Benchmark
5E
The Living Environment: Flow of Matter and Energy
Grades 6-8, page 120
Food provides the molecules that serve as fuel and building material
for all organisms. Plants use the energy from light to make sugars from
carbon dioxide and water. This food can be used immediately or stored for
later use. Organisms that eat plants break down the plant structures to
produce the materials and energy they need to survive. Then they are consumed
by other organisms.
NSES Content Standard C
Life Science: Populations and ecosystems
Grades 5-8, page 158
For ecosystems, the major source of energy is sunlight. Energy entering
ecosystems as sunlight is transferred by producers into chemical energy
through photosynthesis. That energy then passes from organism to organism
in food webs.
NSES Content Standard B
Physical Science: Chemical reactions
Grades 9-12, page 179
Chemical reactions may release or consume energy. Some reactions such
as the burning of fossil fuels release large amounts of energy by losing
heat and by emitting light. Light can initiate many chemical reactions
such as photosynthesis and the evolution of urban smog.
NSES Content Standard C
Life Science: The cell
Grades 9-12, page 184
Most cell functions involve chemical reactions. Food molecules taken
into cells react to provide the chemical constituents needed to synthesize
other molecules. Both breakdown and synthesis are made possible by a large
set of protein catalysts, called enzymes. The breakdown of some of the
food molecules enables the cell to store energy in specific chemicals that
are used to carry out the many functions of the cell.
NSES Content Standard C
Life Science: The cell
Grades 9-12, page 184
Plant cells contain chloroplasts, the site of photosynthesis. Plants
and many microorganisms use solar energy to combine molecules of carbon
dioxide and water into complex, energy rich organic compounds and release
oxygen to the environment. This process of photosynthesis provides a vital
connection between the sun and the energy needs of living systems.
NSES Content Standard C
Life Science: Matter, energy, and organization in living systems
Grades 9-12, page 186
The energy for life primarily derives from the sun. Plants capture
energy by absorbing light and using it to form strong (covalent) chemical
bonds between the atoms of carbon-containing (organic) molecules. These
molecules can be used to assemble larger molecules with biological activity
(including proteins, DNA, sugars and fats). In addition, the energy stored
in bonds between the atoms (chemical energy) can be used as sources of
energy for life processes.
|