Carbon Cycle Flashcards
Most of the chemicals that make up living tissue contain…
Carbon.
What happens to the carbon when organisms die?
It is recycled for future generations.
How does carbon enter the atmosphere?
As carbon dioxide from respiration and combustion.
What do plants turn carbon dioxide into?
Carbohydrates by using photosynthesis.
How do the animals feed?
On the plants passing the carbon compounds along the food chain.
What do animals produce during respiration?
Carbon dioxide.
What happens to dead organisms?
They are eaten by decomposers and the carbon in their bodies is returned to the atmosphere as carbon dioxide.
What happens when decomposition is blocked?
The material may then be available as fossil fuel in the future for combustion.
Carbon dioxide & water = ?
Carbohydrate & oxygen.
Carbohydrate & oxygen = ?
Carbon dioxide & water.
How do marine animals convert their carbon?
Into calcium carbonate, which is used to make their shells. Over time the shells of dead organisms collect on the seabed and form limestone. If the limestone becomes exposed to the air, it is weathered and released back into the atmosphere as carbon dioxide.
What do volcanic reactions release?
Carbon dioxide.
