Biology

AP BIOLOGY NOTES ON ECOLOGY (CHAPTERS 50 ? 55) CHAPTER 50 ? INTRODUCTION TO ECOLOGY AND THE BIOSPHERE YOU MUST KNOW: The role of abiotic factors in the formation of biomes. Features of freshwater and marine biomes Characteristics of the major terrestrial biomes NOTES: WHAT DOES ECOLOGY STUDY? Ecology ? the Study of Interactions Between Organisms and the Environment Organisms all live in complex environment that include: Abiotic components ? The nonliving components of the environment such as water, light, temperature, nutrients, soil. Biotic components ? the living components of the environment such as other organisms as foods, other resources, or predators. These environmental factors limit the geographic range (distribution) and the abundance of species.

CHAPTER 8 An Introduction to Metabolism Metabolism is the totality of an organism?s chemical reactions Manage the materials and energy resources of a cell Catabolic pathways release energy by breaking down complex molecules into simpler compounds Eg. digestive enzymes break down food ? release energy Anabolic pathways consume energy to build complex molecules from simpler ones Eg. amino acids link to form muscle protein ENERGY = CAPACITY TO DO WORK Kinetic energy (KE): energy associated with motion Heat (thermal energy) is KE associated with random movement of atoms or molecules Potential energy (PE): stored energy as a result of its position or structure Chemical energy is PE available for release in a chemical reaction Energy can be converted from one form to another