Name: Date: 01/09/2024

Student Exploration: Carbon Cycle

Instructions: Follow the instructions to perform the simulation. Answer the questions and suggestions
in the orange boxes.

Vocabulary: atmosphere, biomass, biosphere, carbon reservoir, carbon sink, fossil fuel, geosphere,
greenhouse gasses, hydrosphere, lithosphere, photosynthesis

Questions about prior knowledge (Do this BEFORE using the Gizmo.)
In the process of photosynthesis, plants absorb carbon dioxide (CO2) of the atmosphere and water (H2O)
from the ground. Using energy from sunlight, plants build glucose molecules (C6h12HE6) and oxygen (O2).

1. How do Earth's plants affect the amount of carbon in Earth's atmosphere?

Plants remove carbon from the atmosphere.

2. Animals eat plants and produce carbon dioxide and water. How do animals affect the amount of carbon in
Earth's atmosphere?

Animals produce carbon dioxide as a byproduct of cellular respiration, thus adding more
CO2 to the atmosphere.

Gadget Warming
He carbon cycle Gizmo allows you to follow the many paths a carbon atom
can take through Earth's systems. To start, look at the black carbon atom in
the atmospheric CO2 area, highlighted in yellow. The bright blue areas
represent possible locations the carbon atom could go.

1. From Earth's atmosphere, where can the carbon atom go next?

2. Click on terrestrial plants and read the description. How did the carbon atom get from the atmosphere to a
plant?

Animals consume plants.

3. Select land animals. How did the carbon atom get from land plants to animals?

The carbon atom from land

plants reaches animals
through the food chain

4. Select Atmospheric CO 2. How did the carbon atom from land animals get into the atmosphere?

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 during cell phone

Activity A: Prepare the Gizmo:

Carbon pathways ● Click Restart.

Introduction: The Earth can be divided into four systems. The atmosphere It is the air above the Earth's
surface. The hydrosphere is made up of all the water on Earth. The geosphere is the rocky, non-living part of
the Earth. The biosphere It is made up of all living beings, including people. Some scientists use the term
"anthroposphere" to describe everything created or modified by humans.

Question: How does carbon move between the atmosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere, and geosphere?

1. Explore: Use the Gizmo to create a path for carbon that begins and ends in the atmosphere. Complete the
steps in the path below. Then, label each location with the system it represents. Finally, resume very briefly
how the carbon atom got to that place.

Carbon path System How did it get there?

Atmospheric CO 2 Atmosphere Atmospheric CO comes from volcanoes,

burning fossil fuels and other sources.

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2. Create: Click Restart. Use the Gizmo to create a path for the carbon atom to go from the atmosphere to
the hydrosphere, biosphere, and geosphere. Describe each transition briefly.

Atmosphere Hydrosphere Biosphere geosphere

Atmospheric CO 2

Volcanoes, burning of fossil

fuels and other sources.

3. Explore: Use the Gizmo to create three more carbon pathways, each of which begins and ends in the
atmosphere. Label each location A for atmosphere, B for biosphere, G for geosphere, or H for
hydrosphere. (You can also use P for the anthroposphere if you wish, or simply include it in the biosphere).

Route 1: A>B>A

Way 2: A>H>A

Way 3: A>G>A

4. Explain: According to the Gizmo, explain how the following transitions could take place:

A. Describe at least two ways that carbon can move from a land plant to the atmosphere.

1. Through the respiration of plants.

2. Through the decomposition of dead plants.

B. Describe at least two ways that carbon can move from the atmosphere to the hydrosphere.

1. Dissolution in the rain.

2. Absorption by aquatic organisms.

C. Can you find two ways carbon can get from the ocean? in the lithosphere? (The lithosphere is the
rigid layer of the Earth, including the crust and part of the mantle.)

1. sedimentation of marine organisms.

2. volcanic activity.

D. Describe at least two ways that carbon can move from seashells to the atmosphere.

1. The decomposition.

2. Erosion.

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 Activity B: Prepare the Gizmo:

human activities ● Click Restart.

Introduction: Fossil fuels, like coal, oil, and natural gas, were formed over millions of years from the remains
of ancient plants and animals. The burning of fossil fuels, as well as other human activities, increases the
amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

Question: How does human activity affect the carbon cycle?

1. Describe: Using the Gizmo, determine how coal and oil are formed. Describe the steps necessary to form
each fuel from atmospheric CO.2.

Coal: Charcoal is formed by carbonification of plant remains.

Oil: Oil is formed by the liquefaction of remains of marine organisms.

2. Explore: Natural gas is a mixture of methane (CH4), ethane (C2h6), and other gases. Find two ways that
natural gas is formed. List the steps of the two carbon pathways below:

Route The first way natural gas forms is through the anaerobic decomposition of organic
1: matter in oxygen-free environments, such as in seafloor sediments.

Way 2: The second way is through the thermal transformation of organic matter under high
pressure and temperature in the subsurface.

How is the formation of natural gas related to the formation of coal and oil?

The formation of natural gas, coal and oil is related by their origin in organic matter, but they
are formed under different geological conditions.

3. Describe: Fossil fuels are used in many ways. Using the Gizmo, describe the main use of each fuel.

Coal: Electricity generation.

Oil: Transport; Natural gas.

Gas natural: Heating and electricity generation.

In each case, what is the end product of burning fossil fuels and where does it go?

The end product is carbon dioxide and water; CO2 goes into the atmosphere.

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4. Explore: Another important contribution to atmospheric carbon dioxide is the cement industry. Using the
Gizmo, find a path for the carbon atom from the atmosphere to the cement plant. (Hint: one of the
ingredients in cement is limestone.)

