Designed for Science On a Sphere, this video is narrated by NASA scientist Peter Griffith who explains fast and slow carbon cycling on Earth. A banana is an example of fast, young carbon. A chunk of coal is an example of old, slow carbon. Carbon... (View More) dioxide and vegetation on land seen from space by satellites show the annual cycle: as plants grow during spring and summer they draw carbon dioxide out of the air during photosynthesis. When they die or go dormant during winter, carbon dioxide levels rise in the atmosphere. Burning fast or slow carbon to generate power or heat releases black carbon, also called soot which can be seen from space. (View Less)

This series of 28 captioned images depict some the positive and some of the negative influences on the global carbon cycle, including industrial pollution, deforestation, waste disposal, transportation, and recycling. The Climate Kids website is a... (View More) NASA education resource featuring articles, videos, images and games focused on the science of climate change. (View Less)

Through a series of questions and answers, readers are introduced to the basic fundamentals of the carbon cycle and the importance of carbon as a greenhouse gas. This lesson is part of the Climate Kids website, a NASA education resource featuring... (View More) articles, videos, images and games focused on the science of climate change. (View Less)

Students are introduced to the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) satellite mission and its role in studying the water cycle. This webquest provides links to eight websites, allowing middle school students to explore the water cycle and its... (View More) impacts on Earth's weather and climate. Through online videos and articles, students follow a water molecule through the cycle, discover the connection between the water cycle and global water/heat distribution, examine the role of solar energy, and assess the importance of fresh water. (View Less)

This lesson was developed to give participants an understanding of Earth's water cycle. In this one-hour long activity, students participate in a webquest to learn about the water cycle, and then build a mini-model of the water cycle to observe how... (View More) water moves through Earth's four systems. The activity uses the 5E instructional model and is part of the "Survivor Earth" series of one-hour lessons. (View Less)

Use this interactive model to test how energy used in your home connects to carbon. This is part of Unit 3 of Interactives and Models: Carbon in the Future & You.

In this interactive, manipulate the future sources and sinks of carbon to estimate the atmospheric CO2 levels and global temperatures in the future. This is part of Unit 3 of Interactives and Models: Carbon in the Future & You.

Using global data sets with monthly resolution, you will adjust variables in this empirical climate model to test the degree to which natural and human influences can account for observed global temperatures from 1979-2010. This is part of Unit 3 of... (View More) Interactives and Models: Carbon in the Future & You. (View Less)

This interactive model lets you manipulate and work to balance the biologic (e.g., photosynthesis, respiration) and human processes that replicate the observed CO2 record from Mauna Loa. This is part of Unit 2 of Interactives and Models: Carbon Now.