Term | Definition |
ATP | adenosine triphosphate, an organic molecule that acts as the main energy source for cell processes; composed of a nitrogenous base, a sugar, and three phosphate groups |
Autotroph | an organism that produces its own nutrients from inorganic substances or from the environment instead of consuming other organisms |
Cellular respiration | the process by which cells produce energy from carbohydrates; atmospheric oxygen combines with glucose to form water and carbon dioxide |
Chlorophyll | a green pigment that is present in most plant cells, that gives plants their characteristic green color, and that reacts with sunlight, carbon dioxide, and water to form carbohydrates |
Consumer | an organism that eats other organisms or organic matter instead of producing its own nutrients or obtaining nutrients from inorganic sources |
Heterotroph | an organism that obtains organic food molecules by eating other organisms or their byproducts and that cannot synthesize organic compounds from inorganic materials |
Photosynthesis | the process by which plants, algae, and some bacteria use sunlight, carbon dioxide, and water to produce carbohydrates and oxygen |
Producer | an organism that can make organic molecules from inorganic molecules; a photosynthetic or chemosynthetic autotroph that serves as the basic food source in an ecosystem |
Glucose | A six-carbon monosaccharide that serves as a building block for many polysaccharides and whose oxidation in cellular respiration is a major source of ATP for cells. |
Product | An ending material in a chemical reaction. |
Reactant | A starting material in a chemical reaction |
Law of Conservation of Mass and/or Energy | Mass cannot be created or destroyed. Energy cannot be created or destroyed |