Path atmosphere > plant > soil > limestone > cement plant.

How is carbon dioxide produced in a cement plant?

Carbon dioxide is produced during the calcination of limestone and the combustion of fossil
fuels

5. Analyze: Click Restart, then navigate to the animals terrestrial. Select CH atmospheric 4.

A. How do land animals create methane? Land animals create methane primarily
through enteric fermentation during
digestion.

B. Humans raise large numbers of livestock for Cow herds increase methane emissions
food. How will these herds of cows affect the and contribute to global warming.
Earth's atmosphere?

6. Analyze: In many rainforests, people clear the land by cutting down trees and burning them. After a few
years, the soil runs out of nutrients and can no longer be cultivated. How does this practice of “slash and
burn agriculture” affect the Earth's atmosphere?

Slash-and-burn agriculture increases CO2 in the atmosphere, contributes to climate change

and alters weather patterns.

7. Draw conclusions: In general, how do many human activities influence the carbon cycle?

Human activities alter the carbon cycle by increasing atmospheric CO2 and affecting the
ability of ecosystems to absorb, contributing to global warming.

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 Activity C:
Prepare the Gizmo:
Modeling the ● Select the MODEL eyelash.
carbon cycle

Introduction: Humans have been burning fossil fuels rapidly for the past 250 years. As a result, the amount of
atmospheric CO has increased about 40% since 1800. By measuring how much carbon enters and leaves the
atmosphere, scientists can predict the change in the amount of atmospheric carbon dioxide each year.

Question: How can we model changes in atmospheric carbon over time?

1. Notice: The MODEL tab shows a simplified model of the carbon cycle. The ovals represent carbon
reservoirs, where carbon is stored. The unit "GtC" stands for gigatonnes of carbon, where one GtC is
equivalent to one trillion kilograms of carbon. The arrows represent how much carbon moves from one
reservoir to another each year, in gigatons per year.

A. Look at the arrows pointing toward Respiration of living beings and

atmospheric CO.2. What are the two main combustion of fossil fuels
sources of atmospheric carbon?

B. A carbon sink It is a place that stores Forests and oceans

carbon for a long period of time. What two
carbon sinks remove carbon from the
atmosphere?

C. Without changing the Gizmo, list the carbon Oceans, Soils, Terrestrial biomass,
pools from largest to smallest. Atmosphere.

Note: The largest carbon reserve is actually the Earth's lithosphere, which contains about 80,000 GtC.
However, there is not much exchange between the lithosphere and other reservoirs on short time
scales.

2. Experiment: If necessary, click Return to original settings. These settings approximate current conditions,
but should not be taken as exact values.

A. What is the total amount of carbon removed 6 gigatons

from the atmosphere each year by oceans
and land plants?

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 B. What is the total amount of carbon added to The total amount of carbon added to the
the atmosphere by soil and burning fossil atmosphere from soil and burning fossil
fuels? fuels varies, consult specific sources for
up-to-date data.

C. How much will atmospheric carbon change 1 year - In one year, emissions can
in a year? increase CO2 by approximately 2-3
parts per million (ppm) 3.
10 years - In 10 years, this could add up
to between 20-30 ppm, assuming a
constant increase.
100 years - In 100 years, the change
could be 200-300 ppm, depending on
current trends and actions taken to
mitigate climate change.

3. Calculate: Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas which helps trap heat in the Earth's atmosphere. We need
some CO2 in the atmosphere to keep a planet warm, but excess carbon can cause considerable warming
of the planet.

A. What use of fossil fuels will not cause The use of renewable energy or nuclear
changes in atmospheric CO?2 every year? energy will not cause changes in
atmospheric CO₂.

B. What percentage reduction in fossil fuel use To achieve a significant reduction in

is required to achieve this goal? atmospheric CO₂, it is estimated that a
50% to 80% reduction in the use of
fossil fuels is required, depending on
the specific climate objectives and the
time available to achieve this.

4. Experiment: Using the Gizmo model, explore the following questions:

A. How does the plant grow? biomass An increase in plant biomass reduces
(number of plants) affect atmospheric CO 2? atmospheric CO2.

B. How does the increase in oceanic CO affect Rising ocean CO₂ reduces atmospheric
it?2 intake affects atmospheric CO o2 and CO₂, but can cause acidification that
oceanic CO2? affects marine life

As the ocean absorbs carbon dioxide, it becomes slightly more acidic. This could make it more difficult for
many organisms to build their shells and skeletons. The consequences of ocean acidification are not yet
fully understood.

5. Infer: Click Restart and Return to original settings. Suppose that we leave completely from burning fossil
fuels immediately. How many years are will need to return to atmospheric CO?2 levels of the year 1800,
about 600 GtC? Use Gizmo to find the answer.

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 For inference, the Gizmo should be used to simulate the phase-out of burning fossil fuels
and observe the time required for atmospheric CO₂ levels to return to 1800 levels (600
GtC). The exact answer will depend on the parameters of the Gizmo used.

6. think about it: Since hard-shelled organisms evolved about 550 million years ago, billions of tons of
limestone rock have been produced from their shells. Limestone is made of calcium carbonate, with the
formula CaCO3.

Limestone is composed of calcium carbonate, whose formula CaCO3

Based on this, how do you think the amount of CO atmospheric 2 Has it changed in the last 550 million
years and how has this affected the Earth's climate? Explain your answer.

The amount of CO2 has decreased over the last 550 million years, affecting the Earth's
climate by contributing to a gradual cooling and changes in ecosystems.

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