Carbon Cycle Story Game

This game was played in class on 10/6. THIS IS A SEPARATE ASSESSMENT SCORE ON YOUR GRADE. If you are absent, please find a time to come see me during my office hours so you can make it up. Here is a link to the game powerpoint Links to an external site.. If absent, you will simply click on the powerpoint link and choose at random a color poker chip, starting at the "Forest" location, and write down what happens to you and where you will go next. You will do this 5 different times so you should have visited 5 different slides.

The following diagram will be helpful when completing this activity and answering reflection questions:

carbon cycle 9th grade.png

This activity is split into 3 parts:

Part 1: The story.

You are a carbon atom moving through the game. Play the game in class and write down your own personal journey story as a carbon atom. Your journey should include around 5 different locations in the carbon cycle. Be sure to include what molecule you changed to at each location and what processes happened to you (for example, photosynthesis and respiration). You should write it down as a story, NOT A BULLET POINT LIST OF THINGS THAT HAPPENED TO YOU. When finished with your story, submit it to the evidence assignment.

Part 2: The Data.

Each round, Mr. Merrill will be writing down how many carbon atoms (students) are remaining at each location. You should copy down this data and use it in this part of the assignment. After the game is finished, copy down the data. Then select 3 locations from the game to graph on a line graph. Select specific 'poker chips' from each location to graph and analyze. For example: you may be interested in looking at how carbon dioxide levels changed throughout the game moving from the forest and animal to the atmosphere. After creating your graph, write a short CER that answers this question: "How did amounts of carbon change throughout the game and what effect did this change have on the overall ecosystem?" When finished with your graph, submit it to the evidence assignment.

Part 3: The Reflection.

After writing your story and graphing, CHOOSE 3 OF THE FOLLOWING to answer in your journal:

  1. Name as many different carbon sources and carbon sinks from the game that you can think of.
  2. Describe an example of a carbon source changing in size and identify what caused it to change in size. 
  3. Describe an example of a carbon sink changing in size and identify what caused it to change in size.
  4. Describe how photosynthesis changes the carbon cycle.
  5. Describe how cellular respiration changes the carbon cycle.
  6. Describe how abiotic factors (like deforestation) can cause the carbon cycle to change. Give an example of one of these abiotic factors and describe how it changed the ecosystem as a whole.
  7. If our planet continues on this upward trend of human population and increasing temperatures, how do your predict the carbon cycle might change 50 years from now? What will this change have on the ecosystems of our planet?

When finished with your reflection questions, submit it HERE.