Nitrogen (reflection on reading)

http://portal.acs.org/portal/PublicWebSite/education/resources/highschool/chemmatters/archive/CNBP_024549

1. The article lists three chemical elements needed for plant growth. Name them.
There are three types of chemicals in a non-organic fertilizer. These three are nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. Nitrogen being the most important one.
2. Most plants cannot use diatomic nitrogen to help them grow. Name three plants that can use N2 and explain why they are able to use N2.
Soybeans, peas, and clover are three of the plants that can use the nitrogen form the air (N2). The reason that N2 is not used for other plant is that it

reacts very little and cannot

be used by other plants to grow. Because these exceptional plant is

because they

have symbiotic bacteria growing in their roots.

These bacteria have the unusual ability to con

vert atmospheric nitrogen (N2) into a chemically

usable form.

3. In what form is nitrogen present in most fertilizers?

Because N2 reacts very poorly, it is not used in fertilizers. instead the form most fertilizers use is

either ammonia (NH3) or the ammonium

ion (NH4

+). These are then changed within the plants into

nitrite ions (NO2

–) using bacteria called Nitrosomonas found in the roots of plants.

4. Nitrogen makes up what percent of the air?
Pure nitrogen, which is N2 makes up 78% and most of the air on Earth.
5. In what ways can nitrogen harm the environment?
If nitrogen enters the water it can help algae grow larger. then when the algae dies, and bacteria uses up oxygen to decompose it, because it is so large, and might use up all the oxygen in a big area. This then results in suffocation of fish, and other marine life with gills. also

nitrogen from fertilizers can become

nitrous oxide (N2O). When released into the air,

This gas contributes to

global climate changes and depletes the Ozone (O3).

6. How can changing annual crops (like wheat, corn, sorghum and sunflowers) to perennial crops reduce the need for fertilizer?

Scientists at the Land Institute in Salina, Kan., are breeding new crops that would live for many years. Plants that can live for years are called perennials. But, most crops live for only one year (annuals). By breeding or reproducing annual crops with their perennial relatives, the scientists at the Land Institute have created plants that have the better of both two things. The high quality of an annual, that stays ripe for years.