Download Carbon FAQ`s

Carbon FAQ’s
What is Carbon?
• Carbon is a chemical element
What is Carbon Dioxide?
• Carbon dioxide is a
chemical molecule
made of one
carbon atom
bonded with two
oxygen atoms
Where is carbon found?
•
•
•
•
•
Rocks
Soil
Oceans
Air
All living things
How do plants get carbon?
• During
photosynthesis,
plants take
carbon (in the
form of carbon
dioxide) from the
air and release
oxygen.
How do animals get carbon?
• Animals get carbon
when they eat
plants, which
contain carbon.
What activities release carbon into
the air?
• Burning fossil fuels:
– Natural gas
– Coal
– Oil (diesel and gasoline
• Cutting down trees
• Respiration (when energy from sugar is
reacted with oxygen to produce carbon
dioxide, water and energy to do work)
Where is carbon stored?
• Carbon can remain for long periods of time
in plants (especially trees), oceans and
fossil fuels.
How do fossil fuels form?
• Over millions of
years, decaying
organic matter that
has been buried
under sediment
and subjected to
very high
temperature and
pressure may
become fossil
fuels.