CARBON GAME TEXT
ATMOSPHERE:
While you are here, little carbon atom, you will be stuck to two atoms of oxygen in a greenhouse gas
called carbon dioxide. Only a small amount (0.04%) of the atmosphere is made of carbon dioxide.
Because of burning fossil fuels, the amount has increased 30% in the past 150 years. More carbon
dioxide in our atmosphere makes our planet warmer.
QUESTIONS BETWEEN SOIL/PLANTS AND ATMOSPHERE:
True or False: Plants both absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and release it into the
atmosphere. (TRUE)
True or False: Plants take carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere during photosynthesis. (TRUE)
True or False: : If atmospheric carbon dioxide levels continue to increase, plants will take in more
carbon dioxide and grow faster. (TRUE)
LAND PLANTS:
You have been taken out of the atmosphere by a plant as it used the Sun's energy to make the nutrition
it needs (a process called photosynthesis). You are now one of the building blocks that make up a plant.
As more carbon dioxide is added to our atmosphere, plants will be able to grow faster. Plants also
release carbon back to the atmosphere by respiration.
SOIL:
We are afraid to say that the plant you were in has died. The good news is that, you are now a part of
the soil called detritus, which is decomposing plants and animals. Soil is also made of inorganic parts
such as sand, silt, and clay. Soils store about 3% of Earth's carbon. As bacteria and fungi breakdown the
detritus, carbon is sent into the atmosphere.
QUESTIONS BETWEEN SOIL AND ATMOSPHERE:
True or False: When plants die and decay they bring carbon into soil. (TRUE)
True or False: Soils emit carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. (TRUE)
SURFACE OCEAN:
Either you got here by diffusing from the atmosphere, by decomposing marine life, or from circulating
water from the deep ocean. The ocean absorbs more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere than the
land does. The surface ocean takes in approximately 90 Gigatons of carbon per year. Cold water absorbs
carbon faster than warm water.
QUESTIONS BETWEEN ATMOSPHERE AND SURFACE OCEAN:
What percent of the atmosphere is carbon dioxide? (0.04%)
In the atmosphere, carbon atoms are often part of a greenhouse gas called (carbon dioxide)
How much has the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere increased over the last 150 years?
(30%)
Approximately how many Megatons of Carbon do humans produce by burning fossils fuels each year?
(1 Megaton = one million tons) (5,000 megatons)
True or False: Carbon can't get from the deep ocean to soils on the land. There is a different type of
carbon on land. (FALSE)
QUESTIONS BETWEEN SURFACE OCEAN AND DEEP OCEAN:
True or False: The ocean absorbs more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere than the land. (TRUE)
The deep ocean accounts for more than ___ of the Earth's carbon. (65%)
How much carbon does the surface ocean absorb from the atmosphere each year? (90 gigatons)
DEEP OCEAN:
The deep ocean gets carbon from circulation with the surface ocean and dead and decaying marine life.
When carbon gets to the deep ocean, it usually stays there for hundreds of years before moving on. The
deep ocean holds more than 65% of the Earth's carbon.
MARINE LIFE:
Tiny marine organisms called phytoplankton take in carbon to make the nutrition they need through a
process called photosynthesis. The phytoplankton are eaten by larger marine life. Marine life cannot
survive without carbon, but high levels of carbon disolved in ocean waters are harmful to marine
organisms such as algae, mollusks and corals.
QUESTIONS BETWEEN MARINE LIFE AND DEEP OCEAN:
Phytoplankton are tiny plants and algae that float in the ocean and take up carbon dioxide as they
grow. (TRUE)
Too much carbon in seawater prevents clams, snails, and other sea animals from growing their shells.
(TRUE)
The deep ocean gets carbon from: (BOTH SURFACE OCEAN AND MARINE LIFE)
Which types of marine life will be hurt by increasing carbon dioxide levels? (ALL MARINE LIFE)
When carbon enters the deep ocean, how long does it stay there? (HUNDREDS OF YEARS)