The Carbon Cycle

Front 1

What is carbon usually referred to as?

Back 1

The basic building block of life.

Front 2

Where can carbon be found?

Back 2

It can be found in forests, deep in the ground as fossil fuels and inside every living thing.

Front 3

Plants and some marine life absorb carbon dioxide and convert it into complex carbohydrates using what process?

Back 3

Photosynthesis.

Front 4

What substance is released as a by-product of this process?

Back 4

Oxygen.

Front 5

Consumers use these complex carbohydrates internally as a source of energy before converting carbon back to CO2 via what process?

Back 5

Aerobic respiration.

Front 6

Why are we a significant part of the carbon cycle?

Back 6

By breathing in oxygen and breathing out CO2.

Front 7

How is carbon dating used?

Back 7

Carbon breaks down at a constant rate so it can determine the age of once living things.

Front 8

What % of the atmosphere is carbon?

Back 8

0.04%

Front 9

What are the effects of carbon as a greenhouse gas?

Back 9

It makes the earth warmer as it filters radiation in and out.

Front 10

Animal and plant matter that has been settling for millions of years under intense heat and pressure inside the earth forms what substances?

Back 10

Oil, coal and natural gas.

Front 11

Humans extract fossil fuels such as coal and oil and burn them to produce energy. What is released into the atmosphere as a result?

Back 11

Carbon in the form of CO2.

Front 12

What will result with carbon emissions if the sea temperatures rise?

Back 12

The rate at which the ocean releases CO2 to the atmosphere.

Front 13

Why is carbon necessary in the ocean?

Back 13

For marine life to grow.

Front 14

How does carbon reach the depths of the ocean?

Back 14

When marine organism dies, they bring their store of CO2 to the ocean floor to break down.

Front 15

What is the problem with the burning of fossil fuels?

Back 15

It throws out the natural balance because more CO2 is being released than can be absorbed.