AP BIOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -Plants constantly exchange carbon with the atmosphere. Plants absorb carbon dioxide during photosynthesis and much of this carbon dioxide is then stored in roots, permafrost, grasslands, and forests. Plants and the soil then release carbon dioxide when they decay.

Detailed explanation-2: -The carbon cycle is nature’s way of reusing carbon atoms, which travel from the atmosphere into organisms in the Earth and then back into the atmosphere over and over again. Most carbon is stored in rocks and sediments, while the rest is stored in the ocean, atmosphere, and living organisms.

Detailed explanation-3: -Carbon dioxide is added to the atmosphere naturally when organisms respire or decompose (decay), carbonate rocks are weathered, forest fires occur, and volcanoes erupt. Carbon dioxide is also added to the atmosphere through human activities, such as the burning of fossil fuels and forests and the production of cement.

Detailed explanation-4: -When organisms die and decay carbon also returns to the atmosphere, or is integrated into soil along with some of their waste. The combustion of biomass during wildfires also release large amounts of carbon stored in plants back into the atmosphere.

Detailed explanation-5: -Cellular respiration and photosynthesis are biological processes in which matter and energy flow through the biosphere. These two processes are responsible for the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide between living organisms and the environment.