Unit 5: Matter Cycling

Vocabulary practice cards covering matter cycles, the water cycle, photosynthesis, cellular respiration, and the rock cycle.

Cycle

A series of events or processes that occur repeatedly in a set sequence, eventually returning to the starting point.

Matter

Recycled through living and nonliving things that are in the same environment.

Infiltration

Precipitation that soaks into the soil.

Groundwater

Water held underground in the soil or in pores/crevices in rocks.

Condensation

Process where water vapor in the air is changed into liquid.

Evaporation

Process where liquid water changes to water vapor.

Runoff

Precipitation that moves on the Earth’s surface toward streams.

Precipitation

Water that falls from the atmosphere to the Earth’s surface.

Transpiration

Process where plants take up water from the soil and release water vapor into the air from their leaves.

Solar Radiation

Energy emitted by the sun; sunlight.

Plant Survival Needs

Includes water, light, space to grow, air, and nutrients like nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorus.

Photosynthesis

A chemical reaction where sunlight, water ($H_2O$), and carbon dioxide ($CO_2$) produce oxygen gas ($O_2$) and glucose (sugar).

Law of Conservation of Mass

The principle that there are the same number of atoms on the products and reactants side of a chemical reaction.

Glucose

A sugar ($C_6H_{12}O_6$) used as food for energy to grow or stored for later use in plants.

Cellular Respiration

A chemical reaction where sugar is combined with oxygen ($O_2$) to produce energy (ATP) plus waste products carbon dioxide ($CO_2$) and water ($H_2O$).

Mitochondria

A cell structure where cellular respiration takes place.

ATP

The form of energy produced during cellular respiration for life functions.

Photosynthesis Formula

$$6CO_2 + 6H_2O → C_6H_{12}O_6 + 6O_2$$

Cellular Respiration Formula

$$C_6H_{12}O_6 + 6O_2 → 6CO_2 + 6H_2O + \text{ENERGY}$$

Igneous Rocks

Rocks formed when magma has cooled and hardened.

Sedimentary Rocks

Rocks formed when pieces of rock called sediments continuously pile on top of each other; may contain fossils or bands of colors.

Metamorphic Rocks

Rocks created under intense heat and pressure within the Earth's surface.

Sediments

Pieces of rock that pile up and, through compaction and cementation, form sedimentary rocks.

Weathering and Erosion

Processes in the rock cycle that break down rocks into sediments.