Energy Flow in Ecosystems

Photosynthesis and cellular Respiration

Learning Goals

-I can write the word equations for photosynthesis and

cellular respiration
-I understand how photosynthesis and cellular respiration
cycle energy and nutrients in an ecosystem
-I can explain how human activities disrupt
photosynthesis and cellular respiration
Energy Flow Through an Ecosystem
⚫ The sun is the ultimate source of energy for almost all ecosystems on
Earth.
⚫ Only a small fraction of sunlight reaches Earth and is absorbed by a green
pigment in plants called chlorophyll
⚫ Through a series of chemical reactions, plants use chlorophyll to convert
solar energy from the Sun into chemical energy which is stored in the
form of a sugar called glucose. This process is called photosynthesis.
 The Word Equation and Chemical equation for
Photosynthesis
a) Carbon Dioxide + Water + Sunlight → Sugar + Oxygen

b) CO2 + H2O + Sunlight → C6H12O6 + O2

 Oxygen is produced by
Sun photosynthesis and
released into the air
Sunlight drives
the chemical Glucose is made
reactions in the leaf

Carbon dioxide
gas from the
atmosphere

Water from Water from

the soil the soil

water + carbon dioxide gas + sunlight → oxygen gas + glucose (sugar)

 What process
do organisms
undergo in
Cellular
order to use the
Respiration
energy
produced by
plants
Cellular Respiration
⚫ Cellular respiration takes place in the mitochondria of both animals and
plants
⚫ Cellular Respiration is the process used to obtain usable energy from
glucose produced during photosynthesis.
⚫ The energy produced during cellular respiration is used by organisms for:
growth , movement, repair , reproduction, and basic life functions.
 The Word Equation and Chemical Equation for
Cellular Respiration
a) Glucose + Oxygen → Carbon Dioxide + Water + Energy(ATP)

b) C6H12O6 + O2 → CO2 + H2O + Energy (ATP)

What is the relationship between Photosynthesis
and Cellular respiration?
Its NOT the OPPOSITE!!!
But they are codependent. It makes a cycle. The
products of one are the reactants of the other.
Meaning that photosynthesis needs the stuff that
cellular respiration makes and vice versa.
Photosynthesis and cellular respiration together form a cycle (or flow) of
energy!
Plants produce
oxygen gas by
photosynthesis Plants make glucose by
photosynthesis
Animals use
oxygen gas for
cellular
respiration Plants absorb carbon dioxide
gas to use in photosynthesis

Animals breakdown Animals release carbon

glucose during cellular dioxide gas during cellular
respiration to get respiration
Flow of Energy Through the
Ecosystem
How does energy move through an ecosystem ?

Through the food chain!

The trophic level of an organism is the

position it holds in a food chain.
Trophic Levels
First trophic level
⚫ Producers are organisms that make their own food from sunlight.
Because they can make their own food, producers are called autotrophs.
They are the base of every food chain.

Second trophic level

⚫ Primary consumers are animals that eat producers. They are also called
herbivores (plant-eaters).
Trophic Levels
Third trophic level
⚫ Secondary consumers eat primary consumers.
⚫ They can be carnivores (meat-eaters) or omnivores (animals that eat
both animals and plants)
Fourth trophic level
⚫ Tertiary consumers eat secondary consumers.

Fifth trophic level

⚫ Quaternary consumers eat tertiary consumers.
A food web is made up of interconnected food chains.

Label the levels of the following food web.

Sample Trophic Level Diagram
 What happens to animal waste and when an
organism dies?
When any organism dies, it is often eaten by Detritivores or
Scavengers such as vultures, worms, insects and crabs. Its
body is then broken down by decomposers which are mostly
bacteria and fungi. These processes return nutrients to the
soil.
Activity: interpreting a
Food web
 deer wolf

grass
snake
mouse

rabbit
hawk

grasshopper
shrubs
frog
1. The producers in this food web are the: ___________________. They are also known as:
_______________________.

2. Name all of the organisms that eat the shrubs:

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________________.

They are also known as _______________ consumers, or _________-trophs.

3. What are the wolves 3 main food sources?

___________________________________________________________________.

The wolf is called a _______________ consumer, and is at the __________ trophic level of this food web.
Because it only eats meat, it is also known as a: ____________________________.

4. The frog’s main food source is the: ____________, and the organism who eats the frog is the:
____________.
Homework

Read pages 28-31,

Do Q 1-4 on page 29
and Q 1-3 on page 35