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| Question | Answer |
| Food chains show the feeding relationships between living things. Pyramids of biomass reveal the mass of living material at each stage in a chain. The amount of material and energy decreases from one stage to the next. Carbon moves from the atmosphere into living species and back into the atmosphere in a cycle that is crucial to life on Earth. | Decay is an essential life process that digests food or waste matter and recycles materials. Materials from living things decay because they are digested (broken down) by microorganisms. These microorganisms cause decay by releasing enzymes that break down compounds to be absorbed by their cells. Bacteria and fungi are the main groups of decomposer. Factors affecting decay The factors that affect the rate of decay include: moisture temperature amount of available oxygen. |
| Some of the substances released during decay are needed by plants for healthy growth. In a stable community of living things, processes that return substances to the environment (such as decay) are balanced by the processes that remove and use substances. In this way, the substances are continuously recycled. | The carbon cycle The carbon cycle shows how carbon moves from the atmosphere, through various animals and plants, then back into the atmosphere again. All cells contain carbon compounds such as proteins, fats and carbohydrates. Carbon is passed from the atmosphere, as carbon dioxide, to living things. It is passed from one organism to the next in complex molecules, and returned to the atmosphere as carbon dioxide again. |
| Removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere Green plants and algae remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere by photosynthesis. The carbon becomes part of complex molecules such as proteins, fats and carbohydrates in the plants and algae. | rganisms return carbon dioxide to the atmosphere by respiration. It is not just animals that respire. Plants, algae and microorganisms do too. Carbon dioxide is also released into the atmosphere when fossil fuels such as coal and oil, and wood, are burned. |
| rganisms return carbon dioxide to the atmosphere by respiration. It is not just animals that respire. Plants, algae and microorganisms do too. Carbon dioxide is also released into the atmosphere when fossil fuels such as coal and oil, and wood, are burned. |
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