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Living things grow and develop.

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Living things can either make or get energy. There are two types, Hetotrophic & Autotrophic.

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Food Chain

How do you obtain energy? Well, you probably know that you obtain your energy from the food you eat, but what about plants? How do they obtain energy? Unlike us, plants can use the sunlight to make their own food! And this is one of the main things that separates plants from animals.

The way an organism obtains energy places it into one of two categories, autotrophs or heterotrophs, or those that can make their own food vs. those that must eat food.

Both of these groups are important in our ecosystems. Without autotrophs, heterotrophs wouldn't have any food sources. Let's take a look at a food chain:

A food chain shows how energy flows from producers (autotrophs) to consumers (heterotrophs) to decomposers, who break down the energy so that it can be reused.

Autotrophs

At the base of the food chain are autotrophs. Autotrophs are considered producers. Most autotrophs are green plants or algae, but we can throw a few cyanobacteria into this category as well. Many autotrophs use the process of photosynthesis to convert energy from the sunlight into carbohydrates, so they are called phototrophs. Pretty cool, huh? They don't have to eat food; all they need is water and sunlight! No worrying about their food running away or having enough money to buy it from the grocery store - the only thing they need to worry about is a cloudy day!

Because autotrophs are the producers, they are the ones that provide a food source for the consumers. As stated, they begin the food chain. And remember those carbohydrates? Well, that's what the consumers 'consume' to obtain their energy. You see, the producers produce the food, and the consumers consume the food. See how easy that is?

Now, all you have to remember is that producers who use photosynthesis are called phototrophs, which are a type of autotroph. Maybe you can think about it this way. Autotrophs produce their food automatically. And phototroph and photosynthesis both have the word 'photo' in them - because if I could make my own food using sunlight, it would probably be a pretty photo-worthy opportunity.

Heterotrophs

Okay, well, now that we have established what an autotroph is and what their role in the food chain is, let's take a look at the heterotrophs. Heterotrophs get their energy by consuming food from external sources. In most cases, this food is produced by an autotroph. Now, you may be thinking, 'But I get some of my food out of a box of cereal, or from a granola bar,' but the source of the grains in the cereal and the nuts in the granola bar come from green plants that once grew in some farmer's field. Even the cocoa beans that make up chocolate and the coffee beans that we roast for our coffee come from autotrophic plants.

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autotrophs and heterotrophs - video & lesson transcript | study.com

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Autotrophs and Heterotrophs - Video & Lesson Transcript | Study.com

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How do you obtain energy? Well, you probably know that you obtain your energy from the food you eat, but what about plants? How do they obtain energy? Unlike us, plants can use the sunlight to make their own food! And this is one of the main things that separates plants from animals.

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Everything must have cells to be living. These cells can be unicellular or mulrticellular.

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Living things are homeostasis or they adapt.

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There are two types of reproduction. Sexual & Asexual.

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There are two types of DNA cells. Prokaryote & Eurakayote.