By: Alicia Stokes

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The Sulfur Cycle

• By Alicia Stokes
• Chantel Walton

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Sulfur
Atomic Symbol S Atomic Number 16 Atomic
Mass 32.06

• Sulfur is an odorless, light yellow, solid, that
  is insoluble in water.
• Sulfur is one of the components that make up
  vitamins and proteins.
• The Sulfur found in the Earth is usually tied up
  in salts and rocks or buried deep under water.

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Things to Know

• Sulfide a chemical compound of sulfur and
  another element or radical, such as hydrogen
  sulfide.
• Sulfate a salt or ester of sulfuric acid,
  containing the group SO4
• Leaching the process by which soluble
  constituents are dissolved and filtered through
  the soil by a percolating fluid.
• Proteins Large molecules that are essential to
  the structure and functioning of all living
  cells.

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Explanation of the Cycle

• During the sulfur cycle, sulfur passes through
  the gaseous, liquid, and solid parts of our
  planet.
• Sulfur can be produced both naturally and
  synthetically.
• Natural volcanoes and hot springs
• Synthetic human wastes and emissions

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Explanation of the Cycle (contd)

• On the earth, these compounds combine with metals
  to create sulfate and sulfide.
• Organic sulfur can be generated by plants.
• When animals eat the plants, the sulfur is
  converted from plant proteins to animal proteins.
• Sulfur is returned to the soils upon the death of
  plants and animals.
• Here microorganisms convert it into hydrogen
  sulfide.

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Amounts of Sulfur

• Sulfur enters the atmosphere during fossil fuel
  combustion as hydrogen sulfide.
• The source of sulfur is the lithosphere.

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Biological and Ecological Importance

• Shooting sulfur into the atmosphere is one way to
  curb global warming.
• Solar radiation may be reflected away from the
  Earth by burning fossil fuels, which cools the
  planet.
• Sulfur is important for proteins and enzymes in
  plants to function.

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Bibliography

• http//homepages.nyu.edu/pet205/sulfur.htm
• http//periodic.lanl.gov/elements/16.html
• http//lenntech.com/sulfur-cycle.htm
• http//science.jrank.org/pages/6600/Sulfur-Cycle.h
  tml
• http//www.livescience.com/environment/060727_inje
  ct_sulfur.html
• http//www.science.clarified.com/Oi-Ph/Oxygen-Fami
  ly.html
• http//www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/crops/field/ne
  ws/croptalk/2006/ct_0606a2f1.gif

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