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9th grade The nitrogen cycle worksheet

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The nitrogen cycle

Grade 9 Science Worksheet - Building Confidence

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Circle the best answer.

  1. Ari reads a flow diagram of a pea field. The process on the arrow from N₂ gas in air to living things is blank. Which process is it?

    • Nitrogen fixation
    • Denitrification, which sends nitrate back to the air
    • Nitrification, which makes nitrate from ammonium
    • Ammonification, which makes ammonium from remains
  2. Bo reads a flow diagram. The process on the arrow from nitrate to N₂ gas in air is blank. Which process is it?

    • Nitrogen fixation, which makes N₂ usable for plants
    • Denitrification
    • Nitrification, which makes nitrate from nitrite
    • Uptake by roots, which removes nitrate for good
  3. Jun learns the term nitrogen fixation. Which sentence gives its meaning?

    • Plants use up the nitrogen in the soil so the soil runs out
    • Plants take in N₂ gas through their leaves and use it as it is
    • Bacteria change nitrate back into N₂ gas, which returns to the air
    • N₂ gas is changed into a form living things can use
  4. Kira learns the term denitrification. Which sentence gives its meaning?

    • Bacteria change nitrate into N₂ gas, which returns to the air
    • Bacteria destroy the nitrogen in remains so the soil has less
    • Bacteria change N₂ gas into forms of nitrogen that plants can use
    • Bacteria change ammonium into nitrite in the soil near the roots
  5. Ammonium; nitrate; N₂ gas; nitrite. Ammonification has just made the ammonium from wastes and remains. Milo lists forms of nitrogen in the order bacteria change them. Which order is right?

    • Nitrate, nitrite, ammonium, N₂ gas
    • N₂ gas, ammonium, nitrite, nitrate
    • Ammonium, nitrite, nitrate, N₂ gas
    • Ammonium, nitrate, nitrite, N₂ gas
  6. Noah follows one nitrogen atom from the air, into a pea plant, through the soil and back to the air. Which order of processes is right?

    • Denitrification, fixation, ammonification, nitrification
    • Ammonification, fixation, denitrification, nitrification
    • Fixation, ammonification, nitrification, denitrification
    • Fixation, nitrification, ammonification, denitrification
  7. Pia plans a pea plot, then a new crop. Which order of events is right for the nitrogen?

    • Fixation, ammonification, uptake of nitrate, nitrification
    • Uptake of nitrate, fixation, ammonification, nitrification
    • Fixation, ammonification, denitrification, uptake of nitrate
    • Fixation, ammonification, nitrification, uptake of nitrate
  8. Pia learns that gardeners grow peas to add nitrogen to the soil. Why do peas help?

    • Their leaves take N₂ gas from the air and store it in the soil
    • Bacteria around their roots are harmful, so peas make nitrogen alone
    • Their roots make nitrogen from sunlight and water
    • Rhizobium bacteria in their root nodules fix N₂ gas
  9. Ren looks at the roots of a bean plant. Which living things in the root nodules fix N₂?

    • Rhizobium bacteria
    • Decomposer fungi that make ammonium
    • Cyanobacteria from sunlit water
    • Pockets of N₂ gas the leaves took in
  10. Tala learns that Rhizobium bacteria live with a pea plant. Where in the plant do they fix N₂?

    • In nodules on the roots
    • In the seeds, where the plant stores its nitrogen
    • Nowhere, since peas fix N₂ without any bacteria
    • On the leaves, where air enters the plant
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9th grade The nitrogen cycle worksheet – printable
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About this worksheet

The nitrogen cycle: how nitrogen moves between air, soil and living things. Every version has 10 questions, and the answer key prints on the second page.

What your child will learn

  • I can say that air is about 78 percent N₂ but that plants and phytoplankton cannot use N₂ as it is.
  • I can name three groups of nitrogen-fixing bacteria (free-living bacteria such as Azotobacter, Rhizobium inside the roots of legumes (peas, beans, peanuts), and cyanobacteria in sunlit water) and name lightning as a fixer that is not a living thing.
  • I can name the process on an arrow: fixation (N₂ to usable forms), ammonification (wastes and remains to ammonium), nitrification (ammonium to nitrite to nitrate) and denitrification (nitrate back to N₂).
  • I can put the processes, and the forms of nitrogen, in order.
  • I can explain why gardeners grow peas to add nitrogen to the soil: Rhizobium in the root nodules fix N₂.
  • I can read a model table or graph of soil nitrate and work out a change, a difference and an average gain per week.

Standard: none (TX, FL, IXL)

Words to know

nitrogen gas (N₂): The gas that makes up about 78 percent of air; plants cannot use it as it is

nitrogen fixation: Changing N₂ gas into forms that living things can use

Rhizobium: Bacteria that live in the root nodules of legumes and fix N₂

root nodule: A small part of a legume root where Rhizobium bacteria live

legume: A plant such as a pea, bean or peanut

cyanobacteria: Bacteria of sunlit water that fix N₂

decomposer: A bacterium or fungus that breaks down wastes and remains

ammonification: Decomposers changing the nitrogen in wastes and remains into ammonium

Common mistakes

Your child thought plants take N₂ gas straight from the air. Plants and phytoplankton cannot use N₂; bacteria must fix it into other forms first. Ask your child which living things change N₂ into forms plants can use.

Your child thought soil bacteria only harm plants. Many soil bacteria help: some fix N₂ and others make the nitrate that roots take up. Ask your child to name one job a soil bacterium does for plants.

Your child thought the nitrogen a plant takes up is used up for good. It returns to the soil in wastes and remains and is changed back into ammonium and nitrate. Ask your child where a plant's nitrogen goes next.

Questions parents ask

What is the most common mistake with the nitrogen cycle?

Your child thought plants take N₂ gas straight from the air. Plants and phytoplankton cannot use N₂; bacteria must fix it into other forms first. Ask your child which living things change N₂ into forms plants can use.

Are these 9th grade science worksheets free to print?

Yes. All 6 printable versions at each level are free to print, with the answer key, and no account is needed.

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