Discussion Questions 

 1. The atmosphere is 80% nitrogen: why do you think plants and animals can't use 

      nitrogen as it is found in the atmosphere?

2.  Explain what is meant by nitrogen fixation.

3. What is the role of bacteria in the nitrogen cycle?

4.Why don't legumes need nitrogen-containing fertilizers?

5.Why is nitrogen so important for living things?
6. What are the processes involved in the nitrogen cycle?

MY ANSWERS:

1.Plants and animals cannot use nitrogen as it is found in the atmosphere as the nitrogen is in a form not usable to organisms. Plants and animals do not have the enzymes to 'fix' the nitrogen.

2.Two processes in which atmospheric or dissolved nitrogen is converted into nitrate ions; part of the nitrogen cycle; both lightning and some soil bacteria can fix nitrogen.

3.Bacteria breaks down the nitrogen into nitrates that can be consumed by plants. Although the air is made up of about 70% nitrogen, plants cannot use nitrogen in this N2 form. Nitrogen fixing bacteria change nitrogen into the form of soluble nitrates so that plants can use it. Other bacteria, known as de-nitrifying bacteria, change nitrates back into N2, which completes the nitrogen cycle. 

4.Legumes "fix" nitrogen in nodules on their roots, so they do not need additional nitrogen-containing fertilizers.

5.Because proteins are required for the life process that take place in the cells of all organisms. Also nitrogen is an essential part of DNA of all organisms.

6.Nitrogen fixation, nitrogen uptake, nitrogen mineralization, nitrification, and denitrification.

 

Vertical Structure of the Atmosphere

 http://www.teachersdomain.org/asset/ess05_int_vertical/

 

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

1.Why are the four major layers of the atmosphere separated where they are?

2.What increases the temperature in the stratosphere?

3.Can planes fly in the mesosphere? Why or why not?

4.On what does the temperature in the thermosphere depend?

 

ANSWERS:

1.Because the density of atmospheric pressure increases.

2.This layer is defined by a temperature reversal, or inversion of the pattern seen in the troposphere.In other words, air temperature increase with altitude.This is a result of  the high concentration of ozone(O3) in the stratosphere. ozone absorbs ultraviolet(UV) radiation from the sun and converts this energy into heat, causing air temperature to increase.

3. No, because the mesosphere resides from about 50 kilometers to 80-90 kilometers above the Earth's surface.Most(99.9%) of the mass of the atmosphere lies below this layers, so air pressure and density in mesosphere are extreamely low (about 1/1000th that of the surface). so if an airplane fly in mesosphere all person in the airplane will die.

4. thermosphere's temperature depends in the suns ultraviolet radiation that it absorbs.

 

THE LORAX AND ENERGY FLOW

The Lorax

Part III. Upsetting the Delicate Balance

View the movie "The Lorax" by Dr. Seuss.

Reflection Questions:
1. What did the Once-ler do to upset the balance in this ecosystem?

2. What effect did his business have on the living things in the ecosystem?

3. What effect did his business have on the water and air in the ecosystem? How did this affect the living things

?4. What is the moral of the story?

ANSWERS:

1: Once-ler cut the tree.

2: It affects the animals because they have no place to live and without animals the world is not balanced.

3: It helps their town so that they will not get tired but it reacts to the ecosystem and the ecosystem is harmed and all the living things in it.

4: The moral lesson is that harming the ecosystem is a bad thing and if you do something bad everybody will suffer. harming the ecosystem leads to a bad effect like air pollution,water pollution,acid rain and other calamities.

  

1. Where do plants get the energy they need to grow?
2. What do plants use the sun's energy to manufacture?
3. What do plants use most of their energy for?
4. How much of the energy that the plant captures through photosynthesis ends up stored as starch in the kernel?
5. For what does the cow use the energy from the corn?
6. How much of the energy stored in the corn gets passed on to you in burgers?
7. For what do you use the energy in the burgers?
8. How would eating more plants help us better feed the many people in the world?
9. What else besides energy do we get from plants and animals? When we eat them?

ANSWERS:

1. From the sunlight

2. To capture the energy from the sunlight to manufacture sugars from water and carbon dioxide.

3. For producing a food or product

4. There are 10percent that the plant captures through photosynthesis ends up started as starch in the kernel
5. So that the cow can produce a hamburger meat so that we can eat
6. 10 percent energy stored in the corn get passed through the burgers

7. To do our daily activities because without food we are weak and with no energy

8.Because plants is what keeps us living without plant we don't have oxygen and food to live

9. It gives us Oxygen