sci_mod12

Question 1

Organisms that produce their own food

Answer 1

Producers

Question 2

Organisms that eat living producers and/or other consumers for food

Answer 2

Consumers

Question 3

A consumer that eats producers exclusively

Answer 3

Herbivore

Question 4

A consumer that eats only other consumers

Answer 4

Carnivore

Question 5

A consumer that eats both plants and other consumers

Answer 5

Omnivore

Question 6

The minimum amount of energy required by the body every day

Answer 6

Basal metabolic rate

Question 7

From where does the energy in living organisms ultimately originate?

Answer 7

The energy in living organisms originates in the sun.

Question 8

Label each of the following as a consumer, producer, or decomposer: a. mushroom

b. evergreen bush
c. worm
d. algae

Answer 8

a. A mushroom is in kingdom Fungi and is therefore a decomposer.
b. An evergreen bush is a plant and is therefore a producer.
c. A worm eats other things (it is certainly not a plant!), thus it is a consumer.
d. In Module #10, you learned that algae are the most important source of photosynthesis on the planet. Thus, they are producers.

Question 9

What is the name of the chemical process that converts food into energy?

Answer 9

Food is converted to energy via the process of combustion.

Question 10

What does combustion require?

Answer 10

Combustion requires oxygen, as well as something to burn, like wood or monosaccharides.

Question 11

What does combustion produce?

Answer 11

Combustion produces energy, carbon dioxide, and water.

Question 12

What are the three macronutrients?

Answer 12

The three macronutrients are carbohydrates, fats, and proteins.

Question 13

What is the main thing that macronutrients provide?

Answer 13

The main thing that the macronutrients provide is energy.

Question 14

Do we need to eat more macronutrients or micronutrients?

Answer 14

We need to eat a lot more macronutrients.

Question 15

Which is larger: a monosaccharide, a disaccharide, or a polysaccharide?

Answer 15

Disaccharides are made of 2 monosaccharides linked together, while polysaccharides are made of several monosaccharides linked together. Thus, a polysaccharide is the largest.

Question 16

Is glucose a monosaccharide, a disaccharide, or a polysaccharide?

Answer 16

Glucose is a monosaccharide. Most carbohydrates contain a lot of glucose.

Question 17

What are the two basic kinds of fat? How can you distinguish them?

Answer 17

Fats come in two types: saturated fats and unsaturated fats. You can distinguish them by looking at them while they are at room temperature. Saturated fats are solid at room temperature, while unsaturated fats are liquid.

Question 18

What are proteins made of?

Answer 18

Proteins are made of long strings of amino acids.

Question 19

In what order does the body prefer to burn the macronutrients?

Answer 19

The body prefers to burn carbohydrates, then fats, and then proteins (or amino acids).

Question 20

When proteins are eaten, they are broken down into their amino acids. If your cells are short on amino acids, what happens to the amino acids that come from the proteins you eat? What happens if your cells have plenty of amino acids?

Answer 20

If your cells do not have enough amino acids, the amino acids from the proteins you eat are shipped to your cells so that your cells can make the proteins they need. If your cells have plenty of amino acids, the amino acids from the proteins you eat are converted into carbohydrates or fats.

Question 21

Why is it important to eat either animal protein or a wide variety of plant protein?

Answer 21

Your cells must make proteins by linking together amino acids. There are several amino acids which your body cannot make. Thus, you must get them from food. Without those amino acids, your cells will not be able to make the proteins they need to make. Animal proteins have these amino acids in plentiful supply. Plant proteins rarely have all of them. Thus, people who eat only plants must get a wide variety of plant proteins to make sure they get those amino acids.

Question 22

Which type of animal has a higher BMR: an endothermic animal or an ectothermic animal?

Answer 22

Endothermic animals have higher BMRs. The BMR tracks the minimum amount of energy needed to survive. Both endothermic and ectothermic animals have involuntary muscles that need energy, but only endothermic animals expend energy to keep their internal temperatures high.

Question 23

Which type of animal is less active on a cold day: an endothermic animal or an ectothermic animal?

Answer 23

Ectothermic animals are slower on cold days. Since their body temperatures are not held constant, the colder days reduce the speed at which the chemical reactions can occur in their bodies. This makes them sluggish.

Question 24

What do calories measure?

Answer 24

Calories are a measure of energy. They can be used to measure how much energy is in food, or how much energy is expended by a living organism.

Question 25

Consider two men. While they sleep, they burn about the same number of calories. However, the first man needs significantly more calories than the second in order to keep his weight constant. Which man is less active during the day?

Answer 25

The second man is less active during the day. Since they both burn about the same number of calories while sleeping, they both have essentially the same BMR. Remember, BMR is the minimum amount of energy you need. The amount of energy you burn when you sleep is pretty minimal. If the first needs more food, he must be burning more energy during the day, when both men are active.

Question 26

If Jean needs to eat more calories than Wanda in order to keep her weight constant, can you immediately conclude that Jean is more active than Wanda?

Answer 26

No, you cannot. It might be that Jean’s BMR is simply much higher than Wanda’s. They can each be very active, but their BMR is a major factor in determining how much food they need.

Question 27

Which has a higher BMR: a horse or a pig?

Answer 27

In general, the smaller the mammal the higher the BMR, because the more energy the animal has to spend keeping its internal temperature high. Thus, the pig has the higher BMR.

Question 28

Where does the combustion of food take place?

Answer 28

Combustion of food takes place in the cell.

Question 29

Why is the mitochondrion called the “powerhouse” of the cell?

Answer 29

The mitochondrion is called the “powerhouse” of the cell because the majority of energy in the combustion process is released in step 3, which takes place in the mitochondrion.