Carbon cycle

• Plants remove CO2 from the air to use in photosynthesis. The carbon from the CO2 is used to make glucose. this is then used to make other biological molecules such as other carbohydrates, fats or proteins.
• Animals consume these plants, which passes the carbon carbon compounds along the food chain. Enzymes break down carbohydrates into simple sugars and then these cells use these monomers to make new carbohydrates
• Living things return Co2 to the atmosphere when they respire.
• When organisms die or excrete waste they decompose. During decomposition, useful minerals are returned to the soil and the decomposers respire, which returns CO2 to the atmosphere
• Combustion and burning fossil fuels increases the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere.
• People are concerned about the increasing amount of CO2 in the atmosphere as it means that the greenhouse affect is also increased