I often used this hashtag #scienceiscool when I repost bits from my company, a biotech player in DNA sequencing.

Helping one of my kids with some science homework recently, I needed info as follows, also cool,

Like this:

“

The movement of matter between living (biotic) and nonliving (abiotic) parts of an ecosystem is important because it recycles the materials that life depends on.

Unlike energy (which flows one way and is lost as heat), matter is reused over and over again through biogeochemical cycles such as:

The water cycle The carbon cycle The nitrogen cycle The phosphorus cycle

Here’s why that movement matters:

1. It Recycles Essential Nutrients

Plants need carbon dioxide, water, nitrogen, phosphorus, and other nutrients from soil, air, and water. Animals get those nutrients by eating plants (or other animals). When organisms excrete waste or die, decomposers break them down and return nutrients to the soil and atmosphere.

Without this recycling, nutrients would run out quickly.

2. It Connects Living and Nonliving Systems

Matter constantly moves:

Air → plants (carbon dioxide) Soil → plants (minerals) Plants → animals (food) Organisms → soil/air (decomposition)

This keeps ecosystems functioning as one connected system.

3. It Maintains Ecosystem Stability

Balanced nutrient cycling helps regulate:

Soil fertility Atmospheric gases Water availability Population sizes

If the movement of matter is disrupted (for example, by pollution or deforestation), ecosystems can become unstable.

4. It Supports All Life

Every cell in every organism is built from recycled atoms. The carbon in your body, for example, has likely been part of many other organisms in the past.

In short:

The movement of matter is essential because it allows ecosystems to sustain life by continuously recycling the materials organisms need to survive.”

Says ChatGPT,

Hmm,

GOOD.