nitrogen cycle diagram
the atmosphere is 80% nitrogen: why do you think plants and animals cant use nitrogen as it is found in the atmosphere?
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# Brief Explanations:
Plants and animals can't use atmospheric nitrogen ($N_2$) directly because the triple bond ($N\equiv N$) in $N_2$ is very strong. Breaking this bond requires a large amount of energy. Most plants and animals lack the enzymes and metabolic pathways to break this bond and convert $N_2$ into forms (like $NH_4^+$, $NO_2^-$, $NO_3^-$) that can be incorporated into biological molecules (such as amino acids, nucleic acids). Nitrogen - fixing bacteria have the necessary enzymes (e.g., nitrogenase) to convert $N_2$ into ammonia ($NH_3$) which can then be further processed in the nitrogen cycle.
# Answer:
Plants and animals can't use atmospheric nitrogen ($N_2$) directly because the triple bond ($N\equiv N$) in $N_2$ is very strong and they lack the enzymes to break it and convert $N_2$ into usable forms.

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