Question

Write one appropriate word for the statements given below and briefly explain them.
a. The process by which carbon is incorporated into life forms.
b. The process by which nitrates are converted to free nitrogen.
c. The cyclic flow of nitrogen between the non-living environment and living organisms.

Answer 1

a. The process by which carbon is incorporated in life forms is called photosynthesis. It is the process by which carbon dioxide and water, under the presence of sunlight and chlorophyll, get converted into glucose and oxygen. This glucose is the food for plants and other organisms.

The answer is 'Photosynthesis'.

b. Denitrification is the process by which microbes convert nitrates and nitrites and produce free molecular nitrogen ($N_2$).

The answer is 'Denitrification'.

c. The nitrogen-cycle passes the elemental form of nitrogen in the atmosphere into simple molecules in the soil and water, which get converted to more complex molecules in living beings and back again to the simple nitrogen molecule in the atmosphere.