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Multiple Choice

Which cycle describes the recycling of nitrogen in the environment with nitrogen moving from a gas to organic compounds to proteins and back to gas?

Nitrogen cycling between atmospheric gas, organic compounds, and back to gas. This pattern is the nitrogen cycle: nitrogen gas (N2) in the air is transformed into usable organic forms via nitrogen fixation, then incorporated into amino acids and proteins in living organisms. When those organisms die or excrete waste, microbes break down the nitrogen-containing compounds and eventually convert nitrogen back into N2 gas, releasing it to the atmosphere. This gas–to–organic–to–protein–to–gas flow is what characterizes the nitrogen cycle. Other cycles involve different elements (carbon, phosphorus, or water) and don’t describe nitrogen moving through these forms.

Nitrogen cycling between atmospheric gas, organic compounds, and back to gas. This pattern is the nitrogen cycle: nitrogen gas (N2) in the air is transformed into usable organic forms via nitrogen fixation, then incorporated into amino acids and proteins in living organisms. When those organisms die or excrete waste, microbes break down the nitrogen-containing compounds and eventually convert nitrogen back into N2 gas, releasing it to the atmosphere. This gas–to–organic–to–protein–to–gas flow is what characterizes the nitrogen cycle. Other cycles involve different elements (carbon, phosphorus, or water) and don’t describe nitrogen moving through these forms.