09 Biogeochemical Cycles Online Quiz Questions

Matter flows through ecosystems and is eventually lost as heat, while energy is continually recycled.

Matter is continually recycled, while energy flows through ecosystems and is eventually lost as heat.

Both matter and energy are continually recycled in the same way.

Both matter and energy are lost as heat after organisms use them.

Phosphorus regularly enters a major gaseous stage, so it cycles rapidly through the atmosphere.

Phosphorus moves only through organisms and does not enter soil, water, or rocks.

Phosphorus can move from rocks through soil and organisms into sediments, with no major gaseous stage.

Phosphorus returns directly from organisms to the atmosphere through denitrification.

Weathering, decomposition, volcanic activity, and fossil-fuel combustion can move sulfur among reservoirs.

Photosynthesis, denitrification, and groundwater discharge are the only processes that move sulfur.

Sulfur moves only from the atmosphere into organisms and does not return to rocks or water.

Sulfur enters ecosystems only through nitrogen fixation by bacteria.

Condensation

Runoff

Evaporation

Transpiration

Animals take carbon directly from atmospheric carbon dioxide, then plants obtain it by eating animals.

Plants or algae incorporate carbon through photosynthesis, and consumers acquire it by eating organisms.

Decomposers convert atmospheric carbon dioxide into fossil fuels before plants can use it.

Respiration moves carbon from organisms into plants, where it enters food webs.

Because the ocean takes up carbon dioxide, all atmospheric carbon is immediately transferred to deep-ocean storage.

Carbon moves from the deep ocean to the atmosphere only through photosynthesis on land.

The ocean absorbs some atmospheric carbon dioxide, while movement into the deep ocean occurs at a different rate.

Ocean uptake prevents carbon from moving into marine organisms or sediments.

Nitrogen fixation converts atmospheric nitrogen gas into biologically available forms.

Nitrification converts atmospheric nitrogen gas directly into organic nitrogen in animals.

Ammonification converts nitrate in soil back into atmospheric nitrogen gas.

Denitrification converts atmospheric nitrogen gas into ammonium for plant uptake.

Denitrification converts organic nitrogen to nitrate, then fixation converts nitrate to ammonium.

Nitrification converts organic nitrogen directly to atmospheric nitrogen, then ammonification produces nitrate.

Nitrogen fixation converts organic nitrogen to ammonium, then denitrification converts it to nitrate.

Ammonification returns organic nitrogen to soil as ammonium, then nitrification converts it through nitrite to nitrate.

Nitrification converts nitrate into ammonium for plant uptake.

Denitrification converts nitrate into nitrogen gas.

Ammonification converts nitrate into organic nitrogen in plants.

Nitrogen fixation converts nitrate into atmospheric nitrogen gas.

Both activities increase photosynthesis, so they move atmospheric carbon into long-term plant storage.

Combustion decreases atmospheric carbon, while deforestation has no effect on carbon removal.

Combustion transfers stored carbon to the atmosphere, while deforestation can release carbon and reduce photosynthetic removal.

Both activities affect only the movement of nitrogen and leave the carbon cycle unchanged.

Fertilizers, manure, wastewater, and urban runoff can all add excess nutrients to waterways.

Only naturally weathered rock can add nitrogen and phosphorus to waterways.

Excess nutrients enter waterways only when plants release water vapor.

Fossil-fuel combustion is the only listed source of nitrogen and phosphorus pollution.

Nutrients directly remove oxygen from water, preventing algae from growing.

Algae convert all dissolved oxygen into nitrogen gas before decomposers become active.

Algal growth permanently increases oxygen, so decomposition cannot affect aquatic life.

Nutrient enrichment can promote algal growth; decomposition of excess organic matter can then use oxygen and harm aquatic life.

Both matter and energy are continually recycled among organisms and Earth’s reservoirs.

Matter is continually recycled, while energy flows through ecosystems and is eventually lost as heat.

Energy is continually recycled, while matter flows through ecosystems and is eventually lost as heat.

Neither matter nor energy moves between organisms and nonliving parts of Earth.

It reduces atmospheric carbon dioxide because fewer trees respire, while leaving photosynthetic uptake unchanged.

It increases photosynthetic carbon uptake because the remaining plants receive more sunlight, offsetting any carbon release.

It can release carbon and reduce the amount removed from the atmosphere by photosynthesis.

It affects carbon only after the cleared land has become sedimentary rock.

Weathering releases phosphate; it moves through organisms and water, may settle into sediments, and can eventually return in exposed rock.

Plants convert atmospheric phosphorus gas into phosphate, which animals return to the atmosphere through respiration.

Phosphate moves rapidly through a major gaseous stage before being fixed permanently in soil.

Animals create new phosphorus, which is carried by runoff directly into the atmosphere.

Sulfur moves only through living organisms and is not present in soil, water, rocks, or the atmosphere.

Sulfur enters the atmosphere only through plant transpiration and leaves only through precipitation.

Sulfur cycles through rocks and water, but decomposition and fossil-fuel burning do not move it among reservoirs.

Weathering, decomposition, volcanic activity, and fossil-fuel burning can move sulfur among reservoirs.

Nitrate is converted to nitrogen gas and returned to the atmosphere.

Ammonium is converted to nitrite and then nitrate.

Atmospheric nitrogen gas is converted into ammonia or ammonium.

Organic nitrogen in waste and dead organisms is returned to soil as ammonium.

Combustion destroys carbon atoms, so the carbon is removed from Earth's cycles.

Combustion transfers atmospheric carbon into long-term geological storage.

Combustion transfers long-stored carbon from fossil fuels to the atmosphere.

Combustion converts nitrogen in fossil fuels into carbon dioxide.

Ocean uptake of atmospheric carbon dioxide does not mean that the carbon moves into the deep ocean at the same rate.

All carbon dioxide taken up by the ocean immediately enters deep-ocean storage.

The ocean cannot take up atmospheric carbon dioxide unless it first becomes fossil fuel.

The rate of ocean uptake proves that deep-ocean carbon storage is permanent.

Nutrients directly remove oxygen from water before algae can grow, so decomposition has no role.

Algal growth increases oxygen consumption by fish, which causes algae to decompose.

Fertilizer prevents algae from growing, and the resulting lack of organic matter lowers oxygen levels.

Nutrient enrichment can promote algal growth; decomposition of excess organic matter can then lower oxygen levels and harm aquatic life.