All living things are made of carbon. Carbon is also a part of the ocean, air, and rocks. In the atmosphere, carbon is attached to some oxygen to form carbon dioxide.
The movement of carbon, in its many forms, between the biosphere, atmosphere, oceans, and geosphere is described by the carbon cycle. The Carbon Cycle is a complex series of processes through which all of the carbon atoms in existence rotate. The carbon cycle is one of the biogeochemical cycles.
Plants use carbon dioxide and sunlight to make their own food and grow. The carbon becomes part of the plant. They release carbon dioxide back to atmosphere during respiration. Plants that die and are buried may turn into fossil fuels made of carbon over millions of years. When humans burn fossil fuels like coal and oil most of the carbon quickly enters the atmosphere as carbon dioxide.
When herbivore animals eat plant carbon becomes part of their system. When herbivores are eaten by carnivores they use the carbon for their own use. These animals return carbon dioxide into the air when they breathe, and when they die, since the carbon is returned to the soil by decomposition. The carbon atoms in soil are then used by a new plant or small microorganisms. Ultimately, the carbon atom moves through many organisms and ends in the same place where it began.
Image source: https://www.windows2universe.org/earth/climate/images/carboncycle_sm.jpg
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