Carbon, and the Carbon

Cycle
Carbon. Element number six. Right in the middle of the first row
of the Periodic Table. So what many will ask..

Well carbon is important whether you like it or not, carbon is the

key to life on this Planet, it is part of everything that makes up what we
are like proteins, sugars, fats and DNA. Some organisms on this planet
get carbon from consuming food, plants get carbon from the
atmosphere or bodies of water. It is conserved as it cycles through
ecosystems. We also know that it is a relatively small atom only
consisting of 6 protons and 6 electrons (making the atom mass 12)
 You may ask well.Why is carbon so basic to life? The reason is
carbons ability to form stable bonds with many elements, including
itself. This property allows carbon to form a huge variety of very large
and complex molecules. In fact, there are nearly 10 million carbon-
based compounds in living things! However, the millions of organic
compounds can be grouped into just four major types: carbohydrates,
lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids. Heres a table to help your
understanding of how big carbons impact actually is on life.

Type of Examples of The Functions of these Monomer

Compound the Elements compounds (their (Macromolecules
compound that make significance) which are smaller
up the molecules that make
Compound up these
compounds)

Carbohydrates sugars, carbon, provides energy to cells, monosaccharide

starches hydrogen, stores energy, forms body
oxygen structures for cells in
organisms

Lipids fats, oils carbon, stores energy, forms cell

hydrogen, membranes, carries
oxygen messages in cells within
organisms

Proteins enzymes, carbon, helps cells keep their amino acid

antibodies hydrogen, shape, makes up muscles,
 oxygen, speeds up chemical
nitrogen, reactions, carries messages
sulfur and materials within a cell.

Nucleic Acids DNA, RNA carbon, contains instructions for nucleotide

hydrogen, proteins, passes
oxygen, instructions from parents to
nitrogen, offspring, helps make
phosphorus proteins for organisms.

Carbon Cycle is the series of processes by which carbon compounds

are interconverted in the environment, chiefly involving the
incorporation of carbon dioxide into living tissue by photosynthesis and
its return to the atmosphere through respiration, the decay of dead
organisms, and the burning of fossil fuels.
 The greenhouse effect
Carbon dioxide is one of the gases in the atmosphere that has the
ability to absorb thermal energy from the Sun and this keeps the Earth
warm. This process is called the Greenhouse effect, the Sun is the one
producing all the solar radiation while some of this energy is actually
reflecting into space or passing through Earths atmosphere. Now the
greenhouse gases are what absorbs the heat that is in Earths
atmosphere. (Ex: Carbon Dioxide does this to keep the Earth from
getting too hot or too cold)

The DANGER of the increase of greenhouse gases within the

atmosphere
While these greenhouse gases are essential for all life on our planet to
exist, a steady increase of these greenhouse gases are going to hurt
ecosystems destroying our planet's life. For example carbon is stored in
things such as fossil fuels (coal, oil, and natural gas) When people in the
modern day are using these resources for energy we are releasing
massive amounts of carbon into the atmosphere.

Since the industrial revolution in the 19th century, carbon dioxide in

the atmosphere has risen by 30%. Scientists have shown that this
increase in carbon dioxide is a result of human activities that have
occurred over the last 150 years, including the burning of fossil fuels
and deforestation.

Sources Used: http://www.ck12.org/biology/Significance-of-Carbon/lesson/Significance-of-

Carbon-BIO/?referrer=concept_details

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QnQe0xW_JY4
http://serc.carleton.edu/eslabs/carbon/index.html

https://wattsupwiththat.com/2012/12/07/a-brief-history-of-atmospheric-carbon-dioxide-record-
breaking/