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 2000 to 2024, Bo?
- About 425 ppm
- About 24 ppm
- About 55 ppm
- About 370 ppm
Which 20-year step in the table shows the biggest rise, Esme?
- 2020 to 2024
- 2000 to 2020
- 1960 to 1980
- 1980 to 2000
NOAA measures carbon dioxide rising year after year. What does NOAA say is the main cause, Jun?
- Decomposers breaking down more leaves
- More volcanoes erupting
- People burning fossil fuels for energy
- 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?
- Burning destroys the carbon instead
- They remove just about half of what fuels add
- 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?
- Nowhere: burning destroys it
- Into the air as carbon dioxide
- Back into living plants at once
- It turns into energy and is gone
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?
- Decay, passes to, burning
- Photosynthesis, decay, burning
- Respiration, passes to, photosynthesis
- Photosynthesis, passes to, respiration
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 - Burning, then dissolving
- Decay, then photosynthesis
- Respiration, then photosynthesis
- Photosynthesis, then decay
Ancient plants took in carbon dioxide and were buried and became coal. Today the coal is burned. Which two processes start and end that path, Pia?
Carbon cycle arrow diagram, not to scale. Boxes: air (carbon dioxide); plants; fossil fuels (coal, oil, gas). Arrows: air to plants, lettered X with no word; plants to fossil fuels, labeled buried long ago; fossil fuels to air, lettered Y with no word. Carbon cycle arrow diagram, not to scale. Boxes: air (carbon dioxide); plants; fossil fuels (coal, oil, gas). Arrows: air to plants, lettered X with no word; plants to fossil fuels, labeled buried long ago; fossil fuels to air, lettered Y with no word. X Y buried long ago air (carbon dioxide) plants fossil fuels (coal, oil, gas) - Photosynthesis, then burning
- Dissolving, then decay
- Respiration, then decay
- Burning, then photosynthesis
Ren says plants make their carbon out of sunlight. Agree or disagree?
- Disagree: the carbon comes from carbon dioxide
- Agree: plants need no air
- Agree: sunlight turns into carbon
- Disagree: it comes from the soil
Tala says burning fossil fuels gets rid of their carbon. Agree or disagree?
- Agree: burning destroys carbon
- Agree: the carbon becomes energy
- Disagree: it stays in the fuel
- Disagree: it moves into the air