The Carbon Cycle Role Play
Teacher’s Guide
INTRODUCTION
Carbon can be called the element of life. It plays a major role in all living
organisms. Because all of the Carbon that will ever be on Earth is already here, there
must be a way for the Carbon to be recycled. This process is called the Carbon Cycle.
Carbon cycles through the living and non-living parts of the earth in what is called a
biogeochemical cycle. Carbon combines with other elements to create compounds. The
geologic part of the carbon cycle includes carbon compounds found in rocks. These
compounds remain trapped until processes such as erosion and volcanic eruptions return
carbon to the atmosphere in the form of carbon dioxide. These processes may take
millions of years. A faster movement of carbon involves the biological carbon cycle. All
living things on earth depend upon producers in one way or another. Producers are
organisms that can make their own food, most often through the process of
photosynthesis. Photosynthesis occurs in the chloroplasts of autotrophs. Here, the
energy from the sunlight causes a chemical reaction which combines carbon dioxide and
water into glucose and oxygen. Glucose, a carbohydrate, is the main source of energy for
living organisms. Through the process of cellular respiration, the energy that is trapped
in the chemical bonds of glucose is released as glucose combines with oxygen to produce
carbon dioxide and water. These processes depend on the changing weather in an area.
At times, it is too cold or too dry for photosynthesis and respiration to continue to move
carbon dioxide through the atmosphere. At other times, the amount of carbon dioxide
being cycled greatly increases. There is also a long-term storage of carbon in organisms
that died but did not decompose. Over many years, these deposits of organic material
became coal and oil. Today, these “fossil fuels” are being depleted as they are being
burned for energy. The carbon dioxide that was once in those living organisms is then
released back into the atmosphere. The clear-cutting and burning of forests release large
amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Carbon dioxide is also stored and
released in the oceans. Depending upon the temperature and circulation of the water,
carbon dioxide is cycled through uptake and release. Humans play a major role in the
cycling of carbon dioxide. Especially through the processes of the burning of fossil fuels
and deforestation, humans are releasing massive amounts of carbon dioxide into the
atmosphere. The amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is steadily increasing.
Some of the carbon dioxide that is released into the atmosphere continues to cycle as the
oceans absorb some of the gases. Other possible ways carbon dioxide may be removed
from the atmosphere are reforestation and storage in living materials.
PURPOSE
Students will be able to visualize the relative amounts of Carbon in the major
sources and sinks in the Carbon Cycle.
AHSGE OBJECTIVE #14
Trace biogeochemical cycles through the environments including: water, carbon, oxygen
and nitrogen.
 Demonstrate an understanding of the carbon cycle.
 Describe all events of the carbon cycle.
SAFETY
Students will be tempted to throw objects.
MATERIALS
27 Black balls or pompoms
Name Tags
PROCEDURE
Students should have a basic understanding of the events in the carbon cycle.
Five students will play the role of carbon sinks: atmosphere, producers, soil, rock, and
fossil fuels.
The students will hold the following number of objects to represent the tons of carbon
found in each carbon sink:
Atmosphere—3
Producers—3
Soil—6
Rock—105,000 (represented by a sign not objects)
Fossil Fuels—15
The students will begin role playing the movement of carbon through the biogeochemical
cycle. Ask the following questions and instruct the students which way to pass the
carbon:
1. Where do producers get the carbon dioxide for the process of photosynthesis? (the
atmosphere)
a. Represent this process by having the atmosphere pass one object to the
producers
2. Consumers get carbon from producers by consuming the carbohydrates produced
during photosynthesis. When an organism dies, where does the carbon go? (the
soil)
a. Represent this process by having the producer pass one object to the soil
3. There are organisms in the soil undergoing cellular respiration in which carbon
dioxide is released. Where does the carbon compound go? (the atmosphere)
a. Represent this process by having the soil pass one object to the
atmosphere.
4. Represent a stable carbon cycle by having the students continue passing one
object at a time from the atmosphere to producer to soil to atmosphere.
5. Rocks and Fossil Fuels did not participate because they are a part of the long-term
carbon cycle. The carbon compounds in rocks are released during volcanic
eruptions. The carbon compounds in fossil fuels are released during the
combustion of these fuels.
6. Have two more students come up to participate. One student will be the fossil
fuel consumer and the other will be deforestation.
7. What is something that consumes fossil fuels? (car, power plant, etc.) What
happens to the carbon that was stored in the fossil fuels? (it’s released into the
atmosphere)
a. Represent this process by having the fossil fuel consumer take three
objects from the fossil fuel deposits and pass them to the atmosphere.
8. What are some reasons for deforestation? (building neighborhoods, timber, forest
fires, etc.) What process do these plants cease performing? (photosynthesis)
a. Represent this process by having deforestation remove one object from the
Producers and pass it to the atmosphere.
9. Have the students continue to pass the objects in this manner for a few rounds.
This represents the carbon cycle with human influences. Who ends up with the
most carbon? (the atmosphere)
10. Reforestation can have significant affects on the amount of carbon in the
atmosphere.
a. Represent this process by having another student become Reforestation.
Continue the role play, but Reforestation takes two objects from the
atmosphere each cycle.
b. Continue the role play without the participation of Deforestation.
11. How does reforestation affect the amount of carbon in the atmosphere? Can
reforestation alone be used to bring the amount of carbon in the atmosphere back
to the original amount (3 objects)? (no)
12. What are other strategies that can be used to reduce the amount of carbon in the
atmosphere or the emissions of new carbon into the atmosphere?
OBSERVATION AND ANALYSIS
1. Draw the carbon cycle including the steps as represented in the role play.
2. What impact do human activities have on the carbon cycle?
3. What can you infer from the increased amounts of carbon in the atmosphere as it
is related to climate change?
4. What are some possible changes humans can make to cut emissions?
This activity is an adaptation of Please Pass the Carbon (Activity 4 from the Climate Change Back Pack,
http://www.sciencecentercollaborative.org/backpack.php) and The Terrestrial Carbon Cycle: A Role-Play created by UNC-Chapel
Hill’s Environmental Resource Program http://www.ie.unc.edu/erp/index.cfm
Picture Sources
http://www.aerospaceweb.org/question/atmosphere/earth/atmosphere.jpg
http://ecoworldly.com/files/2009/07/searocket-plants_cakile_maritima.jpg
http://www.blogcdn.com/www.greendaily.com/media/2008/03/soil-ammendment550.jpg
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/72/DirkvdM_rocks.jpg
http://www.mapsofworld.com/business/industries/coal-energy/world-coal-deposits.jpg
http://static.howstuffworks.com/gif/co2-scrubbing-4.jpg
http://mrhiggins.net/algebra2/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/smile.jpg
http://blogs.tnr.com/tnr/blogs/environmentandenergy/amazon_deforestation.jpg
Atmosphere
Producers
Soil
Rock
(105,000)
Fossil Fuel
Deposits
Fossil Fuel
Consumer
Deforestation
Reforestation