The Carbon Cycle

Because the earth is finite, matter has to be reused and recycled over and over again. So the atoms that are in you were once in the air, in soil, in water, and in rocks. These atoms have also been used by countless other living things from dinosaurs to broccoli plants to Abraham Lincoln. And after they leave

you, they will become part of other living things or of the environment. This recycling of matter is known as a nutrient cycle. And there are several different nutrient cycles for different elements. Today we will focus on the carbon cycle. The process by which the element carbon moves around in ecosystems. The carbon cycle is crucial

for all life on Earth because carbon is needed to make every single organic molecule needed by living things. This includes carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids. Because carbon is so necessary, we often say that life on Earth is carbon based. Without carbon, there would be literally no life as we know it. So, the carbon

cycle is a really important cycle. Let's get into it. Carbon dioxide, CO2, is a gas that makes up a small percentage of our atmosphere. Nevertheless, it is extremely important because plants take in CO2 during photosynthesis and use it to make sugars like glucose and other organic compounds. This is how plants grow and make the

food that supports life in ecosystems. Notice that plants remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere during photosynthesis, using the carbon to build carbonri molecules like glucose. These carbon compounds can be broken down by the plant to produce ATP, a key energy molecule used by living things in a process called cell respiration. Respiration produces CO2