Concept explainers
Nearly all life gets its energy from _______ which is captured by the process of_______. In contras ____________________are constantly recycled during processes called ________.
To review:
The given blank space in the statement, “nearly all life gets its energy from_________, which is captured by the process of______. In contrast, ________ are constantly recycled during processes called________.”
Introduction:
The entire life on the Earth is driven by energy and nutrients, which moves in a linear and circular form, respectively. The distance of the Earth from the sun and the presence of essential nutrients made life possible on Earth.
Explanation of Solution
The ultimate source of all energy on the Earth is the sun. The green plants are capable enough to capture sunlight directly during photosynthesis. The food produced during this process is stored in the plants and later utilized by the consumers. Thus, the consumers utilize solar energy indirectly.
The food consists of various nutrients like carbon, nitrogen, phosphorous, and sulfur, which are captured by the plants from the soil and locked in complex organic forms. These organic molecules are utilized by the consumers’ body and returned back to the soil after their death and decay.
Thus, these nutrients are once again available to the plants. Apart from the soil and living organism, these nutrients often escape to other spheres like atmosphere and ocean. Through different processes, they are returned back to the soil. For example, carbon and nitrogen also have a short residence time in the atmosphere and are returned back through photosynthesis and nitrogen-fixing bacteria to the soil. Thus, these form the nutrient cycles or biogeochemical cycles.
Nearly all life gets its energy from sunlight, which is captured by the process of photosynthesis. In contrast, nutrients are constantly recycled during processes called nutrient cycles.
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Chapter 28 Solutions
Biology: Life on Earth
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