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Chapter 3 Reading guide

Matter,Energy,andLife

CHAPTER3CASESTUDY:CHESAPEAKEBAY
LargestestuaryintheU.S.
Maincauseforlowgrade:excessivelevelsofnitrogenandandphosphorus
MainSourcesofnutrients:atmosphericdepositionfromtransportandindustry,wastewater,andagriculture

3.1ELEMENTSOFLIFE
Atoms,Elements,andCompounds
Organic(carbonbased)compoundsarethefoundationoforganisms
Matterconsistsofanythingthattakesupspace
Fourphases:
Solid
Liquid
Gas
Plasma
Conservationofmatter:theideathatmattercannotbecreatednordestroyeditisrecycledoverandover
again
Matterconsistsofelementssubstancesthatcannotbebrokendownintosimplerformsbyordinarychemical
reactions
Oxygen,carbon,hydrogen,andnitrogenareresponsiblefor96%ofmassinmostlivingorganisms
Atomsarethesmallestparticlesthatexhibitcharacteristicsofanelement
Eachelementhasanumberofprotonsperatomknownastheatomicnumber
Atomicmasssumofprotonsandneutrons
Numberofneutronscandifferbecausetherearedifferentformsofcertainelementsknownasisotopes
Wecandetectancientclimateconditionsbyexaminingtheabundanceof
18
Oinairbubblestrappedinicecores
ChemicalBondsHoldMoleculesTogether
Atomsjointogethertoformcompoundssubstancescomposedofdifferentkindsofatoms
Apairorgroupofatomsthatcanexistasasingleunitisknownasamolecule
Whenanatomgivesuponeormoreelectron,wecallitoxidizedandwhenitgainselectronsitisreduced
Watermakesup6070%oftheweightofmostlivingorganisms
Ionsreactandbondtoformcompounds
Chapter 3 Reading guide
Matter,Energy,andLife

Atomsgainorloseelectronsthenacquireacharge,eitherpositiveornegative
chargesatomsarecalledions
Substancesthatreadilygiveuphydrogenionsinwaterarecalledacids
Acidscauseenvironmentaldamagebecausetheatomsreactwithlivingtissuesandwithnonliving
substances
OrganicCompoundshaveacarbonbackbone
Carbonisanimportantelementbecausechainsandringsofcarbonatomsformtheskeletonsoforganic
compounds,thematerialofwhichbiomolecules(livingorganisms)aremade
Fourmajorcategoriesororganiccompounds:
lipids(fatsandoils)
storeenergyforcells,coreofcellmembranes
carbohydrates(sugar,starch,cellulose)
storeenergyandprovidestructuretothecell
proteins(enzymes)
chainsofaminoacids
nucleicacids(nucleotides)
carryinformationsbetweencells,tissues,andorgans,sourceofenergy
formlongchainsofRNAandDNA
DNAiscomposedofvaryingarrangementsof4differentnucleotides
Cellsarethefundamentalunitsoflife
Alllivingorganismsarecomposedofcellsminutecompartmentswithinwhichtheprocessesoflifearecarried
out
Proteinscalledenzymesarecarryoutallthechemicalreactionsthatcreatevariousstructures
enzymesprovideenergyandmaterialstocarryoutcallfunctions
Multitudeofenzymaticreactionsiscalledmetabolism

3.2ENERGY
Energyistheabilitytodoworksuchasmovingmatteroveradistanceororcausingaheattransferbetween
twoobjectsatdifferenttemperatures
Energyvariesinintensity
Kineticenergyenergycontainedinmovingobjects
Chapter 3 Reading guide
Matter,Energy,andLife

