Carbon Cycle Gizmo Part B

Last updated over 4 years ago

7 questions

Fill out these notes based on the live class on 4/13/2021.
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Introduction:  Fossil fuels, such as coal, oil, and natural gas, formed over millions of years from the remains of ancient plants and animals. The burning of fossil fuels, as well as other human activities, increases the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

Question: How does human activity affect the carbon cycle?

Describe: Using the Gizmo, determine how coal and petroleum (oil) are formed. Describe the steps required to form each fuel from atmospheric CO2.

Explore: Natural gas is a mixture of methane (CH4), ethane (C2H6), and other gases. Find two ways that natural gas forms. List the steps of the two carbon pathways below:

Explore: Another major contribution to atmospheric carbon dioxide is the cement industry. Using the Gizmo, find a carbon atom path from the atmosphere to the cement plant. (Hint: One of the ingredients in cement is limestone.)

Questions  4 & 5

Analyze: Click Reset, then navigate to the Land animals. Select Atmospheric CH4.

How do land animals create methane?

Humans raise large numbers of cattle for food. How will these herds of cows affect Earth’s atmosphere?

Analyze: In many tropical rainforests, people clear land by cutting down trees and burning them. After a few years, the soil runs out of nutrients and cannot be farmed any longer. How does this practice of “slash and burn agriculture” affect Earth’s atmosphere?

Carbon Cycle Gizmo Part B

Describe: Using the Gizmo, determine how coal and petroleum (oil) are formed. Describe the steps required to form each fuel from atmospheric CO2.

Explore: Natural gas is a mixture of methane (CH4), ethane (C2H6), and other gases. Find two ways that natural gas forms. List the steps of the two carbon pathways below:

Explore: Another major contribution to atmospheric carbon dioxide is the cement industry. Using the Gizmo, find a carbon atom path from the atmosphere to the cement plant. (Hint: One of the ingredients in cement is limestone.)

How do land animals create methane?

Humans raise large numbers of cattle for food. How will these herds of cows affect Earth’s atmosphere?

Analyze: In many tropical rainforests, people clear land by cutting down trees and burning them. After a few years, the soil runs out of nutrients and cannot be farmed any longer. How does this practice of “slash and burn agriculture” affect Earth’s atmosphere?

Draw conclusions: In general, how do many human activities influence the carbon cycle?