Carbon Dioxide

I am the little bubble that goes pop. I am the fizz in your drink that tickles your nose when you sip. On a cold, chilly day, I am the puff of white cloud you make with your breath. Whee. I am all around you, like a secret hug, but I am invisible. Can you guess who I am? I am Carbon Dioxide. That's a big word. My short name is CO2. I am a very special gas, and I love to help things grow. I am a busy, busy bubble.

For a long, long, long time, people did not know I was here. They thought all air was the same air they breathed. But then, a very curious man, a scientist named Joseph Black, met me. It was way back in the 1750s, a time with horses and carriages. He was looking at soft, white chalk, and he found me hiding inside. He saw that I was a different kind of air from the air he breathed. He thought, 'Wow, you are special.'. A little later, in the 1770s, another kind scientist named Joseph Priestley learned my favorite secret of all. He put a little mint plant in a jar with me and discovered that green plants think I am wonderful. They love having me around.

I am a plant's best friend. It's true. Plants breathe me in, just like you take a big, deep breath of fresh air. They use my bubbly self, some warm yellow sunshine, and a cool drink of water to make their own food. Mmm, yummy. This helps them grow so big and tall and strong. Because I help them, you get sweet, crunchy apples to eat, tall green trees to play under for shade, and pretty, colorful flowers to smell with your nose. I love helping all the green things on our big, wonderful Earth grow happy and healthy.