Explain the carbon cycle with suitable diagram
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Answer:
Carbon is an element found in many different forms and locations within our Earth and atmosphere. As previously mentioned, it is found abundantly in living organisms. We would not even exist without this element. The key molecules that make up our bodies, such as proteins, carbohydrates, and DNA, contain carbon as a major component. Carbon is also found abundantly in our atmosphere in the form of carbon dioxide or CO2. Additionally, carbon is also trapped within the Earth in the form of fossil fuels.
The carbon cycle is essentially nature's way of reusing carbon atoms in different ways and in varying places. It is the process in which carbon travels from the atmosphere into organisms and the Earth and then back into the atmosphere. But, how does this process work, and what moves the carbon?
It is important to remember that our Earth and its atmosphere as a whole is a closed environment. The matter that exists now is all that we will ever have. Have you ever heard the phrase, 'Matter cannot be created nor destroyed?' Think of water, as an example. Water cycles through the Earth and atmosphere constantly. It evaporates from our oceans and other bodies of water and is held within clouds. Then, the water is released in the form of rain. Water is never created or destroyed, just recycled.
Similarly, we have a fixed amount of carbon on Earth and in the atmosphere. We are in our own bubble, with essentially nothing escaping or entering our world. We are not getting intergalactic deliveries of needed elements like carbon. That means that all of the carbon we have on Earth and in the atmosphere is the same amount we have always had. And so, when new organisms are being formed, carbon is needed to form those key molecules, such as protein and DNA. But, where does it come from? This is where the carbon cycle comes in.
