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What is Energy?
Energy cannot be seen, heard, or touched. It is the fuel for all living things meaning that organisms cannot live without it. Autotrophs (mainly plants) take energy from the sun and transform it into glucose. These glucose molecules (formula equation provided below) contain the energy that the plants captured in chemical bonds. This glucose is then stored within the autotrophs until needed. Once the glucose needs to be used, the plant begins the act of cellular respiration. Learn more about cellular respiration below.
Autotrophs
An autotroph is "any organism capable of self-nourishment by using inorganic materials as a source of nutrients" to sustain it's energy needs (Dictionary.com). This energy is usually taken from the sun through processes like photosynthesis and chemosynthesis.
A heterotroph is "an organism requiring [other] organic compounds" to sustain its energy needs (Dictionary.com). This means that heterotrophs get their energy from other living things.
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