Did you know that most college students in the U.S. do not understand the scientific basis of the carbon cycle?

Carbon Moves Importance:Did you know that most college students in the U.S. do not understand the scientific basis of the carbon cycle? This is an essential skill in understanding the causes and effects of climate change. The excerpt below from “What carbon cycle? College students lack scientific literacy study finds”, Science News, 2011 describes the problem. “Most students did not truly understand the processes that transform carbon. They failed to apply principles such as the conservation of matter, which holds that when something changes chemically or physically, the amount of matter at the end of the process needs to equal the amount at the beginning. (Matter doesn’t magically appear or disappear.)Students trying to explain weight loss, for example, could not trace matter once it leaves the body; instead they used informal reasoning based on their personal experiences (such as the fat “melted away” or was “burned off”). In reality, the atoms in fat molecules leave the body (mostly through breathing) and enter the atmosphere as carbon dioxide and water.Most students also incorrectly believe plants obtain their mass from the soil rather than primarily from carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. “When you see a tree growing,” Anderson said, “it’s a lot easier to believe that tree is somehow coming out of the soil rather than the scientific reality that it’s coming out of the air.”The carbon moves exercise provides some examples of how carbon is cycled through different forms. In this exercise, you will follow the path of a carbon atom as it changes form and transfers through the cabon cycle. InstructionsWatch Carbon Cycle 1: Carbon Moves Complete the Data Recording SheetWatch Carbon Cycle 2: Carbon Moves DiagramDraw a Carbon Cycle DiagramWatch Carbon Cycle 3: Reservoirs and Fluxes Submit the Data Recording Sheet and Diagram using the assignment link below (20 points)Complete the Exercise assessment using the link below