2. Plants & The Carbon Cycle
Plants take in carbon dioxide and convert it to sugar which can be stored until used for energy.
This process is called photosynthesis.

3. Photosynthesis:
CO2 + H2O + sunlight yields O2 + C6H12O6

4. Plants & The Carbon Cycle
Plants release carbon dioxide as a waste product when they convert their stored sugar to chemical energy.
This process is called respiration.

5. Respiration:
C6H12O6 + O2 yields CO2 + H2O + energy

6. Animals & The Carbon Cycle
Animals eat carbon contained in animal and plant tissues and release carbon dioxide as a waste product.
This process is respiration.

7. Decay & The Carbon Cycle:
Decomposers release the carbon from dead plant and animal tissues back into the atmosphere.

8. Fossil Fuels & The Carbon Cycle:
Over millions of years fossil fuels may form from the buried remains of plants and animals.

9. Fossil Fuels & The Carbon Cycle:
This carbon reenters the atmosphere during combustion.

10. The Oceans & The Carbon Cycle:
Dissolved carbon dioxide in sea water becomes deposited as calcium carbonate shells.

11. The Oceans & The Carbon Cycle:
Over millions of years, these shells form sedimentary rock.

13. Ocean deposits are the biggest sink of carbon on the planet.
The Rock Cycle ultimately releases carbon stored in sedimentary rock.