Tag: meaning of life

Flow of energy declines as it passes from lower to higher trophic level. This is explained by second law of thermodynamics. According to this law, the energy decreases from one trophic level to the next trophic level because energy is lost as metabolic heat during transfer of energy. When food energy passes from producers to herbivores to carnivores, only 10% of energy is transferred from one trophic level to another trophic level.

A food chain can be described as a series of energy dilutors, the energy that fails to reach the next level being dissipated as heat or movement. Most of the energy contained in the food of animal consumers is used by them during the processes of food collection, digestion, and other essential metabolic activity.

• An ecosystem is a community of living organisms in conjunction with the nonliving components of their environment, interacting as a system. 
• Energy flow is the amount of energy that moves through a food chain. 
• Energy that is not used in an ecosystem is eventually lost as heat. 
• Energy is passed on from one trophic level to the next trophic level and each time some energy is lost as heat into the environment. 
• This is due to the fact that each organism must use some energy that they received from other organisms in order to survive. 
• The top consumer of a food chain will be the organism that receives the least amount of energy.
  

The basic unit of ecological hierarchy is individual because a community starts building from an individual which grows onto form an entire ecosystem. 

The biosphere is made up of the parts of Earth where life exists, but there is uneven distribution of living organisms in the biosphere. The biosphere extends from the deepest root systems of trees, to the dark environment of ocean trenches, to lush rain forests and high mountains.
Scientists describe the Earth in terms of spheres - Lithosphere, Atmosphere, Hydrosphere. Since life exists on the ground, in the air, and in the water, biosphere overlaps all these spheres. Biosphere has existed for about 3.5 billion years.

A.An organism is an individual living thing. It can be as simple as a single-celled Amoeba or it can be as complex as a human being.
B.A tissue is a collection of structurally similar cells acting together to perform a specific function.
C.An organelle is a small constituent of a cell that has a specific function. For example, mitochondria (called as powerhouse of the cell) aids in generating energy for cell functions.
D.An organ is a group of tissues that performs a specific function. For example, stomach and kidney are organs. 

The biosphere is a global ecosystem composed of living organisms (biotic) and the nonliving (abiotic) factors from which they derive energy and nutrients. It is a relatively thin life-supporting stratum of Earth's surface, extending from a few kilometres into the atmosphere to the deep-sea vents of the ocean. 

All the biotic and the abiotic components together form biosphere or ecosystem. A biosphere is composed of all living organisms and nonliving things. The population is the number of individuals in a given area. Biome includes all flora and fauna. A trophic level is defined as the position of an individual in the food chain. So, the correct answer is option C.

The biosphere is the biological component of earth systems, which also include the lithosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere, etc. The biosphere includes all living organisms on earth, together with the dead organic matter produced by them.