Energy Flow from Environment to Cells

These flashcards cover key vocabulary and concepts related to the energy flow from the environment to cells, including the roles of autotrophs, heterotrophs, and various components of food chains and webs.

Autotrophs

Organisms that produce their own food using sunlight or inorganic compounds.

Photoautotrophs

Autotrophs that use solar energy to create food.

Chemoautotrophs

Autotrophs that use inorganic molecules or chemicals to produce food.

Heterotrophs

Organisms that depend on other organisms for food.

Primary Consumers

Organisms that eat producers; they are the first level of consumers in a food chain.

Secondary Consumers

Organisms that eat primary consumers.

Tertiary Consumers

Consumers that eat secondary consumers.

Quaternary Consumers

Organisms at the top of the food chain that eat tertiary consumers.

Food Chain

A linear sequence of organisms through which nutrients and energy pass as one organism eats another.

Food Web

A complex network of feeding relationships among organisms in an ecosystem.

Herbivores

Animals that primarily eat plants.

Carnivores

Animals that primarily eat other animals.

Omnivores

Animals that eat both plants and animals.

Photosynthesis

The process by which green plants use sunlight to synthesize foods with the help of chlorophyll.

Cellular Respiration

The process by which cells convert glucose and oxygen into energy, carbon dioxide, and water.

Energy Flow

The transfer of energy from one organism to another within an ecosystem.

Producers

Organisms that produce usable energy, primarily through photosynthesis.

Consumers

Organisms that obtain energy by feeding on other organisms.

Ecological Pyramid

A graphical representation of the energy flow in an ecosystem, often shown as a pyramid.

Trophic Levels

The hierarchical levels in an ecosystem, comprising producers and various levels of consumers.

Biomass

The total mass of living matter in a given area or volume, often used to measure energy flow.

Metabolism

The set of life-sustaining chemical reactions in organisms, including those that convert food into energy.