{"id":232,"date":"2019-06-24T12:43:52","date_gmt":"2019-06-24T16:43:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/053humanbiology\/chapter\/4-9-energy-needs-of-living-things\/"},"modified":"2022-01-19T15:39:44","modified_gmt":"2022-01-19T20:39:44","slug":"4-9-energy-needs-of-living-things","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/053humanbiology\/chapter\/4-9-energy-needs-of-living-things\/","title":{"raw":"4.9\u00a0Energy Needs of Living Things","rendered":"4.9\u00a0Energy Needs of Living Things"},"content":{"raw":"Created by:\u00a0CK-12\/Adapted by Christine Miller\n

Mush!<\/h1>\n[caption id=\"attachment_231\" align=\"alignright\" width=\"414\"]\"Image Figure 4.9.1 All living things require energy to maintain homeostasis. These sled dogs use energy as they pull the sled.<\/em>[\/caption]\n\nThese beautiful sled dogs are a metabolic marvel. While running up to 160 kilometres (about 99 miles) a day, they will each consume and burn about 12 thousand calories \u2014 about 240 calories per pound per day, which is the equivalent of about 24 Big Macs! A human endurance athlete, in contrast, typically burns only about 100 calories per pound (0.45 kg) each day. Scientists are intrigued by the amazing metabolism of sled dogs, although they still haven't determined how they use up so much energy. But one thing is certain: all living things need energy for everything they do, whether it's running a race or blinking an eye. In fact, every cell of your body constantly needs energy just to carry out basic life processes. You probably know that you get energy from the food you eat, but where does food come from? How does it come to contain energy? And how do your cells get the energy from food?\n
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What Is Energy?<\/h1>\n<\/div>\nIn the scientific world,\u00a0[pb_glossary id=\"1342\"]energy[\/pb_glossary]<\/strong>\u00a0is defined as the ability to do work. You can often see energy at work in living things\u00a0\u2014\u00a0a bird flies through the air, a firefly glows in the dark, a dog wags its tail. These are obvious ways that living things use energy, but living things constantly use energy in less obvious ways, as well.\n
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Why Living Things Need Energy<\/h1>\n<\/div>\nInside every [pb_glossary id=\"1298\"]cell[\/pb_glossary] of all living things, energy is needed to carry out life processes. Energy is required to break down and build up molecules, and to transport many molecules across\u00a0plasma\u00a0membranes. All of life\u2019s work needs energy. A lot of energy is also simply lost to\u00a0the environment\u00a0as\u00a0heat. The story of life is a story of\u00a0energy flow\u00a0\u2014 its capture, its change of form, its use for work, and its loss as heat. Energy (unlike matter) cannot be recycled, so organisms require a constant input of energy. Life runs on chemical energy. Where do living organisms get this chemical energy?\n
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How Organisms Get Energy<\/h1>\n<\/div>\nThe chemical energy that organisms need comes from food.\u00a0[pb_glossary id=\"1192\"]Food[\/pb_glossary]\u00a0<\/strong>consists of organic molecules that store energy in their\u00a0chemical bonds. In terms of obtaining food for energy, there are two types of organisms:\u00a0autotrophs and heterotrophs.\n

Autotrophs<\/h2>\n[pb_glossary id=\"1800\"]Autotrophs[\/pb_glossary]<\/strong>\u00a0are organisms that\u00a0capture [pb_glossary id=\"1342\"]energy[\/pb_glossary] from nonliving sources and transfer that energy into the living part of the ecosystem. They are also able to make their own food. Most autotrophs use the energy in sunlight to make food in the process of\u00a0[pb_glossary id=\"1306\"]photosynthesis[\/pb_glossary]<\/strong>. Only certain organisms \u2014 such as plants, algae, and some bacteria \u2014 can make food through photosynthesis. Some photosynthetic organisms are shown in Figure 4.9.2.\n\n\n\n\n
\"Image<\/td>\n\"Image<\/td>\n\"\"<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\nFigure 4.9.2 Photosynthetic autotrophs, which make food using the energy in sunlight, include plants (left), algae (middle), and<\/span>\u00a0certain bacteria (right).<\/span><\/em><\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n[pb_glossary id=\"1800\"]Autotrophs[\/pb_glossary]\u00a0are also called\u00a0[pb_glossary id=\"2190\"]producers[\/pb_glossary]<\/strong>. They produce food not only for themselves, but for all other living things (known as consumers), as well. This is why autotrophs form the basis of food chains, such as the food chain shown In Figure 4.9.3.\n\n[caption id=\"attachment_231\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"1500\"]\"Diagram Figure 4.9.3 Food chains: Aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems.<\/em>[\/caption]\n\n
\n\nA 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?\n\n<\/div>\nWatch the video \"The simple story of photosynthesis and food - Amanda Ooten\" from TED-Ed to learn more about photosynthesis:\n\nhttps:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?time_continue=39&v=eo5XndJaz-Y\n

The simple story of photosynthesis and food - Amanda Ooten, TED-Ed, 2013.<\/p>\n\n

