This article is about carbon and how it moves around our planet. Carbon is the fourth most abundant element in the universe and the basic building block for all life. Carbon atoms are everywhere – the stone we walk on, the CO2 our bodies produce and release into the air, the backbone of polymers, and most importantly, carbon is the foundation of all life.
The total amount of carbon on the earth is essentially constant. Imagine a log of wood inside of a large sealed metal box filled with air. Weigh the entire box and its contents. Now cut the log up until it is just a pile of sawdust. Weigh the box again – it has the same weight. Now burn the sawdust inside until all that is left is a pile of ash inside a smoke filled box. Weigh the box again. The weight is the same as before.
The basic building block of a protein is called an amino acid. There are 20 amino acids in the proteins you eat and in the proteins within your body, and they link together to form large protein molecules.
