Cycles of Matter Key Concept Builder LESSON 2 Key Concept

Name
Date
Class
Chapter 20
LESSON 2
Key Concept Builder
Cycles of Matter
Key Concept How does matter move in ecosystems?
All matter is constantly being recycled through the global environment. The four
main cycles are the water cycle (W), the nitrogen cycle (N), the oxygen cycle (O),
and the carbon cycle (C).
Directions: Which cycle or cycles are involved in each of the following processes? Write the letters W, N, O, and
C on each of the lines below. Some processes might involve more than one cycle.
1. photosynthesis
2. snowfall and rainfall
3. organism decomposition
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4. evaporation and transpiration
5. animal breathing
6. cloud formation
Directions: On each line, write the term that correctly completes each sentence.
7. Oxygen, nitrogen, and carbon are
, which means that they
cannot be reduced to simpler substances by chemical means.
8. Nitrogen is found in
need to survive. It is also found in
contains an organism’s genetic information.
Matter and Energy in the Environment
, which are molecules that organisms
, the chemical that
31
Name
Date
Class
Chapter 20
Key Concept Builder
LESSON 2
Cycles of Matter
Key Concept How does matter move in ecosystems?
Directions: Look at the diagram. Each of the arrows represents one of the three processes of the water cycle:
evaporation, condensation, and precipitation.
1. Label each arrow with the correct process.
Directions: Answer each question on the lines provided.
3. What are three factors that affect how fast water evaporates?
4. What is the term used for the release of water vapor from plants?
5. What process is represented by the formation of dew on grass?
6. What form of precipitation adds to the polar ice sheets?
32
Matter and Energy in the Environment
Copyright © Glencoe/McGraw-Hill, a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
2. What supplies energy for the water cycle?
Name
Date
Class
Chapter 20
Key Concept Builder
LESSON 2
Cycles of Matter
Key Concept How does matter move in ecosystems?
Directions: Answer each question in the space provided. Write your own question and answer in the bottom row.
Copyright © Glencoe/McGraw-Hill, a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Question
Answer
Which element found in the soil is
used by plants in the form of chemical
compounds?
1.
Which living things in the soil make
this possible?
2.
Which element is released by plants as
a by-product of photosynthesis?
3.
Which organisms do scientists estimate
produce more than 50 percent of the
oxygen in Earth’s atmosphere?
4.
Which organisms take in oxygen to
maintain life?
5.
What kind of gas do those organisms
release?
6.
7.
Matter and Energy in the Environment
33
Name
Date
Class
Chapter 20
Key Concept Builder
LESSON 2
Cycles of Matter
Key Concept How does matter move in ecosystems?
Directions: On each line, write the term from the word bank that correctly completes each sentence. Some terms
may be used more than once.
air
animals
carbon dioxide
decomposition
fossil fuels
greenhouse effect
oxygen
photosynthesis
soil
1. All organisms contain carbon. Plants absorb the element from the
in the form of
use it in the process of
and
. In return, they
release
.
2. Animals release
as a by-product of their cellular processes.
3. A dead organism releases carbon into the
.
4. In the atmosphere,
helps keep warmth from the
Sun from quickly radiating back into space. This phenomenon is called
the
.
5. The widespread burning of coal, oil, and natural gas, which are called
, is heating the atmosphere.
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Matter and Energy in the Environment
Copyright © Glencoe/McGraw-Hill, a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
undergoes
when it