ENERGY ACQUISITION
SCIENCE 101
SPRING 1999
By the end of this section you need to be able to address the following:
  1. Explain why the sun is considered to be the ultimate source of energy for all life on Earth.
  2. Why would life on earth, as we know it, end if plants disappeared?
  3. From where do photosynthetic autotrophs acquire carbon?
  4. From where do heterotrophs acquire carbon?
  5. If plants can fix carbon (i.e., incorporate inorganic carbon into an organic molecule) in the dark, then why can't plants live in the dark for more than relatively short periods of time? Which would take up CO2  faster - young or old trees?  Why?  Based on your answer, what effect does cutting old trees have on the greenhouse effect?  Why?
  6. What environmental factors might limit or decrease the rate of photosynthesis?  Explain your reasoning.
  7. Why do plants require water to life?  How are the components of water used during photosynthesis?
  8. What importance advance in our understanding of the process of photosynthesis was made by Van Helmont?  Priestly?  Ingenhousz?  What key experiment was conducted by each of these researchers?
  9. What are the reactants and products of photosynthesis?  the light-dependent reactions?  the light independent reactions?