Energy Flow Unit: Ecosystems, Photosynthesis, and Cellular Respiration

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering Concept 3 (Energy Flow through Ecosystems), Concept 4 (Photosynthesis), and Concept 5 (Cellular Respiration) from the Energy Flow Unit 2020.

Autotroph

An organism that acquires energy by producing its own food through processes such as photosynthesis or chemosynthesis.

Heterotroph

An organism that acquires energy by consuming other organisms.

Producer

An autotrophic organism that produces usable energy and forms the base trophic level in an ecosystem.

Consumer

A heterotrophic organism that relies on consuming other organisms to obtain usable energy in the form of ATP.

Detritivore

A decomposer in a food chain or food web that breaks down dead organic material.

Carnivore

A type of consumer that obtains energy by consuming other animals.

Omnivore

A type of consumer that acquires energy by consuming both plants and animals.

Herbivore

A type of consumer that acquires energy by feeding exclusively on producers or plants.

Trophic level

The specific hierarchical position or feeding level an organism occupies in a food chain, food web, or ecological pyramid.

Photosynthesis

The biochemical process occurring in chloroplasts that converts solar energy and reactants into chemical products, producing usable energy.

Chemosynthesis

An autotrophic process of energy acquisition that uses chemical energy instead of light energy, contrasted with photosynthesis.

Chlorophyll

The light-absorbing photosynthetic pigment in chloroplasts that explains why plants appear green.

Grana

Structures composed of thylakoid stacks within the chloroplast where stages of photosynthesis occur.

Stroma

The fluid-filled interior space of the chloroplast where the light-independent reaction (Calvin Cycle) takes place.

Photosystems

Light-collecting complexes located within chloroplast membranes that participate in the light-dependent reactions.

Electron carriers

Molecules that transport high-energy electrons between stages of photosynthesis and cellular respiration.

Stomata

Microscopic pores on plant leaves involved in gas exchange and alternate energy pathways in plants like cacti and corn.

Photorespiration

A metabolic pathway related to the alternate pathways adapted by plants like cacti and corn to access and conserve energy.

Light-dependent reaction (ETC)

The initial stage of photosynthesis occurring in the chloroplast that uses reactants to produce oxygen and moves high-energy products to the Calvin Cycle.

Light-independent reaction (Calvin Cycle)

The second stage of photosynthesis occurring in the stroma of the chloroplast that utilizes products from the first stage to synthesize sugars.

Cellular respiration

The metabolic process essential for consumers to convert biochemical reactants into usable energy in the form of ATP.

Aerobic

A form of cellular respiration that requires oxygen and yields a high total output of ATP.

Anaerobic

A form of respiration that takes place in the absence of oxygen and produces less ATP than aerobic respiration.

Glycolysis

The initial stage of cellular respiration that takes place in the cell cytoplasm, breaking down reactants to provide materials for subsequent stages.

Krebs Cycle

The stage of cellular respiration occurring in the mitochondrial matrix that processes reactants and supplies products to the Electron Transport Chain.

Electron Transport Chain

The final stage of aerobic cellular respiration occurring in the inner membrane of the mitochondria that releases final products and generates substantial ATP.

Inner membrane

The mitochondrial membrane where the Electron Transport Chain reactions of cellular respiration occur.

Matrix

The internal fluid space of the mitochondria where the Krebs Cycle takes place.

Fermentation

An anaerobic pathway occurring without oxygen, categorized into two main types used by specific organisms to generate ATP.