1.

2 The Biosphere and Energy Notes

Key Terms :

Photosynthesis : a process that changes solar energy into chemical energy

Trophic Level : a category of organisms that is defined by how the organisms gain their energy

Biomass : the toal mass of living organisms in a defined group or area

Trophic Efficiency : a measure the amount of energy or biomass transferred from trophic level to
the next higher trophic level

Bioaccumulation : a process in which materials, especially toxins, are ingested by an organism at a

Notes

● All activities require a source of energy

● To reach a destination by car, you need to have enough gas in the tank

● To migrate successfully, hummingbirds need to burn the fat that is stored in their tissues

● The fuel is different—wood for the campfire, gasoline for the car, and nectar stored as fat
for the hummingbirds

● In a different sense, however, the three fuels are the same. They all come from the same
source—solar energy that has been converted to and stored as chemical energy

● Solar energy is energy from the Sun. This energy is given off by nuclear reactions in the Sun

● Some organisms in the biosphere trap solar energy and use it to make food, which is then
used by all organisms to fuel activity and growth
Photosynthesis and the Sun’s Energy

● An enormous amount of energy reaches Earth from the Sun

● At the same time, there is a never-ending loss of energy from Earth

● The energy is lost as heat when it spreads back out from Earth’s surface, beyond Earth’s
atmosphere

● Earth’s atmosphere is able to trap some of the heat, warming the atmosphere and making
Earth habitable

● Matter is used over and over as it moves through Earth’s four spheres

● The nutrients may change form or take millions of years to complete their cycle, but no
matter is lost as they move through Earth’s four spheres

Chlorophyll and Photosynthesis

● The conversion ofsolar energy to chemical energy, in the form of food, is important to life
for two reasons

● First, the Sun will continue to supply Earth with energy for billions of years. Second, many
organisms on Earth, including plants, algae, and some bacteria, contain chlorophyll, which
allows the biosphere to harvest some ofthis reliable solar energy

● Chlorophyll is the central player in photosynthesis, a process that is crucial to life on Earth

● The terms “chlorophyll” and “photosynthesis” are both built from ancient Greek words.
Chloros means green, and phyllon means leaf

● Chlorophyll is a pigment that gives leaves their green colour. Photo means light, and
synthesis means putting together

● Photosynthesis refers to putting something together using light.

● Photosynthesis puts together carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen to make life’s universal energy
supply— sugar

● Photosynthesis produces one specific type ofsugar, called glucose

● Sugars, including glucose, are in a class of molecules called carbohydrates

● Carbohydrates are made from carbon, oxygen, and hydrogen

● To make glucose, plants need ready supplies of these three elements

● They get the hydrogen from water, mostly through their roots. They get the carbon and
oxygen from carbon dioxide gas, through tiny pores in their leaves called stomata (singular,
stoma or stomate).

Sources of Oxygen

● Photosynthesis is vital for the biosphere. Photosynthesis produces glucose, an energy supply
that plants, and the organisms that eat them, require for all oflife’s essential activities

● Photosynthesis continuously adds oxygen to the atmosphere, which many organisms

● Photosynthesis continuously removes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere

● Wherever there are chlorophyll-containing organisms, oxygen is generated

● Wherever there are chlorophyll-containing organisms, oxygen is generated

● Tropical forests are responsible for about 30 percent of Earth’s photosynthesis

● The second ecosystem is the worlds oceans, which are also responsible for about 30 percent
of Earth’s photosynthesis
 ● In aquatic ecosystems, photosynthesis is mainly performed by algae and
chlorophyll-containing microscopic organisms, known as phytoplankton

Trophic Levels

● Matter and energy are transferred between trophic levels within the biosphere

● A trophic level is a category of organisms that is defined by how the organisms gain energy

● Primary producers are organisms that can make their own food, such as plants. Consumers
are organisms that cannot make their own food. Consumers must eat other organisms to
get the matter and energy they need to survive

● The primary producers are at the first trophic level

● Secondary consumers eat primary consumers to obtain energy

● Tertiary consumers feed on secondary consumers to obtain energy

● Consumers that only eat other animals, such as the barn swallow and the hawk, are called
carnivores

● Consumers that eat both plants and other animals are called omnivores

● Both energy and matter, including nutrients, move through the trophic levels ofthis food
chain

● Ultimately, decomposers move the nutrients in the decaying bodies and wastes of producers
and consumers back to the abiotic parts ofthe ecosystem as they take in the nutrients they
need to survive
Trophic Effciency

● Biomass is the mass of living cells and tissues that has been assembled by organisms using
solar energy

● Leaves, stems, wood, roots, and flower nectar are all packed with chemical energy that has
been converted from solar energy

● Animals indirectly rely on solar energy too, by eating plants or other animals that eat plants

● Trophic efficiency is a measure of how much ofthe energy in organisms at one trophic level
is transferred to the next higher trophic level

● There are several reasons why biomass decreases from one trophic level to the next.
Herbivores may not eat all the parts of a plant

● Energy is lost as heat from the bodies of organisms because of the inefficiency of energy
transfer among trophic levels, there are usually fewer carnivores than herbivores, and fewer
herbivores than plants

Water Pollution and Bioaccumulaion

● Bioaccumulation works to the advantage ofthe species

● Iffewer individuals ofthe species are eaten because they are poisonous, more individuals will
survive to reproduce

● In contrast, the bioaccumulation oftoxins from human-made pollution can be devastating

● Biomagnification is a process that is related to bioaccumulation. Biomagnification is the

DDT

● DDT (dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane) is an agricultural insecticide that was once used in

● At each trophic level in the food chain, the concentration of DDT in the tissues ofthe
organisms increased. At high concentrations, the DDT affected reproduction in fish-eating
birds

● Following the ban on DDT in the 1970s, populations of DDT-vulnerable birds slowly
increased in numbers in Canada

PCBs

● PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls) were previously used by industries

● PCBs entered water, air, and soil while they were being used and disposed of

● Peregrine falcons were affected by both DDT and PCBs. Exposure to PCBs also affected
reproduction in these birds

● After PCBs were banned, Peregrine Falcons were brought back from the brink of extinction
by having captive birds produce young, which were then raised by humans in boxes on
nesting cliffs or tall downtown buildings
Questions

1. Explain the process of photosynthesis

A : The process of Photosynthesis is changining solar energy to chemical energy. It also puts
together carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen to make life’s universal energy supply— sugar.

2. What three chemical elements are the building blocks of carbohydrates?

A : The three chemical are carbon, hydrogen and oxygen.

3. Should photosynthesis win the “Most Important Chemical Reaction on Earth” award?
Explain your answer.

A : Yes Photosynthesis should win the “Most Important Chemical Reaction on Earth” award
because it pretty cool when a process turms solar energy into chemical energy even though
its bad for the enviroment.

4. What is the difference between a producer and a consumer ?

A : The difference between a producer and a cosumer is …

Producer : organisms that can make their own food, such as plants

Consumer : Consumers are organisms that cannot make their own food

5. Calculate the units of energy at each trophic level in the food chain below, assuming that the
trophic efficiency at each level is 10 percent

A : 1000 - 100 - 10 - 1 = 889 units or rounded to 1000 units

6. Trophic efficiency is usually only 10 percent. What happens to the energy that does not
move up to the next trophic level?

A : If the energy doesn’t move up to the next trophic level, ten units will reach the weasel
which then leaves only 1 unit of energy to reach the great horned owl