Atmospher

Surface
Ocean

Marine life

Deep
Ocean

Plants

Animals

Soil

Power Plant

Atmosphere
While you are here, little carbon atom, you
will be stuck to two atoms of oxygen in a
greenhouse gas called carbon dioxide or CO2.
Only a small amount (0.04%) of the
atmosphere is made of carbon dioxide.
Because of burning fossil fuels, the amount
has increased 30% in the past 150 years.
More carbon dioxide in our atmosphere makes
our planet warmer.

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Most everything on earth is

constantly exchanging gasses and
other elements to achieve an even
balance. This is especially true
between the atmosphere and the
ocean. Your carbon atom has been
absorbed by the ocean. Head to the
Surface Ocean
Plants perform photosynthesis by
taking in CO2 and use the carbon to
make sugars, which have a carbon
backbone. As carbon dioxide

molecule in the atmosphere, you

have been taken in by plant life and
turned into energy. Head to Plants
Surface Ocean
The ocean absorbs more carbon dioxide from
the atmosphere than the land does. The
surface ocean takes in approximately 90
Gigatons of carbon per year. To put it in
perspective, a small to medium sized car has
a mass of about one ton. A Gigaton is 1 billion
tons. So over a year, the ocean absorbs 90
billion cars worth of carbon from the
atmosphere. Thats a lot of carbon!! Cold
water absorbs carbon faster than warm water.
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Cyanobacteria and Phytoplankton in the

ocean photosynthesize like land plants.
Much of cyanobacteria is seen as algae.
Both are important food sources to many
aquatic species. You have been turned
into sugars by these organisms and
eaten by aquatic life. Head to Marine
Life.
Even though there are varying amounts
of carbon dioxide in the ocean, ocean
currents continue to stir up the waters

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changing its location. Your carbon atom

has circulated down to the depths of the
ocean. Head to the Deep Ocean.
Most everything on earth is constantly
exchanging gasses and other elements
to achieve an even balance. This is
especially true between the atmosphere
and the ocean. Your carbon atom has
been diffused back into the atmosphere.
Head to the Atmosphere

Marine Life
Tiny marine organisms called phytoplankton
take in carbon to make the nutrition they
need through a process called photosynthesis.
The phytoplankton are eaten by larger marine
life. The same goes for Cyanobacteria, seen
as much of the oceans algae. Marine life
cannot survive without carbon, but high levels
of carbon dissolved in ocean waters are
harmful to marine organisms such as algae,
mollusks and corals.
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Sadly, the marine life you were inside

did not make it to Christmas. The body,
if it isnt eaten by another organism,
sinks down to the ocean floor and
decomposes. There, your carbon sits

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and waits. Head to the Deep Ocean

Marine Organisms that eat
phytoplankton or cyanobacteria digest
and exhale in a similar way that
humans do. That carbon dioxide is then
released back into the water.
Decomposing organisms also can
release carbon back into the ocean.
Head to the Surface Ocean
Marine Organisms that eat
phytoplankton or cyanobacteria digest
and exhale in a similar way that
humans do. That carbon dioxide is then
released back into the water. Some of it
actually gets diffused back into the
atmosphere. Head to the Atmosphere

Deep Ocean
The deep ocean gets carbon from circulation
with the surface ocean and dead and
decaying marine life. When carbon gets to the
deep ocean, it usually stays there for
hundreds of years before moving on. Although
the deep ocean contains much more dissolved
inorganic carbon than the surface ocean, the
concentration is only 15% higher in the deep

ocean as compared to the surface ocean due

to the higher volume of the deep ocean. Still,
the deep ocean holds more than 65% of the
Earth's carbon.

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Even though there are varying amounts

of carbon dioxide in the ocean, ocean
currents continue to stir up the waters
changing its location. Your carbon atom
has circulated back up to the surface of
the ocean. Head to the Surface Ocean.
When dead or decaying matter is
buried in the earth with little oxygen to
break it down, the earths heat and
pressure can turn it into fossil fuels.
This process can take millions of years.
Then it is discovered by humans and
used to create power. Head to the
Power Plant.

