Chapter 9.

3
Energy For Life
Trapping and Using Energy
a. The chemical energy stored in food molecules is changed inside of cells into
forms necessary to perform all the activities of life
i. These involve chemical reactions
ii. All activities of an organism involve chemical reactions in some way
b. Metabolism- the total of all chemical reactions in an organism
c. Chemical reactions of metabolism need enzymes
d. The enzyme causes a change, but the enzyme is not changed
i. Enzymes can cause things to come apart and also cause molecules to join
ii. Without the right enzyme a chemical reaction in a cell cannot take place
iii. Each chemical reaction requires a specific enzyme
Photosynthesis

a. Living things are divided into 2 groups based on how they

get their food:
i. Producers- organisms that make their own food
ii. Consumers- organisms that cannot make their own food
b. Plants and other producers can convert light energy into
another kind of energy → chemical energy
c. Photosynthesis- producers use light energy and make
sugars, which can be used as food
Producing Carbohydrates
a. Producers who use photosynthesis are usually green because they
contain a green pigment called chlorophyll
b. Chlorophyll and other pigments are used to capture light energy in
photosynthesis
i. In plant cells pigments are found in chloroplasts
c. The captured light energy powers chemical reactions → produce
sugars and oxygen from raw materials, carbon dioxide and water
i. Raw materials come from air and soil
d. Some captured energy is stored in the bonds that hold the sugar
molecules together
Storing Carbohydrates
a. Plants make more sugar than they need during photosynthesis
b. Excess sugar is changed and stored as starches or used to make
other carbohydrates
c. Plants use carbohydrates as food for growth, maintenance, and
reproduction
d. Photosynthesis is important to all consumers because they take in
food by eating producers or other consumers who have eaten
producers.
e. No matter what you eat, photosynthesis was involved in its
production.
Cellular Respiration

a. Cellular respiration- chemical reactions occur

that break down food molecules into simpler
substances and release their stored energy
i. Enzymes are needed for the chemical
reactions of cellular respiration
Breaking Down Carbohydrates
a. Carbohydrates are the food molecules most easily broken down by cells
b. Cellular respiration of carbohydrates begins in the cytoplasm of the cell
i. Broken down into glucose molecules
ii. Glucose molecules broken down further into 2 simpler molecules
iii. As glucose molecules are broken down, energy is released
iv. The 2 simpler molecules are broken down again
1. Occurs in the mitochondria of the cells of plants, animals, fungi, and
many other organisms
2. Process uses oxygen and releases more energy
3. Produces carbon dioxide and water as wastes
c. Cellular respiration occurs in the cells of many living things
Fermentation
a. When cells do not have enough oxygen for cellular respiration, they use a process
called fermentation to release some of the energy stored in glucose molecules
b. Fermentation begins in the cytoplasm
i. As glucose molecules are broken down, energy is released
ii. The simple molecules from the breakdown of glucose do not move into the
mitochondria
iii. Instead more chemical reactions occur in the cytoplasm
iv. These reactions release some energy and produce some wastes
v. Depending on the type of cell, the wastes can be lactic acid or alcohol and carbon
dioxide
c. Your muscle cells can use fermentation to change the simple molecules into lactic acid
while releasing energy
d. The presence of lactic acid is why your muscles feel stiff and sore after exercising.
Fermentation (con’t)
e. Some microscopic organisms carry out fermentation and make lactic acid
i. Used to produce cheese and yogurt
1. Break down a sugar in milk and release energy
2. The lactic acid produced causes the milk to become more solid
and gives these foods some of their flavor
f. Yeast cells use fermentation and break down sugar in bread dough
ii. Produce alcohol and carbon dioxide as wastes
iii. The carbon dioxide waste is a gas that makes bread
dough rise before it is baked
iv. The alcohol is lost as the bread bakes
Related Processes
a. Some producers use photosynthesis to make food
b. All living things use respiration or fermentation to release energy stored in
food.
c. Two processes are almost opposite each other
i. Photosynthesis produces sugars and oxygen
ii. Respiration uses these products
iii. The carbon dioxide and water produced during respiration are used
during photosynthesis
d. Most life would not be possible without these important chemical
reactions
Summary
a. Metabolism is the total of all chemical reactions in an organism
b. During photosynthesis, light energy is transformed into chemical energy
c. Chlorophyll and other pigments capture light energy
d. Consumers take in energy by eating producers and other consumers
e. Living cells use oxygen and break down glucose that releases energy.
This is called cellular respiration
f. Fermentation releases energy without oxygen
g. Without photosynthesis and cellular respiration and fermentation, most
life would not be possible.
Exit Ticket - answer 3
a. Explain the difference between producers and consumers.
i. ?
b. Infer how the energy used by many living things on Earth can be
traced back to sunlight.
i. ?
c. Compare and contrast cellular respiration and fermentation.
i. ?
d. How can some indoor plants improve the quality of air in the room?
i. ?