C4.2 Transfers of energy and matter

Distinguish between an open and closed system

Open - chemical substances (matter) and energy can exit/enter

Closed - energy can exit/enter but chem. substances cannot

Explain how organisms obtain energy in habitats with no sunlight?

• flowing water brings dead organic matter (carbon compounds)

• archeabacteria use chemosynthesis to produce carbon compounds from inorganic substances.

Food chains vs food webs

food chains - one pathway through trophic levels

food web - summary of all feeding relationships in community

Endothermic vs exothermic

endothermic - builds bonds (stores energy)

exothermic - breaks bonds (releases energy)

Outline the role of iron-oxidizing bacteria as an example of a chemotroph.

• removes electrons from Fe2+, makes it Fe3+

• this is oxidation

• the oxidation releases energy in the form of electrons

give an example of assimilation in an organism

a heterotroph ingesting food, breaking them down into simpler carbon compounds, and making them into other molecules in the body

ways that ATP is used in cells

• cellular movement

• molecule synthesis

• active transport

describe the three main forms of energy loss.

incomplete consumption - some things cannot be consumed, left for decomposers

incomplete digestion - some things cannot be digested, are instead excreted as waste, left for decomposers

cell respiration - waste products of cellular respiration (co2) contains energy which will not be converted to ATP. Some energy is released as heat.

Give an example of production in context of an ecosystem

Plants creating glucose.

• accumulation of carbon compounds in biomass

Compare gross and net primary production

gross = total biomass of carbon compounds made

net = total biomass of carbon compounds available to consumers

Define pool and flux

pool - reserve of an element

flux - transfer of an element from one pool to another

Outline the three main reasons for carbon flux.

• photosynthesis (absorption of CO2 converted to glucose)

• respiration (release of CO2 into atmosphere from respiring cells.

• feeding (gaining cc from other orgs)

distinguish between an ecosystem acting as a carbon sink vs a carbon source.

sink = net uptake by photo. more photosynth than resp

source = net release by cellular respiration. more resp than photosynth

Outline how each of the four main carbon sinks were formed

• natural gas and oil - decomposed organic matter in earths crust. High temp caused chem changes.

• Coal - plant and wood matter buried under sediment in swamps

• Peat - incomplete decomp. of dead plant matter due to acidic, anaerobic conditions

• Biomass - derived from photosynth and passed to animals.