Student Exploration: Carbon Cycle Student Exploration: Carbon Cycle

Vocabulary: atmosphere, biomass, biosphere, carbon reservoir, carbon sink, fossil fuel, geosphere, greenhouse gas, hydrosphere, lithosphere, photosynthesis Photosynthesis – fill in the blanks below with the words describing photosynthesis. CO2 + H2O + sunlight C6H12O6 + O2 + + + Prior Knowledge Questions (Do these BEFORE using the Gizmo.) In the process of photosynthesis, plants take in carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere and water (H2O) from the soil. Using the energy of sunlight, plants build molecules of glucose (C6H12O6) and oxygen (O2). 1. How do plants on Earth affect the amount of carbon in Earth’s atmosphere? (Use the word increase or decrease). 2. How do animals affect the amount of carbon in Earth’s atmosphere? (Use the word increase or decrease). Gizmo Warm-up The Carbon Cycle Gizmo allows you to follow the many paths an atom of carbon can take through Earth’s systems. To begin, notice the black carbon atom in the Atmospheric CO2 area, highlighted in yellow. The glowing blue areas represent possible locations the carbon atom could go next. 1. From Earth’s atmosphere, where can the carbon atom go