The Living Earth!
Alex Z
Let’s take this guide one step at a time by reviewing what we already know!
- Plants, or autotrophs are the ONLY organisms that can create their own food in the
process of photosynthesis (CO2 + 6H2O → C6H12O6 + 6O2).
- Photosynthesis’s outputs, or products are glucose (C6H12O6) and oxygen (6O2), which
can then be used as reactants in cellular respiration
FLASH VOCAB:
Reactants: The elements that go INTO a chemical reaction.
Products: The elements that COME OUT/ARE RELEASED of a chemical reaction.
Macromolecule: A large molecule composed of smaller molecules and monomers.
- Living organisms like non-photosynthetic bacteria or cows are then able to eat these
plants and obtain energy from them by breaking the bonds in their macromolecules in
cellular respiration!
ONTO THE LIGHT!
Let’s take a look at the ecosystem that exists in our classroom, our “class pet!”
What does it consist of?
- Shrimp - PRIMARY CONSUMER
- Algae - PRODUCER/AUTOTROPH
- Bacteria - DECOMPOSER
Now, let’s take a look at the food chain of these organisms! (Shown on the next page.)
1
, - That was a very simple representation of a food chain. As you can see, all three
organisms interact A LOT with each other.
- However, we can see that one thing affects all of them, and that is the
energy from the sun that the algae (autotroph) takes in!
- If there was no plant or sunlight entering into the ecosphere, the whole system
would die out since it all depends on it, making this ecosphere interdependent.
MORE VOCAB!
Interdependence: The dependance of two or more things on each other.
- DID YOU KNOW? The shrimp is actually not needed in the ecosphere for it to
thrive, it does not really play any important roles in the food chain.
Now that we know all of this, let’s connect these ideas to what would happen if
the food chain was in the dark.
- Since there is no sunlight able to be taken into the algae, it cannot do the
process of photosynthesis (which requires heat and light energy from the sun).
This results in the environment accumulating CO2 and H2O. At some point though,
the organisms which rely on cellular respiration to survive won’t have any glucose to
eat or O2 to breathe, since those are the two MAIN PRODUCTS of photosynthesis.
- In conclusion, all the organisms would not be able to survive because of no glucose,
which they all need to perform cellular respiration.
- Also they only have a few other macromolecules in their body that they can break down
(AKA, they take some of the stuff from the “other pools,” other pools being the proteins
and fats.) Once these pools run out, AND ONLY WHEN THEY RUN OUT they will break
2
Alex Z
Let’s take this guide one step at a time by reviewing what we already know!
- Plants, or autotrophs are the ONLY organisms that can create their own food in the
process of photosynthesis (CO2 + 6H2O → C6H12O6 + 6O2).
- Photosynthesis’s outputs, or products are glucose (C6H12O6) and oxygen (6O2), which
can then be used as reactants in cellular respiration
FLASH VOCAB:
Reactants: The elements that go INTO a chemical reaction.
Products: The elements that COME OUT/ARE RELEASED of a chemical reaction.
Macromolecule: A large molecule composed of smaller molecules and monomers.
- Living organisms like non-photosynthetic bacteria or cows are then able to eat these
plants and obtain energy from them by breaking the bonds in their macromolecules in
cellular respiration!
ONTO THE LIGHT!
Let’s take a look at the ecosystem that exists in our classroom, our “class pet!”
What does it consist of?
- Shrimp - PRIMARY CONSUMER
- Algae - PRODUCER/AUTOTROPH
- Bacteria - DECOMPOSER
Now, let’s take a look at the food chain of these organisms! (Shown on the next page.)
1
, - That was a very simple representation of a food chain. As you can see, all three
organisms interact A LOT with each other.
- However, we can see that one thing affects all of them, and that is the
energy from the sun that the algae (autotroph) takes in!
- If there was no plant or sunlight entering into the ecosphere, the whole system
would die out since it all depends on it, making this ecosphere interdependent.
MORE VOCAB!
Interdependence: The dependance of two or more things on each other.
- DID YOU KNOW? The shrimp is actually not needed in the ecosphere for it to
thrive, it does not really play any important roles in the food chain.
Now that we know all of this, let’s connect these ideas to what would happen if
the food chain was in the dark.
- Since there is no sunlight able to be taken into the algae, it cannot do the
process of photosynthesis (which requires heat and light energy from the sun).
This results in the environment accumulating CO2 and H2O. At some point though,
the organisms which rely on cellular respiration to survive won’t have any glucose to
eat or O2 to breathe, since those are the two MAIN PRODUCTS of photosynthesis.
- In conclusion, all the organisms would not be able to survive because of no glucose,
which they all need to perform cellular respiration.
- Also they only have a few other macromolecules in their body that they can break down
(AKA, they take some of the stuff from the “other pools,” other pools being the proteins
and fats.) Once these pools run out, AND ONLY WHEN THEY RUN OUT they will break
2
