What is the Water Cycle?
The movement of water between the oceans, atmosphere, and living things
What causes Evaporation?
the sun’s heat causes water to change from a liquid to a gas
What happens when there is condensation?
Water vapor cools and returns to the liquid state
What is precipitation?
= Water that falls from the atmosphere to the land as rain, snow, sleet, or hail
What is runoff?
= Precipitation that falls on land and flows into streams, rivers, lakes, etc.
What is ground water?
Precipitation that seeps into the ground and is stored in spaces between or within rocks.
What is transpiration?
The process in which plants release water through their leaves.
What is the Carbon Cycle?
The exchange of carbon between the environment and living things.
What is decomposition?
the breaking down of substances into simpler molecules. Carbon is released into the environment this way.
What is combustion?
the burning of a substance to release carbon back into the environment.
What is the Nitrogen Cycle?
The movement of nitrogen between the environment and living things
What is Nitrogen Fixation?
Bacteria in the soil change nitrogen gas into forms that plants can use.
What is ecological succession?
the replacement of one type of community by another at a single place over a period of time
What is primary succession?
The changes that occur in an area where no ecosystem had existed.
What is a pioneer Species?
the first organisms to live in an area where other organisms had not previously lived.
