Download Carbon Cycle Reading Guide 2.2

Name: ______________________________________________________
Period______________
The Cycling of Carbon: Reading Guide (p124-125)
The Carbon Cycle
Carbon is an essential component of the following molecules, which make up ALL organisms
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What is the carbon cycle? _____________________________________________________________________________
Short-term Carbon Cycling:
Plants remove _________________________ from the atmosphere and convert it into ___________________________
during the process of _______________________________________.
When consumers _______________ producers, Carbon is transferred in the form of ____________________________.
Consumers _________________________ food during ___________________________, releasing some of the carbon
to the atmosphere as ____________________________. Organisms that make their own food during
________________________ also release __________________ to the atmosphere from respiration.
Draw a diagram to represent the short-term process of carbon cycling: (See Above)
Long-term Carbon Cycling:
Carbon may be converted into ____________________________, which make up the ___________________________.
They don’t decompose or ________________________ easily. Ove millions of years ______________________ produce
___________________________ rocks. This is one of the ______________________ carbon sinks on Earth.
Some _______________________ are converted to ______________, ____________________, and other molecules
that ______________________ energy. This Carbon is ________________________ into the soil or air after the
organism ______________.
When released underground, these deposits form ________________, __________________, and
____________________. These are known as _________________________________.
How Humans Affect the Carbon Cycle:
_______________________________________ RELEASES Carbon to the _________________________________ in the
form of __________________.
______________________ or ___________________ also release CO2 to the atmosphere.
Over __________ of the CO2 released stays in the _________________________. Over time, levels of CO2 in the
atmosphere has _____________________________.
Increased levels of CO2 may contribute to ____________________________, which is an overall __________________
In the _______________________ of the Earth.
What happens to the CO2 not absorbed by the atmosphere?
It is ABSORBED by
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and
Draw (as best you can) figure 10: Diagramming the Carbon Cycle
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