Author: ahaelzle
Company: Wellington Catholic District School Board

CYCLING OF MATTER
All life on Earth requires nutrients and water.  Nutrients are a source of building material and chemical energy.  You obtain nutrients and water from the food you eat and the water you drink.  This matter does not stay in your body forever.  Every part of your body is replaced over time.  Scientists estimate that about every particle in your body is replaced at least once every 7 years!

Biogeochemical Cycles
The particles that make up matter cannot be ___________ or ____________.  It means that all water and nutrients must be produced or obtained from chemicals that already _________ in the environment.  This happens in a series of cycles in which chemicals are continuously _____________, _____________, __________, and used.  Because these cycles involve living (_____) organisms and occur as Earth (_____) processes, they are called ______________________ cycles.

The Water Cycle
Liquid water _____________, forming water vapour that moves through the atmosphere.  The vapour eventually ___________, forming liquid water or ice crystals, and returns to Earth as _________, __________, or ___________.  Water falling on land may enter the soil and groundwater or move across the surface entering ________, ________, and __________.  Water that is taken in by plant roots may be released from leaves in a process called ________________.  Most of the water that is present in the water cycle is in the ____________ environment. 

The Carbon Cycle
Carbon moves between the _________ and the ___________ parts of an ecosystem in the ___________ cycle.  Most of this exchange occurs between _______________ (either in the atmosphere or dissolved in water) and _______________________ _________ and _____________________.

CARBON DEPOSITS
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HUMAN ACTIVITIES CHANGE THE CARBON CYCLE
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The Nitrogen Cycle
Nitrogen is extremely abundant in the ____________.  However, it is not easy to acquire directly from the abiotic environment.  Nitrogen enters and leaves the atmosphere through a complex biochemical pathway in the _____________ cycle.
Most of the nitrogen used by living things is taken from the atmosphere by certain ____________ in a process called ______________ ______________.  These micro-organisms convert ___________ _______ into a variety of nitrogen-containing compounds including __________, __________, and ____________.
___________ also fixes small amounts of nitrogen.  Humans add nitrogen to the soil as ____________.  Once the nitrogen is in the soil ecosystem, the nitrogen-rich compounds are available to ____________.  After the nitrogen is _____________, it is passed from _______________ to ___________ and on up the food chain.  Many animals consume more nitrogen than they can use and _____________ the excess in the form of __________ or ____________.  A dead organism’s nitrogen-rich compounds are taken in by ______________ or released back into the environment.