Nutrient Cycles Pogil

Nutrient Cycles
How are nutrients recycled through ecosystems?
Why?
We have learned the importance of recycling our trash. It allows us to

use something again for another purpose and prevents the loss of natural
resources. But what happens to the waste in nature? Why aren’t we up to
our necks in natural refuse? Why is there always a supply of water? Why
is there oxygen to breathe and carbon dioxide for photosynthesis?
Organic compounds in nature are also recycled. This recycling process
converts the complex organic compounds to simple, inorganic
compounds, which then can be returned to nature to be used again and
again.
Model 1 – The Water Cycle

1. Model 1 illustrates how nature recycles what natural resource?
2. Model 1 illustrates four major areas of water storage on Earth.

Complete the list of these storage areas below.
Atmosphere, surface water, ____________________, and

____________________.
3. Where is groundwater stored?
4. Name two processes in Model 1 in which water is converted to

vapor.
5. Describe two methods by which water on land (in lakes and rivers)
returns to the oceans.
6. Rain, sleet, and snow are examples of what?
7. If the air contains high levels of pollutants, what effect might this
have on water quality?
8. Which process(es) of the water cycle—precipitation, evaporation,

condensation, runoff, percolation or transpiration—might contribute to
the addition of pollutants to rivers, lakes, and oceans? Why?
9. Which of the processes associated with the water cycle might be
responsible for helping to clean or filter the water?
10. The water cycle is a closed system, meaning no water enters from
beyond the system nor leaves the system. What does that say about
the importance of keeping the water on Earth free from pollution?
Model 2 – The Carbon Cycle
11. Model 2 illustrates how nature recycles what natural resource?

12. Name two ways that carbon (usually in the form of CO2) enters the
atmosphere.
13. Process D on the diagram uses CO2 from the atmosphere.
a. Label D on the diagram in Model 2 with the name of this process.

b. What organisms carry out the process identified in part a?
14. Wastes and dead organisms must be broken down in order for their
components to be used again.
a. What organisms in the cycle carry out this process?
b. What would happen if decomposition did not occur?
15. Not all dead organisms are acted on by decomposers. Instead of

being immediately recycled, the carbon from some organisms is kept in
a type of long-term storage, or carbon sink. Using Model 2, answer the
questions below about this long-term storage.
a. List four materials that contain this stored carbon.
b. What is the collective term for these four materials?
c. How do humans use the materials in the carbon sink?

d. What is the scientific name for the process listed in part c?
16. List five examples of combustion in your everyday life.
17. How is the majority of electricity generated in the area

where you live? Does the process involve the combustion of coal?
Check with your teacher if you are not sure.
18. Many of the carbon-based fuels are categorized as fossil

fuels because they formed from decayed organisms over millions
of years. List as many examples of fossil fuels as you can.
19. How does our use of these carbon stores affect the amount of
CO2 in the atmosphere?
Read This!
Carbon dioxide (CO2) is one of the so-called greenhouse gases. These

gases hold heat energy in the atmosphere, which raises the overall
temperature of the Earth. This helps maintain the Earth’s biosphere, but
also has led to environmental concerns. The more CO2 in the
atmosphere, the higher the Earth’s average temperature will be.
20. What is another way in which human activity is increasing

the amount of atmospheric CO2, and what are potential global
effects of these changes in CO2 levels?
Model 3 – The Nitrogen Cycle
21. Model 3 illustrates how nature recycles what natural

resource?
22. Name three types of bacteria involved in the nitrogen cycle.

Read This!
Nitrification is a process by which specific bacteria convert different

forms of N-containing compounds (like ammonia, NH3) in the soil to
nitrites (NO2) and nitrates (NO3). This process is important since the
only forms of nitrogen that are usable by plants to build their proteins
are the nitrates.
23. In what ways is N2 gas removed from the atmosphere?
24. By what process are animal wastes and dead organisms

converted to other nitrogen-containing compounds?
25. What is the only form of nitrogen that nonlegume plants can
take in and use?
26. What do the denitrifying bacteria do during the denitrifying

process?
27. If the number of nitrifying bacteria decreased, what effect

would this have on the nitrogen cycle and what type of compounds
would accumulate as a result?
Extension Questions
28. Plants and animals are part of all of the nutrient cycles through the
foods they eat and what eats them (food chains and food webs). Name
the four classes of organic compounds (containing carbon) and explain
how the carbon cycle and nitrogen cycle contribute to the usable
supplies of these macromolecules.
29. In order to continually use the same area of land for agriculture,
some farmers apply fertilizers to improve the level of nitrates in the soil.
An alternative to this intensive use of fertilizer is to plow the roots of the
leguminous plants back into the soil and leave the area unplanted for a
season. Why would a farmer use this alternative method and what would
be the bene t of turning over the soil and leaving the old plant roots?

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Nutrient Cycles

How are nutrients recycled through ecosystems?

We have learned the importance of recycling our trash. It allows us to

Model 1 – The Water Cycle

2. Model 1 illustrates four major areas of water storage on Earth.

Atmosphere, surface water, ____________________, and

3. Where is groundwater stored?

4. Name two processes in Model 1 in which water is converted to

6. Rain, sleet, and snow are examples of what?

8. Which process(es) of the water cycle—precipitation, evaporation,

Model 2 – The Carbon Cycle

11. Model 2 illustrates how nature recycles what natural resource?

13. Process D on the diagram uses CO2 from the atmosphere.

a. Label D on the diagram in Model 2 with the name of this process.

b. What would happen if decomposition did not occur?

15. Not all dead organisms are acted on by decomposers. Instead of

b. What is the collective term for these four materials?

c. How do humans use the materials in the carbon sink?

16. List five examples of combustion in your everyday life.

17. How is the majority of electricity generated in the area

18. Many of the carbon-based fuels are categorized as fossil

Carbon dioxide (CO2) is one of the so-called greenhouse gases. These

20. What is another way in which human activity is increasing

Model 3 – The Nitrogen Cycle

21. Model 3 illustrates how nature recycles what natural

22. Name three types of bacteria involved in the nitrogen cycle.

Nitrification is a process by which specific bacteria convert different

23. In what ways is N2 gas removed from the atmosphere?

24. By what process are animal wastes and dead organisms

26. What do the denitrifying bacteria do during the denitrifying

27. If the number of nitrifying bacteria decreased, what effect

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