Part 4 - Tying It All Together

In the first three parts of this activity you learned about combustion, respiration, and their similarities. Here are some questions designed to help you understand how combustion, respiration, and the Carbon Cycle are all connected. Click the star next to the correct response and you will advance to the next question. Click the star next to the incorrect response and you will have to start the cycle again!

1. The carbon in the carbon dioxide produced by the burning candle came originally from
a) the carbon in the wax.
b) the carbon in the air.

Correct!!
2. Where did the wax in the candle originally come from?

a) Wax is now generally refined from petroleum, although it can also be made from fat.
b) Wax is generally produced from tropical plants.

Correct!!
3. Where did petroleum originally come from?
a) Petroleum was formed from molten rocks.
b) Petroleum was formed from dead plant and animal material.

Correct!! Petroleum is a fossil fuel produced from decomposed ancient plant and animal matter which was under tremendous pressure from the weight of other matter which accumulated on top of it over huge periods of time.

4. How did ancient plants originally obtain their carbon?

a) Like modern plants, they absorbed carbon dioxide from the air as part of the food-making process of photosynthesis.
b) Like modern plants, they absorb carbon from the soil into their roots as part of the food-making process of photosynthesis.

Correct!!
5. Where does the carbon dioxide in air come from?
a) Carbon dioxide comes from photosynthesis.
b) Carbon dioxide comes from combustion and respiration.

Correct!!
6. Where did the carbon in the carbon dioxide in your breath originally come from?

a) The carbon in the carbon dioxide we exhale originates as carbon in the food we eat that is burned in our cells to produce energy.
b) The carbon in the carbon dioxide we exhale originates as carbon in the air we breathe that is burned in our cells to produce energy.

Correct!!
7. Where in our diets do we find much of the carbon we eat?

a) Much of the carbon in our diets is found in the water we consume.
b) Much of the carbon in our diets is found in starches and sugars found in grains, sugar cane, and other plants.

Correct!! In fact, almost all the food we consume can be linked back to grains and other plants if we trace its path through the food chain.
8. How did these plants obtain carbon?

a) Plants obtain the carbon in their sugars and starches by absorbing carbon dioxide from the air during photosynthesis.
b) Plants obtain the carbon in their sugars and starches by absorbing carbon dioxide through the soil during photosynthesis.

Correct!!
9. Where does the carbon dioxide in air come from?

Carbon dioxide comes from combustion and respiration.
Carbon dioxide comes from photosynthesis.

Congratulations on completing the Carbon Cycle!!

Now, using your discoveries from parts one through four, draw your own diagram of the carbon cycle which incorporates all four parts of this activity.

return to beginning of quiz

return to beginning of activity

return to Carbon Cycle home page

notes for teachers

Woodrow Wilson Leadership Program in Environmental Science

lpt@www.woodrow.org
The Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation

webmaster@woodrow.org
CN 5281, Princeton NJ 08543-5281

Tel:(609)452-7007

Fax:(609)452-0066