Gizmos Student Exploration : Carbon Cycle Answer Key Guaranteed success

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 thatcan 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 areas

represent possible locations the carbon atom could go next.

1. From Earth’s atmosphere, where can the carbon atom go

next? Oceanic Co2, land plants, and exposed rock

2. 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.

3. Select Land animals. How did the carbon atom get from land plants into the animal (read the

description )? Land animals consume plants for energy.

4. Select Atmospheric CO2. How did the carbon atom get from land animals back to the

atmosphere? They release carbon dioxide back into the atmosphere through cellular

respiration.

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