AP BIOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -When the animals die, they decompose, and their remains become sediment, trapping the stored carbon in layers that eventually turn into rock or minerals. Some of this sediment might form fossil fuels, such as coal, oil, or natural gas, which release carbon back into the atmosphere when the fuel is burned.

Detailed explanation-2: -Burning fossil fuels, changing land use, and using limestone to make concrete all transfer significant quantities of carbon into the atmosphere. As a result, the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is rapidly rising; it is already greater than at any time in the last 3.6 million years.

Detailed explanation-3: -When organisms die, they are decomposed by bacteria. Carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere or water during the decomposition process.

Detailed explanation-4: -The animals and plants eventually die. Decomposers break down the dead organisms and return the carbon in their bodies to the atmosphere as carbon dioxide by respiration. In some conditions, decomposition is blocked. The plant and animal material may then be available as fossil fuel for combustion in the future.

Detailed explanation-5: -Plants and animals perform cellular respiration and convert a small percentage of that organic carbon back to CO2. A larger portion of that organic carbon in plants is transferred to the soil when plants shed their leaves or when they die.