Atmospheric Carbon

Our atmosphere holds many gases. Among these is carbon. Ecosystems receive most of their carbon from the atmosphere. This is one of the reason for global warming, hints carbon dioxides nickname "the greenhouse gas."

Resource: http://www.physicalgeography.net/fundamentals/9r.html

The Carbon Cycle

The Earths atmosphere contains 0.035% carbon dioxide. The earth contain so little,but it is relied on for this planet to function and survive. The environment relies on carbon to to pull proteins, sugars, and fats out of plants. Carbon is also relied on to be a reactant in the production of oxygen. Through the tropic system carbon also plays a big role. Herbivores eat plant and in turn the herbivores are eaten by carnivores.

Carbon is used in the process of many things. But you may be wondering how it gets back to the environment? Animals play a huge part in this, in the sense that animals absorb oxygen but exhale carbon dioxide. Dead organisms also have a part in getting CO2 back into the environment due to that during fossilization some carbon returns to the physical environment.


Resource for this post: http://www.starsandseas.com/SAS%20Ecology/SAS%20chemcycles/cycle_carbon.htm

Photosynthesis and Cellular Respiration

You will find carbon throughout the process of photosynthesis and cellular respiration. Each of these processes has its own equation, like you see below. In photosynthesis carbon dioxide is a reactant along with water while the product is oxygen and glucose. Therefore carbon plays a huge role in the creation and function of photosynthesis.

Cellular respiration is the opposite of photosynthesis. Therefore the reactants of cellular respiration are oxygen and glucose while the products are carbon dioxide and water. To convert glucose to carbon dioxide two things must occur 1.) aerobic respiration and 2.)glycolysis.
CELLULAR RESPIRATION EQUATION: C6H12O6 + 6O2 ----> 6CO2 + 6H2O + Energy

PHOTOSYNTHESIS EQUATION: 6CO2+ 6H2O ----> C6H12O6+ 6O2

Resources for this post:http://faculty.clintoncc.suny.edu/faculty/michael.gregory/files/bio%20101/bio%20101%20lectures/Cellular%20Respiration/cellular.htm

http://users.rcn.com/jkimball.ma.ultranet/BiologyPages/C/CalvinCycle.html

Bonding Patterns of Carbon

Carbon, being a nonmetal, forms four bond. This bond can be made in four ways. Either four single bonds,one double bond and two single bonds,one single bond and one triple bond, or possibly two double bonds


Resources for this post comes from:http://www2.eou.edu/chemweb/molmodel/mmp6.ht

Atomic Structure

Carbon starts out as just a simple element found on the periodic table. It symbol is C and it's atomic number is 6. Its atomic structure has to do with a lot of the processes and things that carbon is involved in. Carbon has two energy levels, the first energy level consists of two electrons and the second energy level consists of four.




Resource for this post comes from: Bentor, Yinon. Chemical Element.com - Carbon. Nov. 20, 2009 .