01
Choose one
1 point
Which statement best describes how matter and energy behave in ecosystems?
Free Practice Quiz Question List
5 Biogeochemical Cycles Online Quiz Questions
Use this free practice quiz with 20 questions to review 5 Biogeochemical Cycles, test your knowledge, and prepare for your next test or exam.
20 questions
02
True or false
1 point
Evapotranspiration combines evaporation from surfaces with water release from plants.
- A
True
- B
False
03
Choose one
1 point
A nutrient dissolves in rainwater and is carried from soil into a river. Which role of water in biogeochemical cycles does this illustrate?
- A
It converts every nutrient into a gas that can travel through the atmosphere.
- B
It prevents nutrients from moving between soil and aquatic environments.
- C
It dissolves and transports nutrients through soil, rivers, and oceans.
- D
It returns all nutrients directly from organisms to rocks.
04
Choose all
1 point
Select all processes that can move carbon from the atmosphere into plants and then through a food web.
- A
Photosynthesis incorporates carbon dioxide into plant molecules.
- B
Denitrification converts nitrate into atmospheric nitrogen gas.
- C
Eating transfers carbon from one organism to another.
- D
Weathering converts atmospheric carbon dioxide directly into nitrate.
05
Choose one
1 point
A plant cannot directly use atmospheric nitrogen gas. Which process first converts nitrogen into compounds that can enter biological pathways?
- A
Ammonification
- B
Nitrogen fixation
- C
Nitrification
- D
Denitrification
06
Choose all
1 point
Select all statements that accurately describe phosphorus movement in the cycle.
- A
Plants and algae take up phosphate from soil or water.
- B
Denitrifying bacteria return phosphate to the atmosphere as a major gas.
- C
Waste and decomposition return phosphate to soil and water.
- D
Photosynthesis converts atmospheric phosphorus gas into phosphate.
07
True or false
1 point
True or false: Nitrification converts nitrogen in dead organisms directly into ammonium, while ammonification converts ammonium into nitrate.
- A
True
- B
False
08
True or false
1 point
True or false: Excess nitrogen and phosphorus can contribute to algal blooms, and decomposition of the algae can reduce oxygen in the water.
- A
True
- B
False
09
Written response
1 point
Which bacterial process converts nitrate back into nitrogen gas, returning nitrogen to the atmosphere?
10
Written response
1 point
What process releases phosphate from rocks into soil and water?
11
Fill in the blank
1 point
Cellular respiration and decomposition return much carbon to the atmosphere or water as .
12
Fill in the blank
1 point
After phosphate is carried into rivers and oceans, some phosphorus can settle into .
13
Open ended
1 point
Explain why the phosphorus cycle is generally slow, including whether it has a major atmospheric gas phase. Describe at least two processes or transfers that move phosphorus among rocks, soil, water, sediments, and organisms.
14
Choose one
1 point
After water evaporates and rises into the atmosphere, which sequence best describes its return and two possible pathways on land?
- A
Water vapor condenses into groundwater, which then evaporates to form precipitation.
- B
Water vapor condenses into clouds and returns as precipitation; on land, some water runs off and some infiltrates to recharge groundwater.
- C
Precipitation occurs before water vapor forms, and all rain flows directly to the ocean.
- D
Water can enter soil only after organisms release it through decomposition.
15
Written response
1 point
What term describes the combined movement of water to the atmosphere through evaporation from surfaces and transpiration from plants?
16
Choose one
1 point
After rain falls on a forest, some water seeps into the soil. Which is a possible next step for that water?
- A
It becomes surface runoff moving downhill toward a stream.
- B
It moves into the ground and can recharge groundwater.
- C
It immediately condenses into clouds above the forest.
- D
It is converted into nitrogen compounds by soil bacteria.
17
Choose one
1 point
A plant takes in carbon dioxide and builds carbon-containing molecules. An animal eats the plant. Which process can then return some of that carbon to the atmosphere or water as carbon dioxide?
- A
Photosynthesis converts the animal's carbon into nitrogen gas.
- B
Weathering converts the animal's carbon into nitrate.
- C
Cellular respiration releases carbon dioxide from the animal.
- D
Nitrogen fixation transfers the animal's carbon into soil.
18
Written response
1 point
What process converts nitrogen in wastes and dead organisms into ammonium?
19
Choose one
1 point
Soil bacteria convert ammonium into nitrite and then nitrate. Which nitrogen-cycle process are they carrying out?
- A
Nitrification
- B
Nitrogen fixation
- C
Ammonification
- D
Denitrification
20
Choose one
1 point
Why does phosphorus generally cycle more slowly than elements with major atmospheric gas phases?
- A
It depends on rapid exchange through a major atmospheric gas phase.
- B
It is driven mainly by daily changes in solar energy.
- C
It requires animals to convert phosphate directly into nitrogen gas.
- D
It depends strongly on slow weathering of rocks and movement of sediments.