Heterotrophs<\/h2>\n[pb_glossary id=\"1988\"]Heterotrophs[\/pb_glossary]<\/strong>\u00a0are living things that cannot make their own food. Instead, they get their food by consuming other organisms, which is why they are also called\u00a0[pb_glossary id=\"1249\"]consumers[\/pb_glossary]<\/strong>. They may consume [pb_glossary id=\"1800\"]autotrophs[\/pb_glossary] or other [pb_glossary id=\"1988\"]heterotrophs[\/pb_glossary]. Heterotrophs include all animals and fungi, as well as many single-celled organisms. In Figure 4.9.3, all of the organisms are consumers except for the grasses and phytoplankton. What do you think would happen to consumers if all producers were to vanish from Earth?\n
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Energy Molecules: Glucose and ATP<\/h1>\n<\/div>\nOrganisms mainly use two types of molecules for chemical energy: glucose and ATP. Both molecules are used as fuels throughout the living world. Both molecules are also key players in the process of\u00a0[pb_glossary id=\"1306\"]photosynthesis[\/pb_glossary].\n

Glucose<\/h2>\n[pb_glossary id=\"1191\"]Glucose[\/pb_glossary]<\/strong>\u00a0is a [pb_glossary id=\"1360\"]simple\u00a0carbohydrate[\/pb_glossary]\u00a0with the\u00a0chemical formula\u00a0C6<\/sub>H12<\/sub>O6<\/sub>. It stores chemical [pb_glossary id=\"1342\"]energy[\/pb_glossary] in a concentrated, stable form. In your body, glucose is the form of energy that is carried in your blood and taken up by each of your trillions of [pb_glossary id=\"1298\"]cells[\/pb_glossary]. Glucose is the end product of [pb_glossary id=\"1306\"]photosynthesis[\/pb_glossary], and it is the nearly universal food for life.\u00a0 In Figure 4.9.4, you can see how photosynthesis stores energy from the sun in the glucose molecule and then how cellular respiration breaks the bonds in glucose to retrieve the energy.\n\n[caption id=\"attachment_231\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"623\"]\"Image Figure 4.9.4 Energy transfer in photosynthesis and cellular respiration.<\/em>[\/caption]\n

ATP<\/h2>\nIf you remember from section 3.7 Nucleic Acids<\/a>,<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[pb_glossary id=\"1240\"]ATP[\/pb_glossary]<\/strong> (adenosine triphosphate) is the energy-carrying molecule that cells use to power most cellular processes (nerve impulse conduction, protein synthesis and active transport are good examples of cell processes that rely on ATP as their energy source).\u00a0 ATP is made during the first half of photosynthesis and then used for energy during the second half of photosynthesis, when glucose is made. ATP releases energy when it gives up one of its three phosphate groups (Pi) and changes to ADP (adenosine diphosphate, which has two phosphate groups), as shown in Figure 4.9.5. Thus, the breakdown of ATP into ADP + Pi is a catabolic reaction that releases energy (exothermic). ATP is made from the combination of ADP and Pi, an anabolic reaction that takes in energy (endothermic).\n\n[caption id=\"attachment_231\" align=\"alignright\" width=\"247\"]\"Image Figure 4.9.5 ATP (adenosine TRI phosphate) can be converted to ADP (adensosine DI phosphate) to release the energy stored in the chemical bonds between the second and third phosphate group.[\/caption]\n

Why Organisms Need Both Glucose and ATP<\/h2>\nWhy do living things need glucose if ATP is the molecule that cells use for energy? Why don\u2019t autotrophs just make ATP and be done with it? The answer is in the \u201cpackaging.\u201d A molecule of glucose contains more chemical energy in a smaller \u201cpackage\u201d than a molecule of ATP. Glucose is also more stable than ATP. Therefore, glucose is better for storing and transporting energy. Glucose, however, is too powerful for cells to use. ATP, on the other hand, contains just the right amount of energy to power life processes within cells. For these reasons, both glucose and ATP are needed by living things.\n
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How Energy Flows Through Living Things<\/h1>\n<\/div>\nThe flow of energy through living organisms begins with photosynthesis. This process stores energy from sunlight in the\u00a0chemical bonds\u00a0of glucose. By breaking the chemical bonds in glucose, cells release the stored energy and make the ATP they need. The process in which glucose is broken down and ATP is made is called\u00a0[pb_glossary id=\"1328\"]cellular respiration[\/pb_glossary]<\/strong>.\n\nPhotosynthesis and cellular respiration are like two sides of the same coin. This is apparent in Figure 4.9.6. The products of one process are the reactants of the other. Together, the two processes store and release energy in living organisms. The two processes also work together to recycle oxygen in the Earth\u2019s atmosphere.\n\n[caption id=\"attachment_231\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"565\"]\"Image Figure 4.9.6 This diagram compares and contrasts photosynthesis and cellular respiration. It also shows how the two processes are related.<\/em>[\/caption]\n\n
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4.9 Summary<\/span><\/h1>\n<\/header>\n
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