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7th grade How carbon moves through living things and the air worksheet

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How carbon moves through living things and the air

Grade 7 Science Worksheet - Challenge Me

NameDate

Circle the best answer.

  1. 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.

  2. 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

  3. 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

  4. Which 20-year step in the table shows the biggest rise, Esme?

    • 2020 to 2024
    • 1960 to 1980
    • 2000 to 2020
    • 1980 to 2000

  5. 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

  6. 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

  7. 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

  8. 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

  9. 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?

    • Photosynthesis, then decay
    • Burning, then dissolving
    • Decay, then photosynthesis
    • Respiration, then photosynthesis

  10. 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

  11. 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
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7th grade How carbon moves through living things and the air worksheet – printable
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About this worksheet

How carbon moves through living things and the air. Every version has 10 questions, and the answer key prints on the second page.

What your child will learn

  • I can name the process on each arrow (photosynthesis, respiration, decay, burning, dissolving) and say which way it moves carbon.
  • I can follow one carbon atom around the cycle and explain that carbon is reused, not made or used up.
  • I can read NOAA's Mauna Loa carbon dioxide numbers and say what NOAA gives as the main cause of the rise.

Standard: MS-LS2-3

Words to know

carbon cycle: The path carbon takes between the air, living things, the ocean and rocks

photosynthesis: Plants using light to build sugar from carbon dioxide and water

respiration: Living things breaking down sugar for energy, giving off carbon dioxide

decay: Decomposers breaking down fallen leaves and wastes, returning carbon dioxide

fossil fuels: Coal, oil and gas, made from plants buried long ago

ppm: Parts per million: how many carbon dioxide molecules in every million air molecules

Common mistakes

Your child mixed up photosynthesis and respiration. Photosynthesis takes carbon dioxide out of the air; respiration and decay put it back.

Your child read an arrow backward. Carbon leaves the box at the arrow's tail and arrives at the box at its head.

Your child thought carbon is made or used up. Carbon atoms are only moved from one store to another, so the total stays the same.

Questions parents ask

What is the most common mistake with how carbon moves through living things and the air?

Your child mixed up photosynthesis and respiration. Photosynthesis takes carbon dioxide out of the air; respiration and decay put it back.

Are these 7th 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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