The Nitrogen Cycle

Nitrogen is one of several nutrients plants need for

growth. Plants use nitrogen to build tissues, such as leaves and
stems. Like animals, plants use nitrogen to build DNA, proteins,
and other materials. Plants also use it to make chlorophyll, the
substance that makes plants green.
You might think that it is easy for plants to get all the
nitrogen they need. After all, of all the gases in Earths
atmosphere, nitrogen is most abundant. It takes up about 78
percent of the volume of air we breathe. However, although the
gas is plentiful, it exists in the form N2, which plants cannot use.
Plants depend on nitrogen fixers to get the nitrogen they need. Biological nitrogen fixers are bacteria that convert N2 into more
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complex nitrogen compounds, such as nitrate ions (NO 3 ) and ammonium ions (NH 4 ). Some of these microscopic organisms live in soil and
water. Others live in small swellings, or nodes, on the roots of some plants.
Nonliving nitrogen fixers include lightning and fertilizers. The enormous energy in lightning splits the N 2 molecule, and nitrogen
combines with oxygen to make nitrogen compounds. The compounds dissolve in rain and enter the soil, where plants absorb them.
Manufacturers combine nitrogen in fossil fuels to create fertilizers. Fertilizers put usable forms of nitrogen in the soil for plants to absorb.
Plants get the nitrogen they need from the soil. Animals get the nitrogen they need when they eat plants. At death, or when plants
and animals produce waste, decomposers break down complex nitrogen compounds in the matter into simpler molecules. Much of the
nitrogen cycle occurs within the soil, as decomposers make forms of nitrogen that other plants can absorb. However, some decomposers
release nitrogen gas, which also reenters the nitrogen cycle.

Solve the following questions.

1. The majority of air we consume is made up of which of the following?
(1) Oxygen

(2) Nitrogen

(3) Radon

(4) Helium

2. Animals and plants both use nitrogen to help build tissue, DNA, ___________, and other materials.
(1) Proteins

(2) Stems

(3) Cells

(4) Nodes

3. The majority of the nitrogen cycle occurs within _________________, where most forms of nitrogen are made by decomposers into
something that plants can use.
(1) Animals

(2) Rain

(3) Soil

(4) Fertilizers

4. When a plant or animal dies, they produce certain wastes. ________________ break the more complex compounds of nitrogen within the
matter to simpler molecules.
(1) Producers

(2) Bacteria

(3) Lightning

(4) Decomposers

5.Explain What part does lightning play in the Nitrogen Cycle?

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6. Explain How does bacteria play a role in fixing nitrogen? __________________________________________________________________
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