CARBON CYCLE STUDY GUIDE

What you will learn

You will learn about where carbon comes from, and how it cycles through living organsims and different parts of the non-living environment

Why it is important to understand

It is important to understand how all living things and their environment are tied together, and the impact we ourselves have on our environment

How will I know I understand it:

1. you will be able to define where carbon comes from, and where it exists.

2. You will be able to explain how carbon moves through the ecosystems.

3. You will be able to explain how human beings interact with and impact the carbon cycle. 

3.3 The Carbon Cycle and Ecosystems (8.3.3)
Explore this Phenomenon Look at the photos.

1. What questions do you have about the scenes?

2. What do you already know?

3. How are these two images similar?

4. How are these two images different?

5. How do you explain what is happening?

8.3.3 Carbon Cycle & Ecosystems
Ask questions to obtain, evaluate, and communicate information about how changes to an ecosystem affect the stability of cycling matter and the flow of energy among living and nonliving parts of an ecosystem. Emphasize describing the cycling of matter and flow of energy through the carbon cycle. 

In this section, focus on stability and change and matter and energy. Small changes in one part of a system might cause large changes in another part and
the flow of energy can be tracked as energy flows through a natural system.

The Carbon Cycle

Carbon is the element that acts as a building block for many compounds necessary for life. But do organisms make their own carbon? No! Carbon must be recycled from other living organisms, things like sedimentary rocks, the atmosphere, and other parts of the ecosystem. Exactly how does carbon get recycled and move through the ecosystem?

CARBON CYCLE-nature's way of reusing carbon atoms, which travel from the atmosphere into organisms in the Earth and then back into the atmosphere over and over again.

Most carbon is stored in rocks and sediments, while the rest is stored in the ocean, atmosphere, and living organisms.

Carbon moves from one source to another in the carbon cycle. Flowing water can slowly dissolve carbon in sedimentary rock. This carbon often ends
up in the ocean. Once in the ocean carbon can be stored for thousands of years or more. Although oceans and sedimentary rock are major sources for stored carbon, carbon is also stored for different lengths of time in the atmosphere, in living organisms, and as fossil fuel deposits found in the earth. These are all parts of the carbon cycle, which is shown in the figure below.

Carbon in Carbon Dioxide

Carbon cycles quickly between organisms and the atmosphere where carbon exists
primarily as carbon dioxide (CO2). Carbon dioxide cycles through the atmosphere by
several different processes, including those listed below.

● Living organisms release carbon dioxide during cellular respiration. (Carbon
dioxide is breathed out.)

● Photosynthesis removes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and uses it to
make chemicals like glucose.

● Carbon dioxide is given off when dead organisms and other organic
materials decompose.

● Burning organic material, such as fossil fuels, releases carbon dioxide.

● Carbon cycles slowly through geological (earth) processes. Carbon may be
stored in sedimentary rock for millions of years.

● When volcanoes erupt, they release carbon dioxide that was stored in the
mantle.

● Carbon dioxide is released when limestone is heated during the production
of cement.

● Ocean water releases dissolved carbon dioxide into the atmosphere when
water temperatures rise.

● Carbon dioxide is also removed when ocean water cools and dissolves
more carbon dioxide from the air.

Because of human activities, there is more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere today than there has been for the past hundreds of thousands of years. Burning fossil fuels has released great quantities of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Cutting forests and clearing land have also increased carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. These activities reduce the number of photosynthetic organisms that remove carbon dioxide from the air. In addition, clearing often involves burning, which releases carbon dioxide that was previously stored in plants. 

Putting It Together

1. Explain how your understanding of the carbon cycle has changed.

2. Think of another phenomenon that applies to the carbon cycle.

3. Explain what could eventually happen to this swamp based on what you have
learned in this section.