Plants
You have been taken out of the atmosphere
by a plant as it used the Sun's energy to make
the nutrition it needs (a process called
photosynthesis). Not only do plants use
carbon to make sugars, they also use it to
grow more parts. You are now one of the

building blocks that make up a plant. As more

carbon dioxide is added to our atmosphere,
plants will be able to grow faster. Plants also
release carbon back to the atmosphere by
respiration.
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Sadly, your little plant dies. When dead or

decaying matter is buried in the earth with
little oxygen to break it down, the earths heat
and pressure can turn it into fossil fuels. This
process can take millions of years. Then it is
discovered by humans and used to create
power. Head to the Power Plant.
Plants make their own food to grow and
reproduce. Some animals are dependent on
plants as an energy source, as well as a carbon
source. Head to Animals
Some plants live a long time, and then die of
natural causes. Your carbon atom was in a
large tree that fell in the forest with no one
around to hear it. Plant and animal waste is
known as detritus and is found in the soil.
Head to Soil.
A forest fire broke out!! As the flames consume
plant life, their carbon returns into the
atmosphere as carbon dioxide (CO2) or carbon
monoxide (CO). Head to the Atmosphere

Animals

Herbivores are animals that consume plants

for energy. These herbivores also consume
plants to get the necessary carbon used to
grow as well. These carbon atoms may
continue on to provide carbon and energy for
carnivores (meat eaters) as well. Luckily,
humans are omnivores which eat both plants
and animals to get their carbon and nutrients.
The carbon can leave animals in a number of
different ways.
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Naturally, as your animal uses the resources it

has eaten, it defecates onto the earth. That
animal waste contains some carbon that returns
to the ground. Plant and animal waste is known as
detritus and is found in the soil. Head to Soil.
Animal cells perform respiration to make energy
for the body. During this process, carbon dioxide
(CO2) is made, which is then exhaled by your
animal. Head to the Atmosphere.
Sadly, your animal did not make it to Christmas.
As it dies, some of that carbon is eaten by
bacteria and fungi, but some falls to the earth as
detritus. Plant and animal waste is known as
detritus and is found in the soil. Head to Soil.
Your animal dies in just the right place to be
buried in the earth. When dead or decaying
matter is buried in the earth with little oxygen to
break it down, the earths heat and pressure can
turn it into fossil fuels. This process can take
millions of years. Then it is discovered by humans

and used to create power. Head to the Power

Plant.

Soil
You are now a part of the soil called detritus,
which is decomposing plants and animals.
Soil is also made of inorganic parts such as
sand, silt, and clay. Soils store about 3% of
Earth's carbon. Decomposers then begin their
work of breaking down the detritus. Some of
the organic carbon in the detritus is converted
into carbon dioxide (CO2) which is released
into spaces in the soil. This leads to relatively
high concentrations of CO2 in the soil
compared to the atmosphere. This difference
in concentration causes CO2 to move from the
soil to the atmosphere, trying to balance the
concentrations. As bacteria and fungi
breakdown the detritus, carbon is sent into
the atmosphere.

**Head to the Atmosphere**

Power Plant
Fossil fuels are natural resources such as coal,
oil (including gasoline and diesel fuel) and
natural gas. They are formed from the
remains of ancient plant and animal life. Fossil
fuel burning powers our vehicles and
industries, heats and cools our buildings, and
runs appliances. It also produces electricity
that we use for all sorts of purposes, such as
lights and computers. The burning of fossil
fuels produces around 21.3 gigatons of carbon
dioxide (CO2) per year (21.3 billion tons). A
ton is roughly the mass of a small to medium
sized car. So burning fossil fuels puts about
21.3 billion cars worth of CO2 into the
atmosphere. It is estimated that natural
processes can only absorb about half of that
amount, so there is an overall increase of
10.65 billion tons of carbon dioxide in the
atmosphere per year. Carbon dioxide is one of
the greenhouse gases that contributes

to global warming, causing the average

surface temperature of the Earth to rise. The
vast majority of climate scientists agree that
this will cause major negative effects.
**Head to the Atmosphere**
Name ________________________
_________
Station

What Happened?

Period
Where to
Next?

Scavenger Hunt!!
**Write your answers to the LEFT of the
bullets**
What are two ways carbon can get to the deep
ocean?
Carbon dioxide leads to global warming because it is
a __?
What two organisms in the ocean perform
photosynthesis?
What do herbivores, carnivores, and omnivores eat
respectively?
What is the name for plant and animal waste?
Plants use carbon dioxide to make sugars, which
have a carbon __
How much of the Atmosphere is carbon dioxide?
Soil stores how much of the earths carbon?
What are the three types of fossil fuels?

 How much has carbon dioxide increased over the last

150 years due to burning fossil fuels?
How much of the Earths carbon does the deep ocean
hold?
How do Animals return carbon to the carbon cycle?
(4 ways)
What two organisms in soil break down detritus?
How does the Earth make fossil fuels?
The ocean absorbs how much carbon each year?
How much CO2 is created from burning fossil fuels
each year?
Which absorbs carbon faster, cold water or hot
water?
Plants release carbon back into the atmosphere in
what two ways?
What is the overall increase of CO2 in the atmosphere
from burning fossil fuels after natural processes that
absorb it?
What three organisms are affected by high carbon in
the water?
How long does it take to make fossil fuels?