteins. Sulfur (S) and phosphorous (P) maybe
added from sol minerals.
When an animal eats the plant or another animal, it consumes protein as food. In the body, this is broken up into amino acids (its building
blocks) which are converted into protoplasm. Not all of these protein materials have the same fate; some are oxidized to produce energy. In such a
case, N2 compounds maybe excreted by the animal and be further decomposed by bacterial action in the soil or water, or wherever the animal may
thrive.
When an organism dies, decay begins. Nitrogen is released from decaying proteins and combines with H2 to form ammonia-a process called
ammonification. Certain kinds of bacteria (nitrifying bacteria) use ammonia and produce nitrite- a poisonous form of N2 compound which cannot be
utilized as a nutrient by plants.
Nitrite is further acted upon chemically by other bacteria (nitrate bacteria) resulting in the formation of the more usable nitrates.
By starting with NO3 and ending with NO2, a complete sequence of the cycle has been described.
The Role of Living Things in the Nitrogen Cycle
1. Plants. They play a key role in that they absorb simple nitrogen-containing compounds (nitrates, NO3) from the soil or water, incorporating
these into complex compounds of life. Legumes plants help fix free N2 from the air.
2. Animals. They become involved only when they eat plants, thus absorbing the proteins. Both organisms, however, contribute excrement to
be acted upon by the bacteria in soil.
Human and Their Impact on the Nitrogen Cycle
While it is important for humans to have an increase yield of agricultural plants, the large-scale dumping of fixed N2 to enhance soil fertility can
create problems. In 1914, German chemist found a way to fix atmospheric nitrogen in large quantities-about 30 million metric tons per year-an amount
that was fixed by all terrestrial ecosystems even before human existed. Such activity produced an imbalance between crop production yield and the
denitrifying phase, a return of N2 to the atmosphere.
A problem brought about by human input is euthrophication – a process by which lakes or any freshwater ecosystems slowly become shallow
by the accumulation of dead plant materials. In such a process, as contaminants are dumped into the body of water, there is an increase quantity of
nitrate or phosphate (PO4) ions, causing a rapid multiplication of certain algae populations. The condition in which the algae either cover the water or
color it with their presence is called algal bloom. Algal bloom increases the number of decomposers which use up the oxygen needed by other animals
as well as other decomposers. As an effect, the water animals and the decomposers die, accumulating at the bottom of the body of water.
The Abiotic Influence on the Nitrogen Cycle
Aside from microorganism fixers and legumes, lightning and meteor trails also bring about nitrogen fixation. These phenomena in the
atmosphere provide bursts of high energy that enable free N2 into the air to combine with the hydrogen or oxygen of water and be washed to the soil by
means of rainfall.

ASSESSMENT
Directions: Read the following questions and write the letter of your answer on a separate sheet of paper.
1. Boiling of water is an example of _________.
A. precipitation B. respiration C. evaporation D. decomposition
2. When do bacteria are essential?
A.combustion B. photosynthesis C. nitrogen fixation D. evaporation
3. Which of the following statements about cycles of matter is true?
A. Matter is lost in each cycle. B. Human activity has little or no impact on cycles.
C. Each cycle involves evaporation and condensation. D.Matter is moved between the physical environment and living organisms.
4. The movement of water in the form of water vapour from the earth to the atmosphere.
A. transpiration B. condensation C. precipitation D.evaporation
5. The water movement through a plant and its evaporation from aerial parts, such as leaves, stems and flowers.
A. transpiration B. condensation C. precipitation D.evaporation
6. Drinking after running on a hot day replaces water lost through ___.
A. condensation B. respiration C. transpiration D.combustion
7. Approximately 91 percent of the Earth’s ____ falls on the ocean.
A. nitrogen B. water C. carbon D. precipitation
8. Water that seeps into the ground, where it is stored in underground caverns or in porous rock, is called __________.
A. runoff B. deposition C. ground water D. lakes
9. Organisms need nitrogen to ____________.
A. breathe B. break down carbon molecules C. build proteins and DNA D. build sugar
10. When fungi and bacteria decompose organic matter, they return ____ to the environment.
A. oxygen B. nitrogen C. carbon D. both B and C
11. What is the source of carbon in fossil fuels?
A. combustion and respiration B. carbon captured during nitrogen fixation
C. the buried remains of long-dead organisms D. carbon dioxide in ground water
12. Carbon dioxide is being released into the atmosphere in increasing quantities, causing it to hold heat. These causes ______.
A. the temperature of land to rise. B. global warming C. the temperature of the ocean to rise D. all of the above
13. What step(s) could be taken to help reduce the emission of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere?
A. decrease combustion B. cut fewer trees C. plant more plants D. All of the above
14. Carbon dioxide and water are released as by-products of A.combustion B. respiration C. photosynthesis D. decomposition
15. Most animals get the nitrogen they need by _____________.
A. breathing B. eating other organisms C. "fixing" nitrogen D. drinking water