How carbon moves through living things and the air
Grade 7 Science Worksheet - Challenge Me

Circle the best answer.
Read this first
Table (NOAA Global Monitoring Laboratory, Mauna Loa, Hawaii), columns year, carbon dioxide in the air (ppm, yearly average)
1960, 317; 1980, 339; 2000, 370; 2020, 414; 2024, 425.
By how much did carbon dioxide in the air rise from 1960 to 2020, Ari?
- About 414 ppm
- About 317 ppm
- About 60 ppm
- About 97 ppm
By how much did carbon dioxide in the air rise from 2000 to 2024, Bo?
- About 425 ppm
- About 55 ppm
- About 370 ppm
- About 24 ppm
Which 20-year step in the table shows the biggest rise, Esme?
- 2020 to 2024
- 1960 to 1980
- 2000 to 2020
- 1980 to 2000
NOAA measures carbon dioxide rising year after year. What does NOAA say is the main cause, Jun?
- People burning fossil fuels for energy
- More volcanoes erupting
- Decomposers breaking down more leaves
- Plants taking in less each year
Plants and the ocean take in carbon dioxide too. Why does the air's carbon dioxide still rise, Kira?
- They remove just about half of what fuels add
- Burning destroys the carbon instead
- They make more carbon dioxide
- The ocean adds the extra
Coal and oil formed from plants buried long ago. When they burn, where does their carbon go, Luz?
- It turns into energy and is gone
- Back into living plants at once
- Nowhere: burning destroys it
- Into the air as carbon dioxide
A carbon atom goes from the air into an oak, passes to a squirrel, then back to the air. Which three processes is that, in order, Milo?
- Photosynthesis, passes to, respiration
- Decay, passes to, burning
- Photosynthesis, decay, burning
- Respiration, passes to, photosynthesis
A carbon atom goes from the air into a leaf, the leaf falls, and fungi break it down. Which processes start and end that loop, Noah?
Carbon cycle arrow diagram, not to scale. Boxes: air (carbon dioxide); plants; decomposers. Arrows: air to plants, lettered X with no word; plants to decomposers, labeled fallen leaves; decomposers to air, lettered Y with no word. Carbon cycle arrow diagram, not to scale. Boxes: air (carbon dioxide); plants; decomposers. Arrows: air to plants, lettered X with no word; plants to decomposers, labeled fallen leaves; decomposers to air, lettered Y with no word. X Y fallen leaves air (carbon dioxide) plants decomposers - Photosynthesis, then decay
- Burning, then dissolving
- Decay, then photosynthesis
- Respiration, then photosynthesis
Ren says plants make their carbon out of sunlight. Agree or disagree?
- Agree: sunlight turns into carbon
- Disagree: the carbon comes from carbon dioxide
- Agree: plants need no air
- Disagree: it comes from the soil
Tala says burning fossil fuels gets rid of their carbon. Agree or disagree?
- Agree: the carbon becomes energy
- Disagree: it stays in the fuel
- Agree: burning destroys carbon
- Disagree: it moves into the air