We have finished our biogeochemical cycles project. I learned all about the nitrogen cycle, but also about the other cycles of the kids in my group. We had the water cycle, the carbon cycle, the sulfur cycle, and the phosphorus cycle.
Ms. Garcia quizzed us on the different cycles to see what we learned, and she gave us a question to think about.
The Water Cycle
The water cycle is probably the most well-known cycle. When we started this project, the only cycle I knew existed was the water cycle. As most people know, the water cycle begins with evaporation. The sun or some other method of heat makes the water change its state of matter. The water, which at first was a liquid, is now a water vapor, which evaporates up into the atmosphere. Then, condensation happens, and the vapor condenses into clouds. Then, its precipitation, where the water takes the shape of rain, snow, or hail and falls to the earth. We also have runoff, where the water runs off of mountains and things like that and gathers in lakes. Lastly, we have transpiration where the plants will take in water.
The Carbon Cycle
As said before, I have never ever heard of the carbon cycle before this project, but I have a pretty decent understanding of it. My cycle was nitrogen, so I know the most about that, but I understand all of the cycles. The carbon cycle begins with photosynthesis. Plants take in the carbon through photosynthesis. The humans and/or animals eat the plants, and they get the carbon that they need through the plants. The humans/animals exhale, and the carbon is returned to the atmosphere as carbon dioxide. Also, if an animals/human dies, he carbon will come out of their decaying body and will return the the atmosphere. Another way the carbon is released is through fossil fuels and factory emissions.
The Nitrogen Cycle
As you probably know from a previous blog post, plants take in nitrogen through ammonia. They use the ammonia to grow bigger, and then humans/animals eat the plants and get the nitrogen that they need through assimilation. Then the bacteria changes the ammonia into nitrates, which break down into nitrites during denitrification. When the nitrites break down, they turn into ammonia and nitrogen gas.
The Phosphorus Cycle
If I were looking at a periodic table, and I had to guess which element had a cycle, I would not choose phosphorus. It was very surprising to me that it was actually a thing. But it is, and the cycle is pretty straightforward. Plants absorb phosphorus from the soil, and then animals eat the plans, and then the animals die, and the soil absorbs the phosphorus from their bodies. The phosphorus is leached into the water supply. Another beginning to it is where wind and rain erode down the phosphate-rich rocks. Rivers then carry the gravel and silt with the phosphorus in it to bodies of water. Runoff from phosphates in farming also goes into the rivers. In the river, the silt becomes sediment, then a new rock. And then, geological uplift pushes the new rock to the surface.
The Sulfur Cycle
The sulfur cycle is pretty easy. It begins with the rain weathering down rocks, releasing any stored sulfur. Sulfur is found in rocks. When the sulfur meets the air, it transforms into sulfate. The sulfate goes into plants, and then animals eat the plants. Animals then die, and the sulfur goes out of them and into the soil and rocks.
Backward Looking: How much did you know about the subject before we started?
I only knew about the water cycle before we began this project. I didn’t know that any other cycle existed, and I really understood how the water cycle worked. I hadn’t really learned about any of the other cycles, but I learned a lot about them from this project. I had a lot of fun doing this and learning from it.
Inward Looking: What did/do you find frustrating about it?
What I found frustration was that I had a lot of boxes for the comic strip, and I had to research my cycle, draw out 25 squares, color 25 squares, cut out 25 squares, and glue 25 squares onto paper backing in a week and a half. In the end I was rushing slightly, so some of the squares are not my best work, but I really found my timing a bit frustrating. I could’ve done it, but I set myself too much to do and that was a minor setback for me.
Outward Looking: What the one thing you particularly want people to notice when they look at your work?
I want people to notice how hard I worked on my comic when they look at it. I have a lot of information and a lot of squares that I think are carefully drawn and colored and all I want people to notice is the amount of effort put into my project.
Forward Looking: What would you change if you had a chance to do this piece over again?
I think that i could’ve had a better, more informative ending to my comic, so I would have fixed that. I would really have put more thought into how the comic ended instead of just scribbling out the first thing that came to mind. It would have made me more satisfied and would have added more information to the piece.
Ms. Garcia asked us what we thought the most important cycle is and why.
I think that all of the cycles are equally important because they are all mandatory for life. Carbon, water, phosphorus, sulfur and nitrogen go into plants to help them grow, and we need plants to live and survive. We also need water to drink to live.
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