Carbon Cycle by Jordyne Johnson-Hill

The carbon cycle is most easily studied as two interconnected subcycles:

• One dealing with rapid carbon exchange among living organisms
• One dealing with long-term cycling of carbon through geologic processes

Plants use carbon dioxide and sunlight to make their own food and grow. The carbon becomes part of plants. Plants that die and are buried may turn into fossil fuels made up of carbon like coal and oil over millions of years. Humans burn fossil fuels, most of the carbon quickly enters the atmosphere as carbon dioxide. Living substances that contain carbon are known as organic. Humans can obtain carbon in the carbon cycle by eating plants or eating animals that eat plants.

Interesting facts about Carbon

• About 20% of the weight of living organisms is carbon
• When plants die and decompose, they could eventually become fossil fuel and be burned to return as carbon dioxide in the air.
• The ocean takes up quite a bit of carbon dioxide to provide nutrients for its plants.