Earth's Interconnected Systems: Nitrogen

The star called the sun is changing and will burn out overa lifespan of approximately 10 billion years. The study of stars’ light spectra and brightness is used to identify compositional elements of stars, their movements, and their distances from Earth. The Big Bang theory is supported by observations of distant galaxies receding from our own, of the measured composition of stars and non-stellar gases, and of the maps of spectra of the primordial radiation (cosmic microwave background) that still fills the universe. Other than the hydrogen and helium formed at the time of the Big Bang, nuclear fusion within stars produces all atomic nuclei lighter than and including iron, and the process releases electromagnetic energy. Heavier Elements are produced when certain massive stars achieve a supernova stage and explode.

Kepler's laws describe common features of the motions of orbiting objects. Observations from astronomy and space probes provide evidence for explanations of solar system formation. Changes in Earth's tilt and orbit cause climate changes such as Ice Ages.

The rock record resulting from tectonic and other geoscience processes as well as objects from the solar system can provide evidence of Earth's early history and the relative ages of major geologic formations.

Feedback effects exist within and among Earth's systems.

Radioactive decay within Earth's interior contributes to thermal convection in the mantle.

The planet's dynamics are greatly influenced by water's unique chemical and physical properties.

The role of radiation from the sun and its interactions with the atmosphere, ocean, and land are the foundation for the global climate system. Global climate models are used to predict future changes, including changes influenced by human behavior and natural factors.

The biosphere and Earth's other systems have many interconnections that cause a continual co-evolution of Earth's surface and life on it.

Resource availability has guided the development of human society and use of natural resources has associated costs, risks, and benefits.

Natural hazards and other geological events have shaped the course of human history at local, regional, and global scales.

Sustainability of human societies and the biodiversity that supports them requires responsible management of natural resources, including the development of technologies. 

Global climate models used to predict changes continue to be improved, although discoveries about the global climate system are ongoing and continually needed.

Systems of specialized cells within organisms help perform essential functions of life. Any one system in an organism is made up of numerous parts.  Feedback mechanisms maintain an organism's internal conditions within certain limits and mediate behaviors. 

Growth and division of cells in organisms occurs by mitosis and differentiation for specific cell types.

The hydrocarbon backbones of sugars produced through photosynthesis are used to make amino acids and other molecules that can be assembled into proteins or DNA.  Through cellular respiration, matter and energy flow through different organizational levels of an organism as elements are recombined to form different products and transfer energy.

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Ecosystems have carrying capacities resulting from biotic and abiotic factors. The fundamental tension between resource availability and organism populations affects the abundance of species in any given ecosystem.

Photosynthesis and cellular respiration provide most of the energy for life processes. Only a fraction of matter consumed at the lower level of a food web is transferred up, resulting in fewer organisms at higher levels. At each link in an ecosystem elements are combined in different ways and matter and energy are conserved. Photosynthesis and cellular respiration are key components of the global carbon cycle.

Group behavior has evolved because membership can increase the chances of survival for individuals and their genetic relatives.

DNA carries instructions for forming species' characteristics. Each cell in an organism has the same genetic content, but genes expressed by cells can differ.

The variation and distribution of traits in a population depend on genetic and environmental factors. Genetic variation can result from mutations caused by environmental factors or errors in DNA replication, or from chromosomes swapping sections during meiosis.

The ongoing branching that produces multilpe lines of descent can be inferred by comparing DNA sequences, amino acid sequences, and anatomical and embryological evidence of different organisms.

Natural selection occurs only if there is variation in the genes and traits between organisms in a population. Traits that positively affect survival can become more common in a population.

Evolution results primarily from genetic variation of individuals in a species, competition for resources, and proliferation of organisms better able to survive and reproduce.  Adaptation means that the distribution of traits in a population, as well as species expansion, emergence or extinction, can change when conditions change.

The sub-atomic structural model and interactions between electric charges at the atomic scale can be used to explain the structure and interactions of matter, including chemical reactions and nuclear processes. Repeating patterns of the periodic table reflect patterns of outer electrons. A stable molecule has less energy than the same set of atoms separated; one must provide at least this energy to take the molecule apart. 

Chemical processes are understood in terms of collisions of molecules, rearrangement of atoms, and changes in energy as determined by properties of elements involved.

Forces at a distance are explained by fields that can transfer energy and can be described in terms of the arrangement and properties of the interacting objects and | the distance between them. These forces can be used to describe the relationship between electrical and magnetic fields.

The total energy within a system is conserved. Energy transfer within and between systems can be described and predicted in terms of energy associated with the motion or configuration of particles (objects).

Systems move toward stable states.

Fields contain energy that depends on the arrangement of the objects in the field.

Photosynthesis is the primary biological means of capturing radiation from the sun; energy cannot be destroyed, it can be converted to less useful forms.

The wavelength and frequency of a wave are related to one another by the speed of the wave, which depends on the type of wave and the medium through which it is passing. Waves can be used to transmit information and energy.

Both an electromagnetic wave model and a photon model explain features of electromagnetic radiation broadly and describe common applications of electromagnetic radiation.

The star called the sun is changing and will burn out overa lifespan of approximately 10 billion years. The study of stars’ light spectra and brightness is used to identify compositional elements of stars, their movements, and their distances from Earth. The Big Bang theory is supported by observations of distant galaxies receding from our own, of the measured composition of stars and non-stellar gases, and of the maps of spectra of the primordial radiation (cosmic microwave background) that still fills the universe. Other than the hydrogen and helium formed at the time of the Big Bang, nuclear fusion within stars produces all atomic nuclei lighter than and including iron, and the process releases electromagnetic energy. Heavier Elements are produced when certain massive stars achieve a supernova stage and explode.

The star called the sun is changing and will burn out overa lifespan of approximately 10 billion years. The study of stars’ light spectra and brightness is used to identify compositional elements of stars, their movements, and their distances from Earth. The Big Bang theory is supported by observations of distant galaxies receding from our own, of the measured composition of stars and non-stellar gases, and of the maps of spectra of the primordial radiation (cosmic microwave background) that still fills the universe. Other than the hydrogen and helium formed at the time of the Big Bang, nuclear fusion within stars produces all atomic nuclei lighter than and including iron, and the process releases electromagnetic energy. Heavier Elements are produced when certain massive stars achieve a supernova stage and explode.