Carbon is a very common element on Earth! It is found in living things and is also found in the ocean, the air, and in the ground. Carbon is able to change forms on Earth form animals to the air. Animals and plants have carbon in them. When animals breathe out, they release Carbon dioxide into the air. This Carbon dioxide is absorbed by plants on Earth and even the ocean. Plants and the ocean absorb more Carbon dioxide from the atmosphere than they release into the atmosphere. Then, when plants and animals die, the carbon inside of them gets absorbed by the Earth. The carbon can be locked away below the Earth’s surface for millions of years and then be brought back up to the surface by volcanic eruptions. The carbon gets cycled through this process for a long time! That is what the carbon cycle is! It is when the carbon on Earth gets cycled from living things to the Earth back to living things.
