1. Where does all life on Earth get energy from? SBI4U RHSA – Ellen Murray

2. http://www.nrri.umn.edu/worms/forest/ecosystems.html Energy flows to and from the Earth. Nutrients cycle within Earth.

3.  All energy for life on Earth comes from the Sun.  The First Law of Thermodynamics states that “Energy cannot be created or destroyed, it can only change form.”  Only about 1% of the sunshine that reaches Earth is captured by plants. This heat and light energy is converted to chemical energy, in the form of glucose, by photosynthesis.  In which ecosystem does most photosynthesis occur?

4. Most photosynthesis occurs in marine ecosystems! It’s the phytoplankton and marine plants. http://thomsenlab.com/home/

5.  The organisms that capture sunshine energy are called producers or autotrophs, which means “self food”.  Producers are almost always the first trophic level of any food chain.  The word troph derives from the Greek word for food. http://ckdp.ca/2009/10/29/two-creeks-in http://ckdp.ca/2009/10/29/two-creeks-in -wheatley-holding-tree-planting-event-to- reduce-carbon/

6. http://schoolworkhelper.net/2011/01/energy-movement-in- ecosystems-trophic-energy-pyramid/ 1 st trophic level 2 nd trophic level 3 rd trophic level 4 th trophic level

7.  All non-photosynthetic organisms are heterotrophs and get energy by consuming other organisms.  All herbivores, omnivores, carnivores and decomposers are heterotrophs.  Herbivores, also called primary consumers, must always be at the second trophic level, as they eat plants.  Secondary consumers could be carnivores or omnivores and are at the third trophic level.

8. http://www.docbrown.info/ks3biology/8DmcHP6.htm On the food web circle an autotroph and draw a square around a secondary trophic level organism. Review as many lecture terms as you can using this food web diagram!

9. http://www.docbrown.info/ks3biology/8DmcHP6.htm A food chain is one path through a food web. The arrows must always start with the producers at the first trophic level and go “up” the chain. Trace one food chain on this food web.

10.  Decomposers are often hard to place in a food chain as they consume detritus from multiple trophic levels. Identify decomposer trophic levels as one more than the organism being consumed.  Fungi, worms, and many species of bacteria recycle large organic molecules into small organic molecules that can be reabsorbed.

11. http://www.sciencelearn.org.nz/Contexts/Future-Fuels/Sci-Media/Images/Simple-ecosystem-diagram What is the most important difference between energy and nutrients in this diagram?

12.  The flow of energy is considered to be an open system as there is always more energy arriving at Earth and some heat energy always leaving Earth  This is the opposite of the nutrient cycles like nitrogen which are part of a closed system.