W hat is

Carbon?
W hat is the
Carbon Cycle?

Allliving things on Earth contain

carbon.But,w hatis carbon?
W hy is itim portant?

Carbon is found allover the Earth.

Itis an elem ent.Itis in the air,in the ocean,in the
Earths crust.
Ifcarbon is m ixed w ith other elem ents you get;
lim estone,chalk,m arble,coal,gas,alcohol,sugars,
fats,and even m edicines.The black stuffin your
pencil,graphite,is carbon.D iam onds are 100% pure
carbon.Your body even contains carbon,the sam e
stufffrom w hich diam onds are m ade!
Carbon is inside ofus,outside ofus,and rightnow
you are breathing outcarbon (in the form ofa gas:
carbon dioxide).
Carbon is everyw here.

Carbon dioxide (CO 2) is a gas

found in our atm osphere (the
air surrounding the Earth).It is
colorless and odorless.

CO 2 helps insulate the Earth and

keep our
atm osphere at
just the right
tem perature
for life to exist.

W e are lucky to live on Earth.Venus is alm ost

the sam e size as the Earth.It is m ade up of
about the sam e things.H ow ever,the
atm osphere around Venus is m ostly carbon
dioxide.Allofthis extra CO 2 acts like a big
huge w inter coat around the planet.The CO 2
traps in and holds the suns heat.The
tem perature on Venuss surface is
thousands ofdegrees!
M uch too hot and w ay too
m uch CO 2 for any living
thing to survive!

People and anim als all

contain carbon.W e
get our carbon from
eating plants or other
anim als.W e breathe
in oxygen w hich
m ixes w ith the carbon
and then w e breathe
out carbon dioxide.
(CO 2)

Like people and

anim als,fi
sh and
other sea creatures
breathe in oxygen.
Their oxygen is found
in the oceans w ater.
Just like anim als and
people,they also
breathe out CO 2
(carbon dioxide).

Plants getcarbon by taking carbon dioxide outofthe airorw ater.Allgreen plants breathe,exceptthey breathe in carbon dioxide
and release oxygen.

U sing the suns energy,the

leaves ofgreen plants take in
the carbon dioxide from the
air.The roots take in w ater.
This m akes food for the plant.
The plant puts out oxygen.
This is called photosynthesis.

http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/earth/geophysics/earth3.htm

Plants that live in w ater also

use photosynthesis to m ake
their ow n food.They take in
carbon from the w ater and
release oxygen.

Plants and anim als eventually

die and decay on the earth or
in w ater.Carbon now enters
the earth or the w ater.

O ver m illions ofyears the decaying

plants and anim als becam e oil,coal,
and naturalgas.W e callthese fossil
fuels.W e drill,dig,and
pum p these fuels
out ofthe earth
to use them
for pow ering
things that
need energy.

By burning fossilfuels to
energize our lives w e add
carbon dioxide into the
atm osphere.

The carbon dioxide enters the

atm osphere.The cycle starts
over.

Resources:
http://
www.kidsgeo.com/geography-for-kids/0043-gases-effect-wea
ther.php
http://www.kidsgeo.com/geography-for-kids/0159-thecarbon-cycle.php
http://www.scienceclarified.com/Ca-Ch/Carbon-Cycle.html
http://www.uky.edu/KGS/education/carbon_cycle.htm
http://www.answers.com/topic/carbon#ixzz1Ux832xuw