carbon

«carbon» in Mova's school dictionary: A chemical element found in all living things, in coal… — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

part of speech

noun (carbon — uncountable; a chemical element, symbol C)

meaning for a pupil

1) A chemical element found in all living things, in coal, in diamonds and pencil «lead» (graphite). tree →

2) Short for carbon dioxide or carbon emissions in talk about climate: «cut carbon», «carbon footprint». tree →

sense in the lessons

In science: carbon is in every living thing; plants take in carbon dioxide (CO₂) from the air and give out oxygen; animals breathe out carbon dioxide; burning fuels like coal, oil and gas releases carbon dioxide, which traps heat and warms the Earth (climate change). Carbon monoxide (CO) is a poisonous gas with no smell from faulty heaters — homes need carbon monoxide alarms. Phrases: carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, carbon footprint, carbon cycle, low-carbon.

examples

• Diamonds and pencil lead are both made of carbon. tree →
• Plants take in carbon dioxide and give out oxygen. tree →
• We breathe out carbon dioxide. tree →
• Burning coal puts carbon dioxide into the air. tree →
• Walking to school instead of driving shrinks your carbon footprint. tree →
• A carbon monoxide alarm warns you about a dangerous gas. tree →
• All living things contain carbon. tree →
• The carbon cycle moves carbon between air, plants, animals and the ground. tree →

note

Uncountable. Symbol C. Two very different gases: carbon dioxide (CO₂, one carbon and two oxygen, we breathe it out) and carbon monoxide (CO, one oxygen, poisonous, from faulty boilers and cars). Pencil «lead» is graphite (carbon), not the metal lead.

In the corpora

• Fizzy drinks are full of carbon dioxide gas, which collects in the stomach and comes back up as a burp.
• Leaves use sunlight to turn water and carbon dioxide from the air into sugar for food; this is called photosynthesis.
• Most of a tree's weight comes from carbon dioxide in the air turned into wood, not from the soil.
• Old forests with big trees store huge amounts of carbon and are home to many fungi and creatures.
• Oxygen passes into the blood through the thin walls of the air sacs, and carbon dioxide passes out to be breathed away.

Trees and pragmatics

Every meaning and example of «carbon» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.