Strand 8.3: LIFE SYSTEMS STORE AND TRANSFER MATTER AND ENERGY
Living things use energy from their environment to rearrange matter to sustain life. Photosynthetic organisms are able to transfer light energy to chemical energy. Consumers can break down complex food molecules to utilize the stored energy and use the particles to form new, life-sustaining molecules. Ecosystems are examples of how energy can flow while matter cycles through the living and nonliving components of systems.Standard 8.3.3
Ask questions to obtain, evaluate, and communicate information about how changes to an ecosystem affect the stability of cycling matter and the flow of energy among living and nonliving parts of an ecosystem. Emphasize describing the cycling of matter and flow of energy through the carbon cycle. (LS2.B, LS2.C)