Question

Which statement best describes label b?

1) Aquatic plants absorb phosphate from the water, and terrestrial plants absorb phosphate from the soil.
2) Bacteria convert phosphate in dead organisms into phosphorus.
3) Organisms, such as fish, absorb phosphorus from their food (plants and other animals).
4) Phosphorus is weathered from sedimentary rocks and ends up as phosphate in the water.

Answer 1

The correct statement is that phosphorus, weathered from rocks, ends up as phosphate in the water, contributing to the phosphorus cycle in nature.

Step-by-step explanation:

The statement that best describes label b is that Phosphorus is weathered from sedimentary rocks and ends up as phosphate in the water . This process is part of the phosphorus cycle, where phosphorus occurs naturally as the phosphate ion (PO4³-). Weathering of rocks and volcanic activity release phosphate into water bodies, air, and soil, making it available to various food webs. Phosphate in the ocean is cycled into marine food webs, and some of it ultimately forms sediments on the ocean floor, which, over geologic time, may be uplifted to form new land.