SME
Grade 12 Science · Problem type
The fast and slow carbon cycles
Use this for “How do volcanoes and burning fuels return buried carbon to the air, and which is faster?”
Explore
Carbon is stored in the air, living things, dead matter, the ocean, fossil fuels and rock deep underground.
Most of Earth’s carbon sits in rock, where it stays for millions of years.
Assumptions
•
Every arrow is carbon moving from one store to another.
•
Photosynthesis, respiration, decay and the ocean move carbon within years: the fast cycle.
•
Burial, weathering and volcanoes move it over millions of years: the slow cycle.
Topic check
See what you know: 5 questions on this topic
New questions each time. Pass to mark it complete.
Refresh
Related lessons
Climate systems, feedbacks and climate change
Main lesson
Earth’s energy balance
Use this for “If Earth reflects 30% of sunlight and has no greenhouse gases, how warm is it?”
Climate zones by latitude
Use this for “Which climate zone has warm summers and cold winters?” and why the poles are cold.
Climate feedbacks
Use this for “Sea ice melts as Earth warms. Does that speed up the warming or slow it down?”
Adds CO₂ or takes it out?
Use this for “Which of these releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere?”
The CO₂ record at Mauna Loa
Use this for “How fast did CO₂ rise each decade, and is the rise speeding up?”