Britannica Educational Publishing IN ASSOCIATION WITH ROSEN EDUCATIONAL SERVICES LET’S FIND OUT OUR DYNAMIC EARTH THE CARBON CYCLE LAURA LORIA
Life as We KnoW it Carbon is one of the most important chemical elements Chemical elements are the building blocks for all matter They are basic substances that cannot be broken down into simpler substances Scientists use symbols to stand for the chemical elements The symbol for carbon is C On its own carbon makes up only a small part of Earth’s crust But it combines with other elements very easily to form substances called compounds Carbon compounds make up 18 percent of all the matter in living things Graphite is one of the forms of pure carbon that can be found in nature It is used to make the leads of pencils 4
Living things are all around us You are a living thing So are animals and plants Living things move grow and take in chemicals and nutrients Vocabulary A cycle is a series of events or actions that repeat regularly Carbon is constantly being used and replaced in nature through what is known as the carbon cycle Carbon passes through living things as well as through Earth’s rocks water and air Sometimes it moves very quickly while other times it can stay in one place for many years All living things including people and other animals are part of the carbon cycle 5
