5 Questions
Where does photosynthesis occur in plants?
Chloroplasts
What part of the plant has the most chloroplasts?
Leaves
What is the green pigment that captures light for photosynthesis?
Chlorophyll
What is the process of synthesizing organic compounds using energy derived from inorganic chemicals, typically in the absence of sunlight?
Chemosynthesis
What is the discovery made in 1977 regarding life at the bottom of the ocean off the coast of Ecuador?
Bacteria producing food using H2S from hot water escaping from ocean floor cracks
Study Notes
Energy Flows in Ecosystems
- Life on Earth depends on energy from the Sun.
- Energy from the Sun enters an ecosystem through photosynthesis, a process where plants, algae, and some bacteria convert sunlight into sugar molecules.
- These sugar molecules, or carbohydrates, are energy-rich molecules that organisms use to carry out daily activities.
- Energy is transferred from one organism to another as they consume food and use energy from carbohydrates.
- Producers, such as plants, algae, and some bacteria, are the first to receive energy from the Sun.
- Consumers depend on producers for energy, as they consume them to obtain energy.
- There are two main types of consumers:
- Energy transfer in a food web is more complex than in a food chain because it involves multiple pathways and interactions between organisms.
- An energy pyramid represents trophic levels, showing how energy is transferred from one level to the next, with the Sun as the primary source of energy.
- The energy pyramid illustrates the decrease in energy availability as you move from one trophic level to the next.
Test your knowledge on how energy is transferred from the Sun to producers and consumers, the dependency of consumers on producers, types of consumers, complexity of energy transfer in food webs, and the representation of trophic levels in energy pyramids.
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