Carbon Cycle

Recall that various materials cycle continuously through the abiotic and biotic components of an ecosystem.

Explain the importance of the carbon cycle to living organisms and its role in sustaining life on Earth.

Identify where carbon is found, including as atmospheric carbon dioxide, dissolved in oceans, as calcium carbonate in shells, in fossil fuels and limestone, and as carbohydrates in living organisms.

Describe the key processes involved in the environmental cycling of carbon, including photosynthesis, respiration, combustion of fuels, and industrial uses of limestone.

Describe how photosynthetic organisms act as the main producers of food and biomass by synthesizing carbohydrates from atmospheric carbon dioxide.

Understand how carbon compounds are passed along food chains as animals feed on plants and other animals.

Explain that plants and animals respire, releasing carbon dioxide back into the atmosphere.

Explain the role of microorganisms in the decay of dead plants and animals, returning carbon to the atmosphere as carbon dioxide and releasing mineral ions into the soil.

Draw and interpret scientific diagrams representing the main stores of carbon and the flows between them in the carbon cycle.