22 January 2008

Life Science

Living Organisms
Two things needed by all living organisms
1. water
2. energy- the ability to do work (cellular work)
a. potential
b. kinetic
Most living things on Earth depend on photosynthesis taking place. Most plants
have chlorophyll. When sunlight hits the electrons in a chlorophyll molecule the
electrons jump to a higher energy level. When they return to their original spot,
work is done (ATP)

Energy from the sun plantsconsumersdecomposers

↓
decomposers

Energy comes into the cycle and is not recycled back to the starting point.

First Law of Thermodynamics- Entergy and matter can not be created nor
destroyed, but may be changed in form.

Second Law of Thermodynamics- The amount of (organized) free energy is

declining.
a. The amount of energy from the sun is still around, just disorganized.
b. This law determines how many of certain organisms we see. Another
way to restate this law is that the universe is heading toward entropy
(disorganization).

Energy Pyramid

Metabolism is the
major cost of energy.
Autotrophs- produce their own food
a. photosynthesis- use light to create food
b. chemosynthesis- use chemicals to produce food
Heterotrophs- can not produce their own food
a. consumer- eat their food
b. decomposer- absorb their food

Activity: Each group was challenged with the following scenario- You are put in
charge of making sure a group of people that is struggling with food production
has enough to eat. You are going to be given 1,000 pounds of food a month and
the supplies you need to care for one of these three animals- catfish, chicken, or
cattle. Which is the most sensible animal to choose?
Solution: The catfish is the most sensible because they produce more meat per
pound of feed than the others because they are the only ectothermic animal of the
three. The other two animals spend a tremendous amount of their energy
regulating body temperature.

Ectothermic creatures use less energy than endothermic creatures. Of all the
approximately known species, only about 15,300 of them are warm-blooded.

Metabolism consists of all bodily functions. The greatest user of energy is

aerobic respiration. It also creates the most energy (ATP).
food consumed  digestion breaks food into simple sugars mitochondria needs
smaller molecules, so the long chains of sugar molecules are broken down
through Krebs’s Cycle Hydrogen ions are a waste product of this cycle  an
oxygen molecule must bond with them so they can be removed as water

We breathe to remove the hydrogen ions that are a byproduct of metabolism!

How old are the atoms in your body? They have been around since a supernova
exploded 10-12 billion years ago. You are made of the stuff of stars!