Scientific investigations often lead to the formulation of new scientific questions. The observations Charles Darwin's work
after he returned home from his voyage prompted him to ask which question?

step 1 ammonium can be absorbed by plants, but some is converted into nitrates which are better for plants to absorb. this is called nitrification. 2. step 2 the deer eats the plants and uses the nitrogen-containing proteins for cell growth. 3. step 3 bacteria in the soil conduct nitrogen fixation to convert nitrogen gas from the atmosphere into ammonium. 4. step 4 some of the nitrates are absorbed back into plants, but denitrification breaks down the nitrates into nitrogen gas released back into the atmosphere. 5. step 5 nitrogen is found in the urine, which gets broken down into ammonium through the process of ammonification. 6. step 6 plants absorb the ammonium and begin assimilation, the process to add the nitrogen to protein.

a fossil fuel is a fuel formed by natural processes, such as anaerobic decomposition of buried dead organisms, containing energy originating in ancient photosynthesis.[1] the age of the organisms and their resulting fossil fuels is typically millions of years, and sometimes exceeds 650 million years.[2] fossil fuels contain high percentages of carbon and include petroleum, coal, and natural gas.[3] other commonly used derivatives include kerosene and propane. fossil fuels range from volatile materials with low carbon to hydrogen ratios like methane, to liquids like petroleum, to nonvolatile materials composed of almost pure carbon, like anthracite coal. methane can be found in hydrocarbon fields either alone, associated with oil, or in the form of methane clathrates.

the theory that fossil fuels formed from the fossilized remains of dead plants by exposure to heat and pressure in the earth's crust over millions of years was first introduced by andreas libavius "in his 1597 alchemia [alchymia]" and later by mikhail lomonosov "as early as 1757 and certainly by 1763".[4] the first use of the term "fossil fuel" was by the german chemist caspar neumann, in english translation in 1759.[5]

in 2017 the world's primary energy sources consisted of petroleum (34%), coal (28%), natural gas (23%), amounting to an 85% share for fossil fuels in primary energy consumption in the world.[6] non-fossil sources in 2006 included nuclear (8.5%), hydroelectric (6.3%), and others (geothermal, solar, tidal, wind, wood, waste) amounting to 0.9%.[7] world energy consumption was growing at about 2.3% per year. in 2015 about 18% of worldwide consumption was from renewable sources.[8]