The Cycles of Matter Answers

The cycle repeats when the carbon stored in the atmosphere as carbon dioxide gas is taken in.

The animal releases the carbon dioxide back into the atmosphere during respiration.

The animal eats a plant and uses its carbohydrates for energy.

X Step 2Step 3Step 4 An animal eats a plant and the nitrogen becomes part of the animal’s proteins.

X Carbon cycleNitrogen cycle✔ Phosphorus cycle This nutrient is cycled between living things and the soil. Plants absorb this nutrient from the soil and turn it into organic compounds through assimilation. Animals eats the plants and pass the nutrient through the food chain from one organism to another. When the animal dies, it decomposes and returns the nutrient back to the soil. The nutrient can also enter the soil through weathering and erosion.

Step 1: Bacteria, through nitrogen fixation and nitrification, convert nitrogen into a usable form.Step 2Step 3✔ Step 4 The animal dies and decomposes, returning nitrogen back to the soil.

Step 1: Plants absorb phosphates in the soil and turn them into organic compounds through assimilation.Step 2Step 3Step 4 Animals eat these plants and pass the phosphorus through the food chain.

✔ Carbon cycleX Nitrogen cyclePhosphorus cycle Plants take in this nutrient when they perform photosynthesis. An animal eats the plant and uses its carbohydrates for energy. The animal releases the nutrient back into the atmosphere during respiration.

Step 2Step 3X Step 4 Once nitrogen is in usable form, it is taken up by plants and assimilated into proteins..

Step 2Step 3Step 4 An animal dies and decays, returning the phosphorus to the soil, and the cycle repeats.