The Carbon Cycle

The Carbon Cycle depends on the carbon present in carbon

dioxide, a gas stored in Earths atmosphere, land, and in
bodies of water. About 93 percent of carbon dioxide is
stored in oceans, but it moves quickly between air and land.
Carbon dioxide occupies only about 0.038 percent of air.
All living things store carbon in their cells. This carbon is
released as carbon dioxide when decomposers consume
once-living things or the waste they produce in life.
Because plants and animals formed fossils fuels, the carbon
once stored in their bodies is now stored in oil, gas, and coal
beneath Earths surface. When these fuels are removed from
the ground and burned, carbon dioxide enters the air.

In oceans, some organisms use carbon found in dissolved carbon dioxide and other carbon molecules to build shells and
skeletons. When these organisms die, their bodies settle on the ocean floor, becoming part of the sediment, or fine soil.
Eventually, some sediments dissolve in ocean water, producing carbon dioxide. Earth processes, like volcanic eruptions and
earthquake activity, also can bring sediments to the surface, where they react with oxygen in the air to produce carbon dioxide.
Recall that plants are producers, meaning they manufacture their own food. In plant cells, the energy in sunlight activates a
chemical reaction, in which carbon dioxide gas reacts with water to produce sugar and oxygen. Plants rely on the sugar they
manufacture as a source of energy for growth, development, and reproduction. The bonds between the atoms in each sugar
molecule store potential energy. When plants respire, they break apart sugar molecules, releasing the energy stored in the
chemical bonds. Sugar reacts with oxygen to produce water and carbon dioxide. The producer uses the water and releases
carbon dioxide to the atmosphere. This cycle of use and release keeps carbon dioxide available.
Producers, of course, depend on carbon dioxide for food production. Carbon dioxide is important in another way, too. It helps
maintain Earths heat balance. Earth absorbs sunlight and returns low-energy waves of infrared radiation to space. Carbon
dioxide traps this radiation. If there is too little carbon dioxide in the air, the heat gets away, and Earth cools. Too much carbon
dioxide has the opposite effect. It stores the extra heat, warming Earths surface.

1. Through what process do both plants and animals emit carbon dioxide into the atmosphere?
(1) Combustion

(2) Photosynthesis

(3) Cellular Respiration

(4) Death and Decomposition

2. ____________________ is stored in the cells of all living things.

(1) Nitrogen

(2) Carbon

(3) Sugar

(4) Xenon

(5) Argon

3. Plants help transform carbon dioxide into oxygen through what process?
(1) Death and Decomposition

(2) Photosynthesis

(3) Cellular Respiration

(4) Combustion

4. Some organisms in the ocean use dissolved carbon dioxide to obtain the carbon to ___________________________________
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5. What happens when we have too much carbon dioxide in the atmosphere? Or too little? ___________________
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