1. Carbon FAQ’s

2. What is Carbon?
Carbon is a chemical element

3. What is Carbon Dioxide?
Carbon dioxide is a chemical molecule made of one carbon atom bonded with two oxygen atoms

4. Where is carbon found?
Rocks
Soil
Oceans
Air
All living things

5. How do plants get carbon?
During photosynthesis, plants take carbon (in the form of carbon dioxide) from the air and release oxygen.

6. How do animals get carbon?
Animals get carbon when they eat plants, which contain carbon.

7. What activities release carbon into the air?
Burning fossil fuels:
Natural gas
Coal
Oil (diesel and gasoline
Cutting down trees
Respiration (when energy from sugar is reacted with oxygen to produce carbon dioxide, water and energy to do work)

8. Where is carbon stored?
Carbon can remain for long periods of time in plants (especially trees), oceans and fossil fuels.

9. How do fossil fuels form?
Over millions of years, decaying organic matter that has been buried under sediment and subjected to very high temperature and pressure may become fossil fuels.