Final answer:
The carbon cycle involves fast processes such as carbon exchange among living organisms and slow processes such as carbon dissolution in rocks and transportation to the ocean.
Step-by-step explanation:
Fast Processes in the Carbon Cycle:
Carbon cycles quickly between organisms and the atmosphere through cellular respiration and photosynthesis. Producers such as plants remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and use it to make organic compounds. Carbon in organic compounds moves through food chains and webs.
Slow Processes in the Carbon Cycle:
Most natural processes cycle carbon more slowly. Running water slowly dissolves carbon in rocks and carries it to the ocean. Carbon in ocean water may settle to the bottom and eventually be changed to fossil fuels or sedimentary rocks.
The fast processes in the carbon cycle include carbon exchange among living organisms, such as cellular respiration and photosynthesis. The slow processes include carbon dissolution in rocks and its transportation to the ocean.