Topic 4 Lesson 3 - Cycles of Matter

The Law of Conservation of Mass

states that matter is neither created nor destroyed during any chemical or physical change

The Law of Conservation of Energy

states that when one form of energy is transformed to another, no entery is lost in the process

closed system

a terrarium is an example of this because matter cannot exit or enter when the lid is closed

components

plants, soil, rockes, water microorganism, animals and air in the terrarium are examples of this

these may change over time, but their total mass will remain the same because the mass and energy are cycling through different forms

the water cycle

involves the processes of evaporation, condensation, and precipitation

evaporation

water molecules move from Earth’s surface up to the atmosphere by this process;

the process by which molecules at the surface of liquid water absorb enought energy to change into a gas

sunlight

where the energy needed for evaporation comes from

condensation

the process of gas changing into a liquid

precipitation

condensing water vaport collects as clouds and when they become heavy, drops fall is this form

producers, consumers, and decomposers

all play roles in recycling carbon and oxygen

producers

use carbon to make food

consumers

eat other organisms and take in their carbon compounds

decomposers

when organisms die, these break down the remains and release carbon compounds into the soild where is is available for use

some release carbon dioxide into the air

Law of Conservation of Mass

atoms may appear in different chemical compounds as they get recycled through the Earth’s various system, but they are never created nor destroyed

nitrogen cycle

nitrogen moves from the air into the soil, into loiving things an dback into thte air or soil

nitrogen fixation

the process of changing free nitorgen into a usable form of nitrogen

nitrogen

can cycle from the soil to producers and then to consumers many times