Carbon cycle

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Carbon cycle
Atmosphere
Burning
Photosynthesis
Respiration
Plants
Industry Vehicles
Animals
Decomposition
Pumping
Organic Material
Fossil Fuels
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The carbon cycle with and without humans

• In 1750, WITHOUT industry vehicles, there was
  around 280 CO2 molecules in every million air
  molecules

• In 2007, WITH industry vehicles, there is now
  380 CO2 molecules in every million air molecules
  (35 increase)

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How are humans affecting the Carbon Cycle?

• CO2 is a gas that traps heat. It is a gas that
  acts like a blanket.
• As humans produce more and more carbon dioxide,
  this traps more and more heat coming in from the
  sun.
• Humans continue to tear down trees (without
  planting new ones). This eliminates the one
  organism that takes carbon dioxide out of the
  atmosphere!

• As global temperatures rise, this has an
  incredible effect on the planeteverything from
  melting polar ice caps to increased hurricane and
  extreme weather activity.

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Carbon cycle game

• Place the game cards onto the proper storage
  area.
• Choose a game piece and place it on Plants.
• Decide who goes first by rolling the dice.
• Pick a Plant card and find out your next
  destination. Roll the dice to see how many spaces
  you move toward your destination. Return the card
  to the bottom of the Plant pile.
• Keep rolling until you get to your destination.
  When you arrive, stop there. Youve been stored!
• On your next turn, pick a new card from your new
  storage area then roll to see how far you go.
• You get a point each time you get back to
  Vegetation. Once you have 10 stops, head back to
  Vegetation. The person with the most points by
  the time the instructor says to stop playing
  wins!

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Questions to consider

• What is the importance of plants in the carbon
  cycle?
• How many possible paths are there for a carbon
  atom to move through the environment?
• What happens to the carbon atom as it moves from
  1 pool to another? Give an example.
• Name some places where carbon appears to get
  stuck in a pool and not move for some time. Why
  might this be?
• Humans have a big influence on the carbon cycle.
  What would the carbon cycle be like without
  humans? What is our impact on the carbon cycle?