Carbon cycle Plants Animals Industry & Vehicles Organic Material Fossil Fuels Atmosphere Photosynthesis Respiration Decomposition Burning Pumping

Carbon cycle game Place the game cards onto the proper storage area. Choose a game piece and place it on Plants. Decide who goes first by rolling the dice. Pick a Plant card and find out your next destination. Roll the dice to see how many spaces you move toward your destination. Return the card to the bottom of the Plant pile. Keep rolling until you get to your destination. When you arrive, stop there. You’ve been stored! On your next turn, pick a new card from your new storage area then roll to see how far you go. You get a point each time you get back to Plants. The person with the most points by the time the instructor says to stop playing wins!

Questions to consider What is the importance of plants in the carbon cycle? How many possible paths are there for a carbon atom to move through the environment? What happens to the carbon atom as it moves from 1 pool to another? Give an example. Name some places where carbon appears to “get stuck” in a pool and not move for some time. Why might this be? Humans have a big influence on the carbon cycle. What would the carbon cycle be like without humans? What is our impact on the carbon cycle?

The carbon cycle with and without humans In 1750, WITHOUT industry & vehicles, there was around 280 CO 2 molecules in every million air molecules In 2007, WITH industry & vehicles, there is now 380 CO 2 molecules in every million air molecules (35% increase) Plants Animals Industry & Vehicles Organic Material Fossil Fuels Atmosphere Photosynthesis Respiration Decomposition Burning Pumping Plants Animals Organic Material Atmosphere Respiration Decomposition Photosynthesis Fossil Fuels