APES Notes - Carbon, Nitrogen, Phosphorus Cycle

  1. Describe acids, bases and the pH scale.

  • Acids - Sour, dissolves metals, H+ (Hydrogen Ion) doner, Ph<7

  • Base - Bitter, dissolves organic materials, OH-(Hydroxide Ion) doner, Ph>7

  • More OH-, less H+, more basic/alkaline

  • More H+, less OH-, more acidic

  1. Know the steps and specific chemicals of the carbon cycle and how humans are altering it.

    • Photosynthesis - the process by which green plants and certain other organisms transform light energy into chemical energy.

    • Respiration - uses glucose and oxygen to produce carbon-dioxide, water, and energy.

    • Fracking - a method used to extract natural gas and oil from deep rock formations.

    • Combustion - the chemical reaction that occurs between substances when materials burn.

    • Fossil Fuels - non-renewable energy sources that are made up of carbon and are formed from the remains of prehistoric organisms

    • Extraction - the process of removing materials from the environment for human use.

    • CO2 - Carbon Dioxide

    • CH4 - Methane

  2. Know the steps and specific chemicals of the nitrogen cycle including how nitrogen fixation takes place.

    • Denitrification - the loss or removal of nitrogen or nitrogen compounds

    • Nitrification - the process of combining, mixing, or filling with nitrogen or one of its compounds.

    • Nitrogen fixation - the process by which nitrogen is taken from its molecular form (N2) in the atmosphere and converted into nitrogen compounds useful for other biochemical processes.

    • Ammonification - the process of converting natural nitrogen compounds into ammonia.

    • Assimilation - the process by which plants and animals incorporate the NO3- and ammonia formed through nitrogen fixation and nitrification

    • Ammonium - NH4+

    • Ammonia - NH3

    • Nitrate - NO3-

    • Nitrite - NO2-

  3. Describe the process of cultural eutrophication and how it results in dead zones.

  • Farmers apply fertilizer -> fertilizer runs off into rivers/lakes -> Algae begins to bloom and then die -> Aerobic bacteria decompose algae leaving a hypoxic zone -> dead zone

  1. Describe the steps of the phosphorous cycle, how it is a unique cycle and what humans mine phosphorous for.

    • Mountains are a reservoir for PO4^3- (Phosphate)

    • Uplift → weathering and erosion -> lands in rivers/lakes

    • Mined for fertilizer and detergents

    • No atmospheric components

  2. Describe the concept of limiting factors and identify common limiting nutrients on land and in water.

    • Limiting factors - factors that limit the growth of plants in an ecosystem

    • Common Limiting Factors (Land)

      1. Precipitation

      2. Nutrients

    • Common Limiting Factors (water)

      1. Temperature

      2. Sunlight

      3. Nutrients

      4. Dissolved oxygen

      5. Salinity

    • Aquatic systems limiting nutrient is phosphorus (sometimes N)

    • Terrestrial systems the limiting nutrient is nitrogen (sometimes P)