Energy flows from the sun
to the plants (PRIMARY PROCUCERS OF FOOD)
to the plant eaters (HERBIVORES)
to the meat eaters. (CARNIVORES)
The DECOMPOSERS (worms, bacteria,
micro-organisms) break down all the
dead stuff and return the parts to the
earth.
Green plants (and certain types of bacteria) and are called "primary producers" because they produce energy that can be used by the rest of the living organisms on earth.
They capture energy from the sun use it to make sugares (sucrose and glucose) and other compounds that other life forms can eat and "burn" for energy.
In each one of sugar molecules a plant produces, a little bit of the sun's energy is stored in a form that we can call chemical energy. The chemical energy is stored until it is broken free from the sugar molecule and used for energy.
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