Getting the dirt on carbon
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Question Sheet: Getting the dirt on carbon

SCIENCE

Before reading:

1. What do you think carbon is?
2. Where could you find a lot of it?
3. Is it a good thing?
4. If it got into us, would that be good or bad?

During reading:

1. What’s the “building block” of all life on Earth?
2. What happens to the carbon in leaves when they fall off of trees and begin breaking down?
3. What’s the source of Earth’s carbon?
4. Can you get too much carbon in the environment? (Hint: What do climate scientists worry about?)
5. Why are trees sometimes called carbon “sinks”?
6. Name at least two things that can change the amount of carbon that a tree collects in any year.
7. What’s biochar?

After Reading:

1. Why do scientists care about the carbon cycle?
2. Coal is made from carbon. Oil is rich in carbon. Where does their carbon come from? (Hint: They’re both considered “fossil” fuels.)
3. Why is there so much interest in keeping carbon on Earth (and even in its soil) — and out of Earth’s atmosphere?
4. Extra credit: Where is carbon made?

SOCIAL STUDIES

1. Contrast the good and bad of carbon. (Hint: Why is there so much carbon dioxide spewing into Earth’s atmosphere each year?)
2. Many people owe their lives to mining or drilling carbon-rich energy resources. Now that carbon sinks are becoming more attractive, what other energy jobs might the miners and drillers consider doing?  
3. If trees store carbon, then is harvesting trees to build houses a good thing or a bad thing? What about using trees for paper-making, home heating or fence building?

LANGUAGE ARTS

• Write a small poem describing a small quantity of carbon as it cycles through the environment — at times finding a home in at least three living things.
• Write at least four paragraphs defending the idea that trees are important to Earth’s environment. Include the role of these big plants in helping limit the buildup of carbon dioxide in Earth’s atmosphere. (Hint: Imagine you were explaining this to a parent, neighbor or classmate.)

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