ESS Unit 11Carbon Cycle and Climate Change
Name: ________________________________________ Per: ______
Go to the website:
https://www.windows2universe.org/earth/climate/carbon_cycle.html
(Or Google search: “windows to the universe carbon cycle game”)
You are a carbon atom. Fill in the notes below and then answer the questions
found in the Question Bank. Follow the instructions and the arrows in the activity.
Welcome to the Atmosphere
1. A carbon atom is stuck to two atoms of oxygen to form the greenhouse gas
called ____________________________________.
2. Only a small amount (______ %) of the atmosphere is made of carbon dioxide.
3. Burning fossil fuels has increased the amount to _______% in the past _______
years.
4. More carbon dioxide in our atmosphere makes our planet ________________.
Welcome to Land Plants
4. Plants take carbon out of the atmosphere and use the Sun's energy to make the
nutrition it needs (a process called ___________________________).
5. As more carbon dioxide is added to our atmosphere, plants will be able to
______________________.
6. Plants also release carbon back to the atmosphere by ____________________.
Welcome to the Soil
7. The plant has died and now is part of the soil called
________________________________, which is decomposing plants and animals.
8. Soil is also made of inorganic parts such as ____________________________.
9. Soils store about ___________% of Earth's carbon.
10. As ______________________________ breakdown the detritus, carbon is
sent into the atmosphere.
Welcome to the Surface Ocean
11. Either you got here by ______________ from the atmosphere, by
decomposing marine life, or from circulating water from the deep ocean.
12. The ocean absorbs ________________ carbon dioxide from the atmosphere
than the land does.
13. The surface ocean takes in about ________ Gigatons of carbon per year.
14.
_____________________ water absorbs carbon faster than warm water.
Welcome to the Deep Ocean
15. The deep ocean gets carbon from the surface ocean and
________________________________________.
16. When carbon gets to the deep ocean, it usually stays there for
____________________ of years before moving on.
17. The deep ocean stores more than ______________% of the Earth's carbon.
Welcome to Marine Life
17. Tiny marine organisms called ________________________________________
take in carbon to make the nutrition they need a through photosynthesis.
18. They are eaten by larger marine life. Marine life cannot survive without
___________________________.
19. High levels of this element dissolved in ocean waters are harmful to marine
organisms such as ______________________, ______________________,
_________________________.
View NASA Keeping up With Carbon.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HrIr3xDhQ0E
Question Bank: Move to all the
Answer the question/statement and provide
information given to you in the space below each question.
 True or False: Soils emit carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
 True or False: Land plants both absorb carbon dioxide from the
atmosphere and release it into the atmosphere.
 True or False: When land plants die and decay they bring carbon into soil.
 True or False: Land plants take carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere
during photosynthesis.
 Soils store about ______ % of the Earth's total carbon.
 True or False If atmospheric carbon dioxide levels continue to increase,
plants will take in more carbon dioxide and grow faster.
 True or False: The ocean absorbs more carbon dioxide from the
atmosphere than the land.
 The deep ocean accounts for more than _________ % of the Earth's carbon.
 True or False: More carbon can dissolve in cold ocean water than in warm
water.
 When carbon enters the deep ocean, how long does it stay there?
_______________________________________________________________
 How much carbon does the surface ocean absorb from the atmosphere each
year? __________________________________________________________
 The deep ocean gets carbon from: __________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
 True or False: Too much carbon in seawater prevents marine life such as
clams, snails, and other sea animals from growing their shells.
 Which types of marine life will be hurt by increasing carbon dioxide levels?
______ ________________________________________________________
 True or False: Phytoplankton are tiny plants and algae that float in the
ocean and take up carbon dioxide as they grow.
 True or False: When carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere from
burning fossil fuels, it makes the Earth colder.
 True or False: Carbon can't get from the deep ocean to soils on the land.
There is a different type of carbon on land.
 In the atmosphere, carbon atoms are often part of a greenhouse gas called:
_______________________________________________________________
 Approximately how many Megatons of Carbon do humans put into the
atmosphere by burning fossils fuels each year? (1 Megaton = 1 million tons)
_______________________________________________________________
 How much has the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere increased
over the last 150 years?
____________________________________________________