Autotrophs (plants) and Heterotrophs (animals) both lose heat to the environment.
Why? When organisms convert chemical energy (like when they eat food or use stored energy), some of it turns into heat through processes like cell respiration.
Think of it like a car: no matter how good the engine, there’s always some energy that gets lost as heat instead of turning those wheels!
Sunlight’s Role ☀️
Energy enters ecosystems as sunlight.
Plants act like nature’s solar panels by transforming this sunlight into chemical energy via photosynthesis.
Example: 🌻 Sunflowers soak up the sun and turn that energy into yummy sunflower seeds.
Food Chain Flow 🍔
This chemical energy doesn’t stay in one place! It moves along food chains and reaches decomposers.
Example: Lettuce 🥬 gets eaten by a rabbit 🐇, which then gets eaten by a fox 🦊. But whatever the fox doesn't finish gets decomposed by nature's cleanup crew!
Why Do Organisms Produce Heat? 🔥
Birds & Mammals: Sometimes, they produce extra heat to maintain a steady body temperature, just like how we shiver when cold!
Other Organisms: They generate heat as a by-product of their activity.
Cell Respiration: The big heater! Most of the heat in living organisms comes from this.
Unlock the Full Content!
Dive deeper and gain exclusive access to premium files of Biology HL. Subscribe now and get closer to that 45 🌟
Autotrophs (plants) and Heterotrophs (animals) both lose heat to the environment.
Why? When organisms convert chemical energy (like when they eat food or use stored energy), some of it turns into heat through processes like cell respiration.
Think of it like a car: no matter how good the engine, there’s always some energy that gets lost as heat instead of turning those wheels!
Sunlight’s Role ☀️
Energy enters ecosystems as sunlight.
Plants act like nature’s solar panels by transforming this sunlight into chemical energy via photosynthesis.
Example: 🌻 Sunflowers soak up the sun and turn that energy into yummy sunflower seeds.
Food Chain Flow 🍔
This chemical energy doesn’t stay in one place! It moves along food chains and reaches decomposers.
Example: Lettuce 🥬 gets eaten by a rabbit 🐇, which then gets eaten by a fox 🦊. But whatever the fox doesn't finish gets decomposed by nature's cleanup crew!
Why Do Organisms Produce Heat? 🔥
Birds & Mammals: Sometimes, they produce extra heat to maintain a steady body temperature, just like how we shiver when cold!
Other Organisms: They generate heat as a by-product of their activity.
Cell Respiration: The big heater! Most of the heat in living organisms comes from this.
Unlock the Full Content!
Dive deeper and gain exclusive access to premium files of Biology HL. Subscribe now and get closer to that 45 🌟