Nutrient Cycles Pogil-Natalia

Natalia Cocom and Lili Trujeque
20/7/16
Nutrient Cycles
How are nutrients recycled through ecosystems?
Why?
We have learned the importance of recycling our trash. It allows us to use
something again for another purpose and prevents the loss of natural
resources. But what happens to the waste in nature? Why arent we up to our
necks in natural refuse? Why is there always a supply of water? Why is there
oxygen to breathe and carbon dioxide for photosynthesis? Organic compounds
in nature are also recycled. This recycling process converts the complex
organic compounds to simple, inorganic compounds, which then can be
returned to nature to be used again and again.
Model 1 The Water Cycle
Nutrient Cycles
1. Model 1 illustrates how nature recycles what natural resource? water

2. Model 1 illustrates four major areas of water storage on Earth. Complete the
list of these storage areas below.
Atmosphere, surface water, ground water, and oceans.
3. Where is groundwater stored? In the aquifer
4. Name two processes in Model 1 in which water is converted to vapor.
Evaporation and transpiration
5. Describe two methods by which water on land (in lakes and rivers) returns to
the oceans. Surface runoff and ground water flow
6. Rain, sleet, and snow are examples of what? precipitation
7. If the air contains high levels of pollutants, what effect might this have on water
quality? Pollutants can contaminate rivers , streams, lakes and oceans
when precipitation occurs.
8. Which process(es) of the water cycleprecipitation, evaporation, condensation,

runoff, percolation or transpirationmight contribute to the addition of
pollutants to rivers, lakes, and oceans? Why?
Precipitation and runoff would be the most responsible processes.
Precipitation carries air pollutants into water, while runoff collects any
pollutants that are in our ground into the water supply. The action of
percolation and transpiration can filter and clean the water. Evaporation
and transpiration produce water vapor, which is probably the cleanest
water on earth at this point.
9. Which of the processes associated with the water cycle might be responsible for
helping to clean or filter the water?
Absorption and transpiration by plants and percolation
10.The water cycle is a closed system, meaning no water enters from beyond the
system nor leaves the system. What does that say about the importance of
keeping the water on Earth free from pollution?
If the water on Earth is polluted anywhere in the cycle, it affects the
water system in general. Percolation and plant use is limited in what
2
POGIL Activities for High School Biology
they can do to clean the water. If our atmosphere is polluted, it will the
pollute the water. If there is pollution on the ground, runoff will take it
to the lakes, rivers and oceans. The water that is on Earth today is the
same water that has been there from the beginning and will continue to
be the water that is available to us.
Model 2 The Carbon Cycle
11. Model 2 illustrates how nature recycles what natural resource? carbon
12. Name two ways that carbon (usually in the form of CO2) enters the atmosphere.
Respiration from animals and plants and from combustion
Nutrient Cycles
13. Process D on the diagram uses CO2 from the atmosphere.

a. Label D on the diagram in Model 2 with the name of this process.
Photosynthesis
b. What organisms carry out the process identified in part a?
plants and other photosynthetic organisms
14. Wastes and dead organisms must be broken down in order for their components
to be used again.
a. What organisms in the cycle carry out this process? Decomposing fungi,
bacteria and worms
b. What would happen if decomposition did not occur?
the carbon would not be recycled into the atmosphere; it would be
locked in the waste and dead matter, leaving less and less carbon
dioxide for photosynthesis.Meanwhile, the wastes and dead organisms
would pile up
15. Not all dead organisms are acted on by decomposers. Instead of being
immediately recycled, the carbon from some organisms is kept in a type of longterm storage, or carbon sink. Using Model 2, answer the questions below
about this long-term storage.
a. List four materials that contain this stored carbon. Coal, peat, oil
and natural gas.
b. What is the collective term for these four materials? Fossil fuels
c. How do humans use the materials in the carbon sink? We burn them as
energy sources
d. What is the scientific name for the process listed in part c? combustion
16.List five examples of combustion in your everyday life.
To cook, fuel for the car, outdoor barbecue grill, fuel for planes and
electricity
17. How is the majority of electricity generated in the area where you live? Does
the process involve the combustion of coal? Check with your teacher if you are
not sure.
Nearly half of the electricity in the
US is generated from the combustion of coal
18.Many of the carbon-based fuels are categorized as fossil fuels because they
formed from decayed organisms over millions of years. List as many examples
of fossil fuels as you can.
Oil, natural gas, and coal. Some may
include peat, although it takes much less time to form
19. How does our use of these carbon stores affect the amount of CO2 in the
atmosphere?
WE are releasing the stored carbon into the
atmosphere, thus increasing the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere. WE
are releasing the carbon stores faster than they can be replenished by
nature. The balance that had been in place by storing some of the
carbon in the carbon sinks has been thrown off by human use of fossil
fuels.
Read This!
Carbon dioxide (CO2) is one of the so-called greenhouse gases. These gases
hold heat energy in the atmosphere, which raises the overall temperature of the
Earth. This helps maintain the Earths biosphere, but also has led to
environmental concerns. The more CO2 in the atmosphere, the higher the
Earths average temperature will be.
20. What is another way in which human activity is increasing the amount
of atmospheric CO2, and what are potential global effects of these changes
in CO2 levels?
We are increasing the
amount of CO2 in the atmosphere by reducing the mass of
photosynthetic organisms with activities like deforestation and
ocean pollution. Increases in greenhouse gases have been linked to
global warming. This can melt ice caps and cause flooding and
drastically affect weather patterns, as well as change the
Nutrient Cycles
temperature of environments which will affect the survival of

