Transcript Slideshow

Cycles in Nature
The Cycles of Matter
Three cycles that moves matter among
the environment and living things
Water cycle
 Carbon cycle
 Nitrogen cycle

The Water Cycle – Let’s
review
The Water Cycle
The movement of water among oceans,
atmosphere, land, and living things.
Precipitation- water moving from
atmosphere to land
Ex: rain, snow, sleet, hail
 91% falls into the ocean, 9% on land
renews fresh water supply

The Water Cycle
Evaporation- water moving from the
land to the atmosphere

The sun’s heat causes water to change
from liquid to vapor
Condensation- water vapor becoming
liquid again due to cool atmosphere
Transpiration- water moving from living
things back into the atmosphere

Ex: evaporation from leaves, perspiration
from humans
The Water Cycle
Ground Water- precipitation that seeps
into the ground and is stored in
underground caverns and porous rock

Provides water for the soil, streams, rivers,
and oceans
Our water supply is not getting larger so
we must protect our fresh water from
pollution!!
The Water Cycle
The Carbon Cycle
The Carbon Cycle
The movement of carbon from the
environment into living things and back
again
Carbon is essential to all living things
because it is part of our molecules.
The Carbon Cycle
Photosynthesis- carbon moves from
the environment into living things
Plants use carbon dioxide from the air to
make sugar
 Animals get carbon from eating plants

Respiration- carbon moves from living
things back to the environment

Sugar molecules are broken down to
release energy and carbon dioxide is given
off when we exhale
The Carbon Cycle
Decomposition- carbon moving from
dead organisms back to the
environment

Fungi and bacteria decompose dead
organisms
Combustion- the process of burning
fuel

Burning fossil fuels releases carbon back
into the atmosphere
The Carbon Cycle
The Nitrogen Cycle
The Nitrogen Cycle
The movement of nitrogen from the
environment to living things and back
again.

78% of our atmosphere is nitrogen gas
Nitrogen fixation- the process of
bacteria changing nitrogen gas into
usable nitrogen for plants

Animals get nitrogen from eating plants
Other bacteria decompose dead
animals and animal waste and return
nitrogen to the atmosphere
The Nitrogen Cycle
Dr. Destruction Comic Strips
You will be responsible for creating a comic
strip featuring an evil villain who plans to
destroy an ecosystem by interrupting one of
the cycles that runs in an ecosystem.
Choose one cycle from the following:



Water Cycle
Carbon Cycle
Nitrogen Cycle
Dr. Destruction Comic Strips
The comic strip must explain:




The way the cycle works
How the villain plans on disrupting the cycle
What effects the villain’s interruptions will have on
the cycle
What plan your superheroes have for stopping the
interruption
You will be graded on:


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Having all requirements in your comic strip
Using color and creativity in the final product
All members will be graded on the final project
with a participation grade added based on their
involvement in the project.