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♻️ The Carbon Cycle

Follow a carbon atom as it loops from the air into plants, through animals, and back again, and see how burning fossil fuels tips the balance.

lessons

~15 min

to learn

🔬 Science

subject

Teens

level

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What you’ll learn

Carbon on the MoveDescribe carbon as a building block of life and trace how photosynthesis pulls it from the air into plants.Carbon is a building block found in every living thing, and the same atoms cycle endlessly between the air, plants, animals, oceans, and ground. Plants start the loop through photosynthesis, using sunlight to pull carbon dioxide from the air and build it into sugars.
Carbon Comes BackExplain how respiration, decomposition, and the oceans return and store carbon across different reservoirs.Carbon returns to the air through respiration, when living things breathe, and decomposition, when dead things rot. Carbon is stored in reservoirs including the air, living things, soil, the oceans, and fossil fuels, with the oceans holding the largest active store.
People and the Carbon CycleExplain how burning fossil fuels adds extra carbon dioxide and unbalances the cycle, and what helps restore balance.Burning fossil fuels through combustion releases carbon locked underground for millions of years, adding CO2 faster than plants and oceans can remove it and trapping extra heat. Growing forests, protecting oceans, and burning less fuel help the natural cycle regain balance.

Questions this course answers

What is the carbon cycle?

The carbon cycle is the continuous movement of carbon atoms between the air, living things, the oceans, and the Earth.

In photosynthesis, what do plants do with carbon?

Plants use sunlight to take carbon dioxide from the air and combine it with water to build sugars.

What does respiration do to carbon?

Respiration releases carbon dioxide back into the air, the opposite of photosynthesis.

Which of these is the largest active store of carbon that exchanges with the air?

The oceans dissolve huge amounts of carbon dioxide and are the biggest active carbon reservoir exchanging with the air.

How are people tipping the carbon cycle out of balance?

Burning coal, oil, and gas releases carbon that was locked underground for millions of years, adding extra CO2 faster than the cycle can remove it.

Which action helps the natural carbon cycle catch up with extra carbon dioxide?

Growing forests, protecting oceans, and burning less fossil fuel all help the natural cycle absorb carbon and regain balance.

Grounded in trusted sources

NASA Climate
National Geographic
Britannica
Smithsonian

Every Wunder lesson is built from real, reputable sources — never invented.

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