organisms.
Model 3 The Nitrogen Cycle
21.Model 3 illustrates how nature recycles what natural resource? nitrogen

22. Name three types of bacteria involved in the nitrogen cycle.
Nitrogen- fixing bacteria, decomposing bacteria, nitrifying bacteria, and
denitrifying bacteria
Read This!
6
Nitrification is a process by which specific bacteria convert different forms of

N-containing compounds (like ammonia, NH3) in the soil to nitrites (NO2) and
nitrates (NO3). This process is important since the only forms of nitrogen that
are usable by plants to build their proteins are the nitrates.
23. In what ways is N2 gas removed from the atmosphere?
Nitrogen fixation by N-fixing bacteria in the soil and in the root
nodules of legumes
24. By what process are animal wastes and dead organisms converted to other
nitrogen-containing compounds? Deanimation and decomposition
25.What is the only form of nitrogen that non legume plants can take in and use?
nitrates
26. What do the denitrifying bacteria do during the denitrifying process?
They convert nitrates, which are what plants need, back to atmospheric
nitrogen
27. If the number of nitrifying bacteria decreased, what effect would this
have on the nitrogen cycle and what type of compounds would accumulate as a
result?
The nitrogen cycle
would be unbalanced. The soil ammonia would not be converted to
nitrates and the ammonia compound would accumulate.
Nutrient Cycles
Extension Questions
28. Plants and animals are part of all of the nutrient cycles through the foods they
eat and what eats them (food chains and food webs). Name the four classes of
organic compounds (containing carbon) and explain how the carbon cycle and
nitrogen cycle contribute to the usable supplies of these macromolecules.
The four classes of organic compounds are Lipids, protein,
carbohydrates and nucleic acids. Proteins and nucleic acids also contain
nitrogen. Plants get their carbon from the air and their nitrogen from
the soil (except for legumes, who can get it directly from atmospheric
nitrogen), supplied by the carbon and nitrogen cycles. Animals get
their carbon and nitrogen compounds from their food (plants and/or
other animals). In all organisms, the organic compounds are converted
into tissue, fat and/or carbohydrate storage, energy for the organisms,
and hereditary information. As the organisms die and decompose, the
carbon and nitrogen are put back into the earth by decomposers.
29. In order to continually use the same area of land for agriculture, some farmers
apply fertilizers to improve the level of nitrates in the soil. An alternative to this
intensive use of fertilizer is to plow the roots of the leguminous plants back into
the soil and leave the area unplanted for a season. Why would a farmer use this
alternative method and what would be the benefit of turning over the soil and
leaving the old plant roots?
Leguminous plants contain root nodules and can convert atmospheric
nitrogen into nitrates for use by plants. By leaving the old roots in the
soil, nitrates can be replaced.

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Natalia Cocom and Lili Trujeque

Model 1 The Water Cycle

1. Model 1 illustrates how nature recycles what natural resource? water

8. Which process(es) of the water cycleprecipitation, evaporation, condensation,

POGIL Activities for High School Biology

Model 2 The Carbon Cycle

13. Process D on the diagram uses CO2 from the atmosphere.

POGIL Activities for High School Biology

temperature of environments which will affect the survival of

Model 3 The Nitrogen Cycle

21.Model 3 illustrates how nature recycles what natural resource? nitrogen

POGIL Activities for High School Biology

Nitrification is a process by which specific bacteria convert different forms of

POGIL Activities for High School Biology

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