Nitrogen Cycle

What is Nitrogen?An element found in both in organic and

inorganic compoundsWhat is the Nitrogen Cycle?

Biochemical cycleComposed of reservoirs that store nitrogenImportant for life and healthy ecosystem

Introduction

Nitrogen Cycle

Why is Nitrogen important?Nitrogen is needed to make amino acids and

nucleotides They can only be made with organic nitrogen

which is found in organismsPlants, bacteria, and natural processes

(lightning or fire) convert inorganic nitrogen into organic nitrogen

Now we’ll do an activity where you’ll travel as a nitrogen atom though the cycle

Introduction

How many stops can you make on your trip?Will your journey ever end?Was everyone's journey the same? Why not?What would happen if a farmer used too

much fertilizer? (In this game, that would mean that everyone started from the fertilizer station at the same time.)

Livestock farming creates a large amount of animal waste. How would this affect the nitrogen cycle?

Questions

A build-up of sediment and organic matter in bodies of water, which may cause a change in the productivity of the ecosystem.

Caused by excess nutrients such as nitrogen allowing the growth of excess blue-green algae

The algae restrict light and oxygen causing a dead zone

Eutrophication

Dead Zone

In addition to dead zones, excess fertilizer can cause the release of greenhouse gases

Bacteria in soil convert nitrogen into nitrous oxide (N2O) a more potent greenhouse gas than CO2.

Climate Change

Managing the Nitrogen Cycle

These impacts on the environment are why this is one of the NAE Grand Challenges

Grand Challenge

http://www.windows2universe.org/teacher_resources/nitrogen_main.html

http://www.engineeringchallenges.org/cms/8996/9132.aspx

http://education.nationalgeographic.com/education/encyclopedia/dead-zone/?ar_a=1

http://phys.org/news/2012-10-excess-nitrogen-fertilizer-china.html

References