question archive What are the 4 main steps of the nitrogen cycle and what are the chemical reactions that happen at each step?
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What are the 4 main steps of the nitrogen cycle and what are the chemical reactions that happen at each step?
The four steps of the nitrogen cycle include nitrogen fixation, nitrification, denitrification and ammonification. The chemical reaction in the nitrogen fixation step is N2 + 8 H+ + 8 e− → 2 NH3 + H2. In nitrogen fixation atmospheric nitrogen is converted by nitrogenase to ammonia. During ammonification the amino groups that have an association with nitrogen organic forms are converted to ammonium or ammonia. Any reaction that produces ammonia as the end product is referred to as ammonification. The chemical reaction that takes place in nitrification is the oxidation of ammonia to nitrite and then the nitrite is oxidized to nitrate. The chemical reaction in denitrification is the reduction of nitrate to nitrous oxide or dinitro-gen through nitrite.