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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
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
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