Carbon and Water Cycle Dice Activity
Names: ______________________________________________________________
Carbon Cycle: The purpose of this activity is for students to
experience the incredible journey that a Carbon Atom takes over
time. Students will flow through the carbon cycle, see that matter
is conserved.
Water Cycle: The purpose of this activity is for students to
experience the incredible journey that a water molecule takes
over time. Students will flow through the water cycle, see that
matter is conserved,
The carbon cycle is nature's way of reusing carbon atoms, which
travel from the atmosphere into organisms in the Earth and then
back into the atmosphere repeatedly. Most carbon is stored in rocks
and sediments, while the rest is stored in the ocean, atmosphere,
and living organisms.
The water cycle shows the continuous movement of water
within the Earth and atmosphere. It is a complex system that
includes many different processes. Liquid water evaporates
into water vapor, condenses to form clouds, and precipitates
back to earth in the form of rain and snow.
Activity: Using a 6-sided die, the student will track the movement
of a Carbon atom throughout its lifetime. Starting in the
atmosphere, the student will roll the die to determine which location
the Carbon atom will travel to, either Fossil Fuels, Rocks, Terrestrial
Plants, Deep Ocean, Marine Biosphere, Ocean’s Surface, Soil, and
Atmosphere. After landing on a number, read the description and
move to the next environment as described by the corresponding
number. The student will track 30 different rolls of the die before
calculating where their Carbon atom spent the most time.
Activity: Using a 6-sided die, the student will track the
movement of water throughout its lifetime. Starting in the soil,
the student will roll the die to determine which location the
water will travel to, either soil, plant, river, cloud, ocean, lake,
animal, groundwater, and glacier. After landing on a number,
read the description and move to the next environment as
described by the corresponding number. The student will track
30 different rolls of the die before calculating where the water
spent the most time.
Location
Number of times the carbon cycle stayed or
visited that location
Location
Atmosphere
Animal
Soil
Cloud
Ocean's Surface
Glacier
Marine Biosphere
Groundwater
Deep Ocean
Lake
Terrestrial Plant
Ocean
Rocks
Plant
Fossil Fuels
River
Total locations visited
Soil
Total locations visited
Number of times the water cycle stayed or
visited that location
Carbon and Water Cycle Dice Activity
Names: ______________________________________________________________
Carbon Cycle Analysis & Graphing:
Create a bar graph that shows the number of times that the
carbon atom stayed or visited a location. Make sure to label your
axis.
Water Cycle Analysis & Graphing:
Create a bar graph that shows the number of times that water
stayed or visited a location. Make sure to label your axis.
Analysis:
Analysis:
Which location did you spend the longest in?
Which location did you spend the longest in?
What percentage of rolls did you spend there?
What percentage of rolls did you spend there?
(percentage = (number of times / total number of rolls) x 100%)
(percentage = (number of times / total number of rolls) x 100%)
How does this activity demonstrate the Carbon Cycle?
How does this activity demonstrate the Water Cycle?