Name(s):
Carbon Cycle Activity
Instructions: You are going to follow a carbon molecule through the
carbon cycle. You will start in a specific reservoir, and as you roll the dice
you will read the corresponding number’s instructions. Each time you roll
you need to identify your current reservoir, the reservoir you are moving to,
the steps/fluxes of the carbon cycle that occurred, and the number you
rolled.
Reservoirs you will see in this activity: sunflower (biosphere), rabbit
(biosphere), lion (biosphere), oak tree (biosphere), atmosphere, fossil fuels
(lithosphere), ocean (hydrosphere)
First answer the following questions:
1. Can carbon ever be created or destroyed? Why or why not? (Hint:
there is a law)
2. Which step in the carbon cycle deals with the burning of fossil fuels?
3. Which step is when plants remove carbon dioxide and make food?
4. Which step occurs when living things exhale add carbon dioxide to
the atmosphere?
5. Which step adds carbon dioxide through the breakdown of dead
organisms?
Steps: In addition to those steps (respiration, photosynthesis, combustion,
& decomposition), you may see two other actions: consumption and ocean
uptake. Consumption is when an organism is eaten, and the carbon is
transferred (biosphere to biosphere). Ocean uptake is when carbon is
absorbed in the ocean from the atmosphere.
Current
Reservoir
# Rolled
Next
Reservoir
Flux/ Carbon
Cycle Step
Follow up questions:
1. Which reservoir did you visit the most?
2. Use the image below and fill in the steps for the numbers shown
below.
A:
B:
C:
E: