Carbon Cycle Vocabulary

the movement of carbon from the nonliving environment into living things and back

• Open System

• Product

• Carbon Cycle

• Natural Resource

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS2-1

NGSS.MS-LS1-6

NGSS.MS-LS2-3

Carbon is absorbed and released where the oceans’ surface meets the air.

• Weathering

• Respiration

• Diffusion

• Subduction

Tags

NGSS.HS-ESS2-6

Relating to the cycle in which substances are transferred between living systems and the environment

• Fossil fuel

• Volcanism

• Diffusion

• Biogeochemical

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS1-6

NGSS.MS-LS2-3

Carbon enters the soil through dead plant or animal matter.

• Decomposition

• Respiration

• Photosynthesis

• Diffusion

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS2-3

Human activity can increase CO₂ levels in the atmosphere through

• Photosynthesis

• Burning of fossil fuels

• Planting more trees

• Removing nitrogen from fertilizer.

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS3-5

C = glucose in plants; CO2 in air, hydrocarbons in coal (rocks and soil); blue carbon in the oceans

• Forms of pollution

• Forms of community recycling

• Forms of carbon that cycle on Earth

• Forms of global warming

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS1-6

NGSS.MS-LS2-3

the MOST important building block for life; part of making (producing) glucose in cells

• carbon

• hydrogen

• oxygen

• water

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS1-6

The process by which plants convert carbon dioxide into organic compounds using sunlight.

• Photosynthesis

• Respiration

• Decomposition

• Combustion

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS1-6

NGSS.MS-LS2-3

The release of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere by animals and plants during energy production.

• Photosynthesis

• Respiration

• Decomposition

• Diffusion

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS2-3

The process of breaking down dead organic matter, releasing carbon back into the atmosphere.

• Photosynthesis

• Respiration

• Decomposition

• Combustion