How do living things
and the nonliving parts
of the environment
interact?
Cycles of Matter
• How does matter move in ecosystems?
Cycles of Matter
• evaporation
• condensation
• precipitation
• nitrogen fixation
How does matter move in
ecosystems?
Cycle: a series of repeated events
element
Science Use one of a class of
substances that cannot be
separated into simpler substances
by chemical means
Common Use a part or piece
During the water cycle, the processes of
evaporation, condensation, and precipitation
move water from Earth’s surface into the
atmosphere and back again.
The Water Cycle
• Evaporation is the process during which
liquid water changes into a gas called
water vapor.
• Water vapor rises into the atmosphere.
• Temperature, humidity, and wind affect
how quickly water evaporates.
• Transpiration is the release of water
vapor from the leaves and stems of plants.
• Condensation is the process during
which water vapor changes into liquid
water.
• Clouds form because of condensation.
• Clouds are made of millions of tiny water
droplets or crystals of ice.
• Precipitation :Water that falls from clouds to
Earth’s surface.
• Precipitation can be rain, snow, sleet, or hail
that forms as water droplets or ice crystals join
together in clouds.
• Over time, living things use this precipitation,
and the water cycle continues.
The Water Cycle (cont.)
What forms does water
take as it moves through
ecosystems?
The Nitrogen Cycle
Nitrogen Fixation:
The Nitrogen Cycle
• When organisms die, bacteria help return
nitrogen in the tissues of dead organisms
to the environment.
• Nitrogen also returns to the environment
in the waste products of organisms.
• Legumes root nodules also contain
bacteria that help to fix nitrogen
• Lightening helps to fix nitrogen in the
atmosphere
Nitrogen is found in different forms as it
cycles between Earth and its atmosphere.
http://www.classzone.com/books/ml_science_sha
re/vis_sim/em05_pg20_nitrogen/em05_pg20_nitr
ogen.html
The Carbon Cycle
• Fossil fuels- contain carbon which formed
when decomposing organisms were exposed
to pressure, heat, and bacteria for hundreds of
millions of years.
• Combustion- the burning of fossil fuels
• Respiration: when the sugar is broken down by
cells and its energy is released, carbon dioxide is
released as a by-product that enters the
atmosphere and can be used again.
• Photosynthesis: plants and other photosynthetic
organisms take in carbon dioxide and water and
produce energy-rich sugars.(Glucose)
Greenhouse effect -Carbon dioxide is one of the gases in
the atmosphere that absorbs thermal energy from the Sun
it helps keep Earth warm and protects Earth from harmful
radiation
While the greenhouse effect is essential for life, a
steady increase in greenhouse gases can harm
ecosystems.
• Matter such as water, oxygen, nitrogen,
and carbon cycles through ecosystems.
• The three stages of the water cycle are
evaporation,
condensation,
and
precipitation.
• The greenhouse effect helps keep the
Earth from getting too hot or too cold.
Which is a stage of the water cycle?
A.melting
B.freezing
C. precipitation
D.humidity
Which of the following is made up of bits
of rocks, water, air, minerals, and the
remains of once-living things?
A.
B.
bacteria
Soil
C.
D.
the atmosphere
carbon
What is the name for the process during
which water vapor changes into liquid
water?
condensation
B. evaporation
C. precipitation
D. the greenhouse effect
A.
Do you agree or disagree?
3. Carbon, nitrogen, and other types of
matter are used by living things over and
over again.
4. Clouds are made of water vapor.