The Carbon Cycle
Trace a single carbon atom through the systems that keep Earth livable.
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What students do
Students follow carbon as it moves through the atmosphere, plants, soil, ocean, and fossil fuels. They watch photosynthesis, respiration, decomposition, and ocean exchange keep the cycle in balance, then switch human activity on to see how burning fossil fuels and clearing forests tip the balance and push carbon into the atmosphere.
Standards alignment
Develop a quantitative model to describe the cycling of carbon among the hydrosphere, atmosphere, geosphere, and biosphere.
Use a computational representation to illustrate the relationships among Earth systems and how those relationships are being modified due to human activity.
Develop a model to describe the cycling of matter and flow of energy among living and nonliving parts of an ecosystem.