Modeling the Complexities of the Carbon Cycle Utilizing Excel

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Modeling the Complexities of the Carbon Cycle Utilizing Excel
https://cleanet.org/clean/community/activities/carboncycle_excel.html

Andrea Bixler, Lindsay Dubbs, Dave Finster, Harold Geller, Jeanne Troy, CLEAN Community Collection

This set of activities is about carbon sources, sinks, and fluxes among them - both with and without anthropogenic components.

The two activities take about 3-4 class periods.

Learn more about Teaching Climate Literacy and Energy Awareness»

See how this Activity supports the Next Generation Science Standards»

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High School

Performance Expectations: 2

HS-ESS2-6: Develop a quantitative model to describe the cycling of carbon among the hydrosphere, atmosphere, geosphere, and biosphere.

HS-LS2-5: Develop a model to illustrate the role of photosynthesis and cellular respiration in the cycling of carbon among the biosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere, and geosphere.

Disciplinary Core Ideas: 3

HS-ESS2.A1: Earth’s systems, being dynamic and interacting, cause feedback effects that can increase or decrease the original changes.

HS-ESS2.D3: Changes in the atmosphere due to human activity have increased carbon dioxide concentrations and thus affect climate.

HS-LS2.B3: Photosynthesis and cellular respiration are important components of the carbon cycle, in which carbon is exchanged among the biosphere, atmosphere, oceans, and geosphere through chemical, physical, geological, and biological processes.

Cross Cutting Concepts: 9

Patterns, Cause and effect, Scale, Proportion and Quantity, Systems and System Models, Energy and Matter, Stability and Change

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Patterns, Cause and effect, Scale, Proportion and Quantity, Systems and System Models, Energy and Matter, Stability and Change

HS-C1.4: Mathematical representations are needed to identify some patterns

HS-C2.4: Changes in systems may have various causes that may not have equal effects.

HS-C3.5: Algebraic thinking is used to examine scientific data and predict the effect of a change in one variable on another (e.g., linear growth vs. exponential growth).

HS-C4: Systems and System Models

HS-C5.1: The total amount of energy and matter in closed systems is conserved.

HS-C5.2: Changes of energy and matter in a system can be described in terms of energy and matter flows into, out of, and within that system.

HS-C5.4: Energy drives the cycling of matter within and between systems.

HS-C7.2: Change and rates of change can be quantified and modeled over very short or very long periods of time. Some system changes are irreversible.

HS-C7.3: Feedback (negative or positive) can stabilize or destabilize a system.

Science and Engineering Practices: 10

Asking Questions and Defining Problems, Developing and Using Models, Planning and Carrying Out Investigations, Analyzing and Interpreting Data, Using Mathematics and Computational Thinking, Constructing Explanations and Designing Solutions, Engaging in Argument from Evidence

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HS-P1.3: ask questions to determine relationships, including quantitative relationships, between independent and dependent variables

HS-P2.3: Develop, revise, and/or use a model based on evidence to illustrate and/or predict the relationships between systems or between components of a system

HS-P2.6: Develop and/or use a model (including mathematical and computational) to generate data to support explanations, predict phenomena, analyze systems, and/or solve problems.

HS-P3.6: Manipulate variables and collect data about a complex model of a proposed process or system to identify failure points or improve performance relative to criteria for success or other variables.

HS-P4.1: Analyze data using tools, technologies, and/or models (e.g., computational, mathematical) in order to make valid and reliable scientific claims or determine an optimal design solution.

HS-P4.2: Apply concepts of statistics and probability (including determining function fits to data, slope, intercept, and correlation coefficient for linear fits) to scientific and engineering questions and problems, using digital tools when feasible.

HS-P4.5: Evaluate the impact of new data on a working explanation and/or model of a proposed process or system.

HS-P5: Using Mathematics and Computational Thinking

HS-P6.4: Apply scientific reasoning, theory, and/or models to link evidence to the claims to assess the extent to which the reasoning and data support the explanation or conclusion.

HS-P7.2: Evaluate the claims, evidence, and/or reasoning behind currently accepted explanations or solutions to determine the merits of arguments.

Grade Level

High School (9-12)
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College Lower (13-14)
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College Upper (15-16)
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Topics

Carbon Cycle
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Anthropogenic Changes
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Measuring and Modeling Climate
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Climate Literacy

This Activity builds on the following concepts of Climate Literacy.

Click a topic below for supporting information, teaching ideas, and sample activities.

Energy Literacy

This Activity builds on the following concepts of Energy Literacy.

Click a topic below for supporting information, teaching ideas, and sample activities.

Physical processes on Earth are the result of energy flow

Notes From Our Reviewers The CLEAN collection is hand-picked and rigorously reviewed for scientific accuracy and classroom effectiveness. Read what our review team had to say about this resource below or learn more about how CLEAN reviews teaching materials
Teaching Tips | Science | Pedagogy | Technical Details

Teaching Tips

Consider beginning the series of activities with the hands-on ping pong ball activity, which illustrates the carbon cycle reservoirs and fluxes, instead of the lecture-discussion of IPCC diagrams.
Students may have difficulty interpreting data displayed on the Excel spreadsheets. Additional directions on the Excel worksheets would assist student success.
The first of the two activities uses the assumption that the tree and major limbs are cylinders and therefore uses the cylinder formula to estimate tree volume. The second activity uses power functions, Excel, and a log-log graph; this second activity is more appropriate for advanced learners.

About the Content

Science underlying these activities is about carbon sources, sinks, and fluxes among them. The activity transitions nicely from abstract data interpretation of the carbon cycle to personal interactions with the cycle.
Comments from expert scientist:
Scientific Strengths: The C cycle is an important aspect of climate change and this Excel activity will teach students to think about reservoir sizes, fluxes in and out of said reservoirs, and the impact of anthropogenic actions after they have learned about the natural cycle.
Suggestions: This is older data from 2012, with the investigations reviewed in 2017. The numbers may be inaccurate by now. Also, in worksheet one, it would be beneficial for students to learn where teh values for each reservoir of C is coming from, and what the uncertainty in the value of each reservoir is. Same with fluxes.

About the Pedagogy

Students work with a spreadsheet to see how changes in one part of the carbon cycle affect others. A link is provided to a pre- and post-test concept map type exercise.
Excercise steps 1-5 in the directions give a global picture of the carbon cycle, while steps 6-7 bring the story down to a local and/or individual level.
Progression of activities provides a nice mix of abstract and concrete.

This resource engages students in using scientific data.
See other data-rich activities

Technical Details/Ease of Use

Several sections of the Excel worksheets may be difficult for high school AP students, depending on their level of experience with the software.

Entered the Collection: June 2025 | Last Reviewed: January 2025