11/20/13

Tonight's homework is to complete Assignment 20 (the questions on the back of the nitrogen cycle notes). See below.

“The Circle of (Nitrogen) Life” Comprehension and Thinking Questions

Answer all of the following questions to the best of your ability in complete sentences.

1. Why is nitrogen important to organisms?

2. Contrast the processes of nitrification and denitrification.

3. How is the nitrogen cycle related to the Law of Conservation of Matter?

4a. Explain how the nitrogen cycle and human actions have led to the creation of dead zones in bodies of water such as the Gulf of Mexico. Be specific.

4b. What could be done (or done differently) in order to prevent or minimize the creation of dead zones in bodies of water? Explain why your suggestion would be helpful.

Read “Odyssey” by Aldo Leopold (accessed here) and then answer the following two questions.

5. Leopold describes the odyssey through the biota (in an ecosystem) without specifying the chemical element of atom X. Assume that the element is nitrogen, then choose one of the episodes in the odyssey and identify and describe the biochemical process in which the nitrogen atom plays a part.

6. Describe the events – natural or induced by humans – that might take place in the prairie so that its losses would exceed its gains.