ENERGY LOSS IN THE ECOSYSTEM (WEEK FOUR)

TOPIC: ENERGY LOSS IN THE ECOSYSTEM

Specific Objectives: By the end of the lesson, students should be able to:

1. Explain energy loss in an ecosystem

2. State the measures of energy loss through different means in an in the biosphere

3. Summarize the fate of solar energy utilized or lost by primary producers

4. State two laws of thermodynamics

5. Discuss the various applications of laws of thermodynamics to ecological phenomena

6. Mention the major groups of classification of plants

7. Give specific examples of plants classified under each group

 

Energy is lost in the ecosystem during energy flow. Energy flow is the movement of energy or a transfer of energy among organisms in an ecosystem, along the food chain. The flow of energy in an ecosystem is through one direction (unidirectional / non-cyclic) i.e. starting from the producer upwards to the consumers and energy always decreases along the chain. Light energy from the sun is absorbed by chlorophyll in green plants and used in photosynthesis to produce carbohydrates.

The chemical energy in the carbohydrates is passed down the food chain when the primary consumers feed on the plants/producers; the chemical energy is then passed along the food chain  to the secondary consumer and the to the tertiary consumer/decomposer.

 

VISUAL CLASS CLIP

PART 1

 

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