Autotrophs and Heterotrophs Recovery

A food chain shows how energy and matter flow from producers to consumers. Matter is recycled, but energy must keep flowing into the system. Where does this energy come from? Though this food chain "ends" with decomposers, do decomposers, in fact, digest matter from each level of the food chain? (see the "Flow of Energy" concept.)

Which of the following best defines autotrophs and heterotrophs?

• Autotrophs produce their own food through photosynthesis, while heterotrophs must consume other organisms for energy.

• Autotrophs consume other organisms for energy, while heterotrophs produce their own food through photosynthesis.

• Both autotrophs and heterotrophs produce their own food through photosynthesis.

• Both autotrophs and heterotrophs consume other organisms for energy.

What position do autotrophs fill in a food chain?

• Producers

• Primary consumers

• Secondary consumers

• Decomposers

Which of the following are examples of autotrophs and heterotrophs?

• Cows and Grass

• Lions and Zebras

• Trees and Mushrooms

• All of the above

Describe energy production in photoautotrophs.

• Through the process of chemosynthesis

• By converting chemical energy from nutrients

• Through the process of photosynthesis

• By absorbing energy from geothermal sources

What is a chemoautotroph?

• An organism that produces organic compounds from carbon dioxide as a carbon source, using either light or reactions of inorganic chemical compounds as a source of energy.

• An organism that relies on consuming other organisms for energy.

• A chemical substance used in autotrophic nutrition.

• A process where organisms produce organic compounds from chemical reactions.

Which statement best describes the relationship between autotrophs and heterotrophs?

• Autotrophs produce their own food through photosynthesis, while heterotrophs must consume other organisms for energy.

• Autotrophs and heterotrophs both produce their own food through photosynthesis.

• Heterotrophs produce their own food through chemosynthesis, while autotrophs consume other organisms for energy.

• There is no significant relationship between autotrophs and heterotrophs.

Name and describe the two types of food making processes found among autotrophs. Which is quantitatively more important to life on earth?

• Photosynthesis and chemosynthesis; photosynthesis is more important.

• Photosynthesis and respiration; respiration is more important.

• Chemosynthesis and fermentation; chemosynthesis is more important.

• Fermentation and respiration; fermentation is more important.

Describe the flow of energy through a typical food chain (describing 'what eats what'), including the original source of that energy and its ultimate form after use.

• Energy flows from producers to primary consumers, then to secondary consumers, and so on, with the sun as the original source and heat as the ultimate form after use.

• Energy flows directly from the sun to all living organisms equally, without any specific order or chain.

• Energy is recycled within a food chain, starting and ending with decomposers, without any loss.

• Energy originates from the earth's core and is distributed through the food chain, ending as mechanical energy in predators.