Carbon Cycle Vocabulary
The process that plants do that absorbs CO2
Photosynthesis
The ability for a planet to sustain life
Habitability
Every human's mass is ____% carbon.
18%
A limitation is...
an inherent constraint or weakness of an experiment or study that affects the accuracy of findings
Carbon-rich materials that can be used to generate energy (coal, oil, & natural gas)
Fossil fuels
The process that plants and animals do that releases CO2
Cellular Respiration
There must be liquid _____ on the surface of a planet in order for it to sustain human life.
Water
This unit is equal to 1 trillion kilograms and is used to measure Earth’s carbon.
Gigatons (Gt)
A human error is...
a mistake made by a person while collecting or recording data
Burning fossil fuels releases _____ into the atmosphere.
CO₂
The process of burning fossil fuels and releasing CO2
Combustion
The 5 elements required to sustain human life are...
Carbon, Hydrogen, Nitrogen, Oxygen, & Phosphorus
Jennifer wants to figure out how much of her mass is made of carbon. If she has a total mass of 68 kg, how much of her mass is carbon?
Carbon Biomass (kg) = (0.18) x Human's Total Mass (kg)
12.24 kg
Using the wrong side of a ruler while measuring is an example of this.
Human Error
Give 3 examples of common fossil fuels.
Coal, oil, natural gas
The process of dead organisms being broken down by bacteria and releasing CO2 into the atmosphere
Decomposition
Name one planet in our solar system that is not capable of sustaining human life and explain why.
Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune
Convert a carbon biomass of 15.46 kg into Gt.
1,000,000,000,000 kg = 1 Gt
1.546 x 10-11 Gt
A measuring tool that cannot record smaller units for what you need is an example of this.
Limitation
Compounds in the atmosphere that trap heat near the surface of a planet (CO2 , methane, etc.)
Greenhouse gases
A reservoir where carbon is stored (fossil fuels, the ocean, etc.)
Carbon Sink
A planet has a high concentration of carbon dioxide, low concentration of oxygen, some argon, and some nitrogen in its atmosphere. It also has a stable temperature between -50°C and 5°C, meaning any water present on the surface would be frozen. Is this planet capable of sustaining life? Why or why not?
No; atmosphere does not have enough breathable oxygen and the planet is too cold for there to be liquid water.
Find the percentage of Earth’s Total Carbon Mass that is in Jennifer's Body if her carbon biomass is 1.224 x 10-11Gt.
(Human Carbon Biomass (Gt) / 1,900,000,000 Gt) x 100 = % Earth's Carbon Mass
6.4421 x 10-19 %
Describe the differences between limitations and human errors.
Limitations cannot be controlled while human errors can.
Limitations in an experiment will always exist, but human errors may not if the experiment is done carefully and precisely.
This process in the carbon cycle increases atmospheric CO₂ and drives climate change.
Combustion