Carbon in the Earth System

the process by which green plants and some other organisms use sunlight to synthesize foods from carbon dioxide and water

the smallest basic unit of matter

two or more atoms bonded together by shared electrons

subtances composed of two or more atoms bonded together

a subtance made up of one type of atom and cannot be broken into simpler substances

breaking bonds in a substance and rearranged to form a new substance

is a chemical element with the symbol C. Its atom makes four electrons available to form chemical bonds.

a simple sugar that is made by plant cells during photosynthesis

a molecole made up of subunits adenosine and ribose. Stores and carries chemical energy in a form cells can use

an organelle inside a plant cell that absorbs light and in which photosynthesis takes place

the pigment inside plants cells that absorbs wavelengths of light

single celled aquatic photosynthetic organisms that first oxygenated the Earth’s atmosphere.

negatively charged particles in atoms

charged atoms or molecules

chemical reactions that take place within a plant cell’s thylakoids and depend on light

chemical reactions that take place in the stroma and do not depend on light

the second stage of photosynthesis which is light-independent. It uses light energy to make sugars

the metabolic process in living organisms by which oxygen is combined with carbon in a cell to form carbon dioxide and generate energy

the smallest structural and functional unit of an organism

any of a number of organized or specialized structures within a living cell

shows the movement of carbon in elemental and combined states on earth