Question

Put the steps of the carbon cycle in order using Step 1 as your starting point. Step 1: Carbon dioxide is taken in by plants during photosynthesis.


The cycle repeats when the carbon stored in the atmosphere as carbon dioxide gas is

Answer 1

Step 1: Carbon dioxide is taken in by plants during photosynthesis.

Step 2: Plants convert that CO2 into organic carbon (sugars, cellulose) and build plant biomass.

Step 3: Herbivores (and then carnivores) eat the plants, transferring carbon into animal bodies.

Step 4: Plants and animals respire, releasing CO2 back into the atmosphere.

Step 5: When organisms die, decomposers break down their bodies, returning carbon to the soil and releasing CO2.

Step 6: Some buried organic carbon becomes fossil fuels or is locked in sediments and rocks (including carbonate rocks) over geological time.

Step 7: Combustion of fossil fuels, wildfires, and human activities release stored carbon as CO2 to the atmosphere.

Step 8: The oceans exchange CO2 with the atmosphere (dissolving, forming bicarbonate/carbonate, and storing carbon in marine life and sediments); weathering and volcanism also move carbon between rock and air.

The cycle repeats when the carbon stored in the atmosphere as carbon dioxide gas is taken in by plants during photosynthesis.