Questions and Answers > SCIENCE 101Stephani DeBise - Carbon Cycling GIZMO

SCIENCE 101Stephani DeBise - Carbon Cycling GIZMO Student Exploration: Carbon Cycle Vocabulary: atmosphere, biomass, biosphere, carbon reservoir, carbon sink, fossil fuel, geosphere, greenhouse gas, hydrosphere, lithosphere, photosynthesis 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). Make sure all of your answers are in a different color. 1. How do plants on Earth affect the amount of carbon in Earth’s atmosphere? Plants take in carbon dioxide and process it into oxygen. 2. Animals eat plants and produce carbon dioxide and water. How do animals affect the amount of carbon in Earth’s atmosphere? They eat plants that process carbon dioxide and when they eat theses plants, there are fewer plants that can process the carbon dioxide.