1	The Global Carbon Cycle (Set up for Cornell Notes)
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3	CARBON Carbon is an important element to living things. It is the second most abundant substance in organisms. Which substance is the most abundant? Water! Much of the solid portions of life forms is made up of great amounts of carbon.
4	Some Definitions Biogeochemical cycles are pathways elements like carbon, oxygen, & nitrogen follow through the living and nonliving parts of an ecosystem. A reservoir is a place on the earth that acts as a storehouse for an element.
5	Carbon Reservoirs Carbon is stored in 4 major reservoirs The atmosphere – CO₂ gas The land (lithosphere) – fossil fuels The oceans – dissolved in the water & in sea critters The biosphere – chemicals of living and dead things
6	Carbon moves between reservoirs Carbon enters the biosphere through the action of autotrophs (i.e. photosynthesis) Carbon enters the atmosphere through respiration, decay and burning of fossil fuels Carbon enters the lithosphere through dead organisms and is stored in the rocks like limestone.
7	How is carbon cycled at a global scale? Cell Respiration: An animal produces carbon dioxide and consumes oxygen in its metabolism of food. Glucose is a typical food and a metabolic reaction can be represented by: C₆H₁₂O₆ + 6O₂ à 6 CO₂ + 6 H₂O Photosynthesis: A plant and green bacteria, on the other hand, produces oxygen and consumes carbon dioxide. Energy in the form of electromagnetic radiation (or photons) is supplied so that the low-energy-content carbon dioxide can be converted to high-energy-content glucose. An overall reaction for the complicated multi-step photosynthesis reaction can be represented by: 6CO₂ + 12H₂O à C₆H₁₂O₆ + 6O₂ + 6H₂O
8	What happens when the uptake and return of CO2 are not in balance ?
9	Greenhouse Effect