FL SC.8.L.18.3
What is the carbon cycle?
Carbon moves between reservoirs — the atmosphere, living organisms, the ocean, and deep rock. Watch the fill bars in each zone change as you move carbon between them.
Fast Lane vs. Slow Lane
⚡ Fast: Biological processes (photosynthesis, respiration, consumption) move carbon in days to decades — shown with dashed arrows.
🐢 Slow: Geological processes (burial, sedimentation) lock carbon away for millions of years — shown with solid arrows.
Reservoir sizes (Carbon Units)
- Atmosphere: 1 CU — tiny and sensitive
- Organisms & Soil: 3 CU total (Plants 1, Animals 0.5, Soil 1.5)
- Ocean: 50 CU — large, slow to change
- Deep Earth: 125,000 CU — essentially immovable
How to use
- Explore: Click any zone to start, then choose pathways freely.
- Challenge: Follow preset goals — reach a target reservoir within step or time constraints.
- Click Collect Data to send your path to Tuva for analysis.
FL SC.8.L.18.3 — Grade 8
Learning Objectives
Students trace a carbon atom through reservoirs, observe how reservoir levels change with each transfer, and compare fast biological vs. slow geological pathways.
Related Standards
- SC.8.L.18.1 — Photosynthesis
- SC.8.L.18.2 — Cellular respiration
- SC.7.L.17.1 — Producers, consumers, decomposers
Transfer Amounts (per step)
- Photosynthesis / Respiration / Gas Exchange: 0.1 CU
- Consumption / Decomposition / Microbial Respiration: 0.05 CU
- Forest Fire: 0.2 CU
- Volcanic Eruption: 0.05 CU
- Burial & Compaction / Marine Sedimentation: 0.01 CU
Tuva Export Columns
Case, Step, From, To, Process, Time (years), Lane, Transfer CU, + CU snapshot for each of the 6 reservoirs.