Energy Flow

Sunlight- main energy source for life on Earth.
-Some organisms rely on energy stored in inorganic chemical compounds (IE: mineral H₂O that flows underground).
Autotrophs- use energy from environment to fuel assembly of simple inorganic compounds into complex organic molecules. Include plants and bacteria, produce living tissue and make their own food, ergo they are also called producers.

Photosynthesis- using light energy to power chemical reactions that convert carbon dioxide and H₂O into O.
Chemosynthesis- when organisms use chemical energy, rather than sunlight, to produce carbohydrates (bacteria).
Heterophs- organisms that rely on other organisms for their food and energy supply (animals).
Consumers- another common name for heterophs.
-Herbivores- eat plants.
-Carnivores- eat animals.
-Omnivores (us)- eat plants and animals.
-Detritivores- eat dead matter.
Decomposers- break down organic matter (fungi and bacteria)

-Energy flows through ecosystem in one direction sun/inorganic compounds- autotrophs- heterotrophs.

Food chain- how energy is passed along through a series of steps, in which organisms transfer energy by eating and being eaten.
Food web- links all food chains in an ecosystem together.
Trophic level- each step in a food chain or web 1^st- producer, 2^nd, 3^rd etc...-consumers.
Ecological pyramid- a diagram that shows the relative amounts of energy or matter contained within a trophic level food chain/web.

-10% of the energy available within one trophic level is transferred to the organisms at the next trophic level.
Biomass- total amount of living tissue within a given trophic level (grams of organic matter per unit area)

-Energy pyramid
-Biomass pyramid
-Pyramid of Numbers