Describe the five steps of the nitrogen cycle. Include the bacteria and other organisms that are ...

Answer to q. 1

Concepts to Consider: Nitrogen is fixed by various bacteria, including cyanobacteria, into ammonia
and organic forms; nitrification is the conversion of ammonia to nitrate, which is utilized by plants in
the process of assimilation; animals also assimilate nitrogen by eating plants; bacteria convert organic
nitrogen into ammonia by ammonification; bacteria further reduce nitrate into gaseous nitrogen in the
process of denitrification, a net loss of nitrogen to the ecosystem.

Answer to q. 2

Concepts to Consider: Starting with a cloud, the water condenses and ultimately falls to Earth either
as precipitation over land or the ocean; water percolates through the soil and may reach the
groundwater, be taken up by plants, or run off into bodies of water; water taken up by plants may be
transpired and reenter the atmosphere in this way. Water also reenters the atmosphere via evaporation
from bodies of water