Photosynthesis
What is photosynthesis?
A process where plants take in light energy, water, and carbon dioxide and turn it into glucose(food) & oxygen (byproduct).
What is cellular respiration?
A series of chemical reactions that convert energy in food into energy called ATP that is used by animals.
How do producers obtain energy?
Producers get energy from the sun.
How does water move through an environment?
Rain, sleet, and snow fall to the earth from the atmosphere. Water turns to water vapor and rises back to the atmosphere. Water cools as it rises and turns back to rain, sleet, and snow.
Where does carbon in the environment come from and how did it get there?
All organisms contain carbon from food (animals) or the atmosphere (plants). When organisms die, this carbon goes to the soil and into the atmosphere (CO2). Carbon is also in fossil fuels.
What part of a plant does photosynthesis occur in?
The leaves
What part of a cell does cellular respiration happen in?
The cytoplasm and the mitochondria.
How do consumers get their energy?
By consuming producers and/or other consumers.
What are all the ways water vapor enters the atmosphere?
Evaporation (from heat), respiration and perspiration (organisms), and transpiration (plants).
What is the primary source of oxygen in Earthʻs atmosphere and was it always there?
Photosynthesis is the primary source and oxygen probably was not part of the early atmosphere until bacteria and plants came along.
Which part of the leaf is responsible for capturing light energy from the sun AND converting carbon dioxide from the air into sugars?
Chloroplasts
In the 1st step of cellular respiration, what is the process where glucose(sugars) are broken down into smaller molecules?
Glycolysis
In a food chain and/or web, what do the arrows show?
Arrows show the transfer of energy (how energy flows).
What happens to water vapor as it rises into the atmosphere and what is this process called?
The water vapor cools and condensates into liquid. Condensation.
What is nitrogen fixation and why is it important for all organisms to stay alive?
Nitrogen fixation is the process that changes atmospheric nitrogen into usable nitrogen compounds. It is important because nitrogen is an essential part of proteins which all organisms need to stay alive and it needs to be in the usable form.
During Step 1 of photosynthesis, how does oxygen get released into the atmosphere?
Water molecules are split apart.
What waste products are given off in step 2 of cellular respiration?
Water and Carbon Dioxide
What is the difference between a food chain and a food web? What are the similarities?
A food chain only shows part of an ecosystem (1 feeding relationship), but a food web shows more than 1 food chain that are connected in an ecosystem. Both show how energy moves through feeding relationships.
What is precipitation?
Precipitation is when water falls from clouds to the Earthʻs surface as rain, snow, sleet, or hail.
What are the differences between the flow of energy and the cycles of matter? What are the similarities?
The flow of energy has a beginning and an end (the sun and the decomposers) where the cycles of matter are continuous. The flow of energy is about feeding relationships where the cycles of matter are about the relationships between elements and their forms (solid, liquid, gas). Both are similar as they involve the same elements (oxygen, carbon, water) and same organisms (plants, animals,etc.).
In step 2 of photosynthesis, how does carbon dioxide get converted into sugars that the plant uses for food?
Carbon dioxide from the air combines with hydrogen atoms from the split water molecules in step 1
How are photosynthesis & cellular respiration related (what uses each, why important, how they complement each other...)?
Most plants use photosynthesis to make their food. They take in carbon dioxide and give out oxygen, which helps the atmosphere be clean for animals to breathe. Most organisms perform cellular respiration to get energy by taking in glucose and oxygen and give off carbon dioxide and water, which the plants need to grow and reproduce.
Describe how energy moves and is gained/lost in an Energy Pyramid.
The steps of an energy pyramid are called trophic levels. Level 1 are producers and get 100% of the energy available, Level 2 are herbivores and get 10% of the energy available by eating plants, Level 3 are omnivores that only get 1% of the energy available.
How does matter move through an environment? Be specific!!
Matter moves in cycles: in the atmosphere as a gas (oxygen, water, vapor, carbon dioxiode, etc.) which is transferred to the Earth in different ways (rain, lightening, photosynthesis in plants). Some matter is released back into the atmosphere from Earthʻs processes (evaporation), but also from plants and organisms (transpiration, respiration, decomposition...).
As matter moves continuously through ecosystems, what happens to it? Does it change form? Is it created and/or destroyed? What is this idea called?
Matter changes forms, but is NOT created or destroyed. This idea is called the Law of Conservation of Mass.