LS2.B: Cycles of Matter and Energy Transfer in Ecosystems
How do matter and energy move through an ecosystem?
- Introduction to LS2.B
- K-12 Progression and Grade Band End Points for LS2.B
- Performance Expectations Associated with LS2.B
- Additional Resources for LS2.B
Introduction to LS2.B
The cycling of matter and the flow of energy within ecosystems occur through interactions among different organisms and between organisms and the physical environment. All living systems need matter and energy. Matter fuels the energy-releasing chemical reactions that provide energy for life functions and provides the material for growth and repair of tissue. Energy from light is needed for plants because the chemical reaction that produces plant matter from air and water requires an energy input to occur. Animals acquire matter from food, that is, from plants or other animals. The chemical elements that make up the molecules of organisms pass through food webs and the environment and are combined and recombined in different ways. At each level in a food web, some matter provides energy for life functions, some is stored in newly made structures, and much is discarded to the surrounding environment. Only a small fraction of the matter consumed at one level is captured by the next level up. As matter cycles and energy flows through living systems and between living systems and the physical environment, matter and energy are conserved in each change.
The carbon cycle provides an example of matter cycling and energy flow in ecosystems. Photosynthesis, digestion of plant matter, respiration, and decomposition are important components of the carbon cycle, in which carbon is exchanged between the biosphere, atmosphere, oceans, and geosphere through chemical, physical, geological, and biological processes.
K-12 Progression and Grade Band End Points for LS2.B
from NGSS Appendix E: Disciplinary Core Idea Progressions
K-2 | 3-5 | 6-8 | 9-12 |
---|---|---|---|
N/A |
|
|
|
Grade Band Endpoints for LS2.B
By the end of grade 2. Organisms obtain the materials they need to grow and survive from the environment. Many of these materials come from organisms and are used again by other organisms.
By the end of grade 5. Matter cycles between the air and soil and among plants, animals, and microbes as these organisms live and die. Organisms obtain gases, water, and minerals from the environment and release waste matter (gas, liquid, or solid) back into the environment.
By the end of grade 8. Food webs are models that demonstrate how matter and energy is transferred between producers (generally plants and other organisms that engage in photosynthesis), consumers, and decomposers as the three groups interact—primarily for food—within an ecosystem. Transfers of matter into and out of the physical environment occur at every level—for example, when molecules from food react with oxygen captured from the environment, the carbon dioxide and water thus produced are transferred back to the environment, and ultimately so are waste products, such as fecal material. Decomposers recycle nutrients from dead plant or animal matter back to the soil in terrestrial environments or to the water in aquatic environments. The atoms that make up the organisms in an ecosystem are cycled repeatedly between the living and nonliving parts of the ecosystem.
By the end of grade 12. Photosynthesis and cellular respiration (including anaerobic processes) provide most of the energy for life processes. Plants or algae form the lowest level of the food web. At each link upward in a food web, only a small fraction of the matter consumed at the lower level is transferred upward, to produce growth and release energy in cellular respiration at the higher level. Given this inefficiency, there are generally fewer organisms at higher levels of a food web, and there is a limit to the number of organisms that an ecosystem can sustain.
The chemical elements that make up the molecules of organisms pass through food webs and into and out of the atmosphere and soil and are combined and recombined in different ways. At each link in an ecosystem, matter and energy are conserved; some matter reacts to release energy for life functions, some matter is stored in newly made structures, and much is discarded. Competition among species is ultimately competition for the matter and energy needed for life.
Photosynthesis and cellular respiration are important components of the carbon cycle, in which carbon is exchanged between the biosphere, atmosphere, oceans, and geosphere through chemical, physical, geological, and biological processes.