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9th grade The carbon cycle across rock, ocean, air and life worksheet

6 printable versionsBuilding Confidence10 questions · answer keyFree · no account

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The carbon cycle across rock, ocean, air and life

Grade 9 Science Worksheet - Building Confidence

NameDate

Circle the best answer.

  1. Where is most of Earth's carbon stored, by Ari's reading (NASA)?

    • In the air
    • In plants and animals
    • In rocks
    • In the ocean's surface water
  2. Besides rocks, which list names places carbon is stored, by Kira's reading (NASA)?

    Use the picture in question 1.

    • Living things, and nowhere else on Earth
    • Glacier ice, and nowhere else on Earth
    • The Sun, the Moon and outer space
    • Ocean, air, plants, soil and fossil fuels
  3. Read this first

    Carbon's slow path

    Rain, rock, river, sea floor, limestone, volcano.

  4. How long does carbon take to move through the slow carbon cycle, by Jun's reading (NASA)?

    • About one plant's or animal's lifespan
    • 1 to 2 days
    • 100 to 200 million years
    • 100 to 200 years
  5. What starts the rock step of the slow cycle, by Luz's reading (NASA)?

    • Wind blows CO₂ deep into the rock
    • Rain with CO₂ forms a weak acid that dissolves rock
    • Volcanoes freeze CO₂ into solid rock
    • Plant roots pull CO₂ straight out of solid rock each spring
  6. How does carbon in rock return to the air in the slow cycle, by Milo's reading (NASA)?

    • Limestone melts in the summer sun
    • Volcanoes vent CO₂ from rock heated deep underground
    • Plants breathe it out each night in very large amounts
    • Rivers carry it straight up to the clouds
  7. A yearly CO₂ wiggle

    Up in northern winter, down in spring and summer.

  8. How long does carbon take to move through the fast carbon cycle, by Noah's reading (NASA)?

    • About a lifespan
    • 100 to 200 million years
    • About a billion years
    • About the age of Earth
  9. In photosynthesis, what do plants take in to make sugars, by Pia's reading (NASA)?

    • Methane and soil heat
    • Limestone and rainwater
    • Oxygen and moonlight
    • Carbon dioxide and sunlight
  10. Where carbon is and how fast it moves (NASA)

    Part of the cycleNASA figure
    Carbon stored in rocksabout 65,500 billion metric tons
    Carbon through the slow cycle each year10 to 100 million metric tons
    Carbon through the fast cycle each year1,000 to 100,000 million metric tons
    Volcano CO₂ each year130 to 380 million metric tons
    Human CO₂ each yearabout 30 billion tons
  11. Using the table, how much carbon moves through the fast cycle each year, by Tala's reading (NASA)?

    • 130 to 380 million metric tons
    • About 65,500 billion metric tons
    • 10 to 100 million metric tons
    • 1,000 to 100,000 million metric tons
  12. Using the table, how much CO₂ do volcanoes emit each year, by Zee's reading (NASA)?

    • 10 to 100 million metric tons
    • 130 to 380 million metric tons
    • 1,000 to 100,000 million metric tons
    • About 30 billion tons
  13. Using the table, about how much CO₂ do humans emit each year, by Esme's reading (NASA)?

    • About 30 billion tons
    • About 30 million tons
    • 130 to 380 million metric tons
    • About 65,500 billion metric tons
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9th grade The carbon cycle across rock, ocean, air and life worksheet – printable
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About this worksheet

Explain how carbon moves through rock, ocean, air and life. Every version has 10 questions, and the answer key prints on the second page.

What your child will learn

  • I can name Earth's carbon reservoirs and explain that most carbon, about 65,500 billion metric tons, is in rocks.
  • I can compare the slow cycle (rocks, 100 to 200 million years) with the fast cycle (life, about a lifespan), and trace rain, weathering, limestone and volcanoes.
  • I can compare human and volcanic CO₂ and explain how burning fossil fuels moves carbon from the slow cycle to the fast one, and the ocean's slow uptake.

Standard: HS-ESS2-6

Words to know

reservoir: A place where carbon is stored, like rock, ocean or air

flux: The amount of carbon moving between reservoirs each year

weathering: Rain with dissolved CO₂ slowly breaking down rock

limestone: Rock made mostly of calcium carbonate, often from shells

fossil fuel: Coal, oil or gas formed from buried living things

photosynthesis: Plants using CO₂ and sunlight to make sugars

Common mistakes

Your child misplaced Earth's carbon. NASA: most carbon, about 65,500 billion metric tons, is in rocks; the rest is in the ocean, air, plants, soil and fossil fuels.

Your child mixed up the slow and fast cycles. NASA: the slow cycle through rocks takes 100 to 200 million years; the fast cycle through life is measured in a lifespan.

Your child reversed what plants do. NASA: plants take in CO₂ in photosynthesis; respiration and decay return it, so northern CO₂ drops in spring and climbs in winter.

Questions parents ask

What is the most common mistake with the carbon cycle across rock, ocean, air and life?

Your child misplaced Earth's carbon. NASA: most carbon, about 65,500 billion metric tons, is in rocks; the rest is in the ocean, air, plants, soil and fossil fuels.

Are these 9th grade science worksheets free to print?

Yes. All 6 printable versions at each level are free to print, with the answer key, and no account is needed.

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