Potentialenergystoreslatentenergy,butavailableforuse
Chemicalenergypotentialenergythatcanbereleasedtodousefulwork
Heatenergythatcanbetransferredbetweenobjectsduetotheirdifferenceintemperature
Energythatisdiffused,dispersed,andlowintemperatureisconsideredlowqualityenergybecauseitisdifficult
togatheranduseproductively
Thermodynamicsregulatesenergytransfers
Firstlawofthermodynamicsstatesthatenergyisconserved
neithercreatednordestroyedundernormalconditions.Energymaybetransformed
Secondlawofthermodynamicsstatesthatwitheachsuccessiveenergytransferortransformationinasystem,
lessenergyisavailabletodowork
entropydisorderincreasesinnaturalsystems

3.3ENERGYFORLIFE
Extremophilesgainenergywithoutsunlight
Chemosynthesisprocessinwhichbacteriausechemicalbondsbetweeninorganicelementstoprovideenergy
forsynthesisororganicmolecules
Mostextremophilesarearchaea,singlecelledorganismsthatarethoughttobethemostprimitiveofallliving
organisms
Nearlyallorganismsonearthdependonsolarradiationwhichiscapturedbygreenplantsduring
photosynthesisaprocesswhenradiantenergyisconvertedintohighqualitychemicalenergyinthebondsthat
holdtogetherorganicmolecules
Photosynthesiscapturesenergyrespirationreleasesthatenergy
Theprocessofreleasingchemicalenergyiscalledcellularrespirationinvolvessplittingcarbonandhydrogen
atomsfromsugarmoleculesandrecombiningthemwithcarbondioxideandwater
Thesourceofcarbonutilizedinphotosynthesisbygreenplantsistheair
Cellularrespirationbreaksdownsimplesugarmoleculesandproducescarbondioxide,reverseof
photosynthesis

3.4FROMSPECIESTOECOSYSTEMS

Chapter 3 Reading guide


Matter,Energy,andLife

Ecosystemsincludelivingandnonlivingparts
Ecologystudyofrelationshipsbetweenorganismsandtheirenvironment
Speciesreferstoallorganismsofthesamekindthataregeneticallysimilarenoughtobreedinnatureand
produceoffspring
Populationconsistsofallthemembersofaspecieslivinginthesameareaatagiventime
Allthepopulationslivingandinteractinginaparticularareamakeupabiologicalcommunity
Anecologicalsystem,orecosystem,iscomposedofabiologicalcommunityanditsphysicalenvironment
Foodwebslinkspeciesofdifferenttrophiclevels
Organismsthatphotosynthesize,mainlygreenplantsandalgae,areknownasproducers
Majorpropertyofecosystemisitsproductivityamountofbiomass(biologicalmaterial)producedinagiven
area
Trophiclevelanorganismsfeedingstatusinanecosystem
Herbivoreplanteater
Carnivoreflesheater
Omnivoreplantsandanimals
Scavengerscleanupdeadcarcasses
Detritivores(antsandbeetles)consumelitter,debris,anddung
Eachtrophiclevelhasabout1/10thasmuchenergyasthetrophiclevelinthepyramid

3.5MATERIALCYCLES
Thehydrologiccycleredistributeswater
Hydrologicalcyclepathofwaterthroughenvironment
Mostexchangeoccurswithevaporationfromoceansandprecipitationbacktooceans
Carboncyclesthroughearth,air,water,andlife
Carbonservesdualpurposesfororganisms:
structuralcomponentoforganicmolecules
theenergyholdingchemicalbondsitformsrepresentenergystorage
Coalandoilarethecompressed,chemicallyalteredremainsofplantsandmicroorganismsthatlivedmillionsof
yearsago
Enormousamountsofcarbonarelockedupascalciumcarbonateusedtobuildshellsandskeletonsofmarine
organisms
Chapter 3 Reading guide
Matter,Energy,andLife

Carbonsinksarestoragedeposits
Nitrogenoccursinmanyforms
NitrogenfixingbacteriahaveproteinsthatcanbreakN
2
bonds
NisabletobecombinedwithhydrogentoformNH
3
orNH
4

Bacteriainsoilorwaterareinvolvedinthemanycomplexpartsofthenitrogencycle

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