Gizmo Student Exploration : Carbon Cycle

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
(CO 2) from the atmosphere and water (H2O) from the soil. Using
the energy of sunlight, plants build molecules of glucose
(C6H 12O 6) 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.



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 area
s represent possible locations the carbon atom could go
next.

, 1. Click on Land plants and read the description (at the bottom of


the simulation) . How did the carbon atom get from the


atmosphere to a plant? Plants use energy from the sun for


photosynthesis. Most of the oxygen is released.



2. Select Land animals . How did the carbon atom get from land
plants into the animal ( read the description )?
Land animals consume plants for energy.


3. Select Atmospheric CO 2. How did the carbon atom get from


land animals back to the atmosphere? They release carbon


dioxide back into the atmosphere through cellular respiration.