AP BIOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -Plants absorb ammonium and nitrate during the assimilation process, after which they are converted into nitrogen-containing organic molecules, such as amino acids and DNA. Animals cannot absorb nitrates directly. They receive their nutrient supplies by consuming plants or plant-consuming animals.

Detailed explanation-2: -Decomposition. Plants take up nitrogen compounds through their roots. Animals obtain these compounds when they eat the plants.

Detailed explanation-3: -Animals get these amino acids by eating plants or animals that eat plants. This works because plants can make all twenty amino acids including the ten or so “essential” ones that most animals can’t.

Detailed explanation-4: -The plants absorb the usable nitrogen compounds from the soil through their roots. Then, these nitrogen compounds are used for the production of proteins and other compounds in the plant cell. Animals assimilate nitrogen by consuming these plants or other animals that contain nitrogen.

Detailed explanation-5: -Animals get the nitrogen they need by eating plants or other animals that contain nitrogen. When organisms die, their bodies decompose bringing the nitrogen into soil on land or into ocean water. Bacteria alter the nitrogen into a form that plants are able to use.