Chapter 6, Problem 1SQ

A cat eats a bird, which ate a caterpillar that chewed on a weed. Which of these organisms are autotrophs? Which ones are heterotrophs?

Summary Introduction

To identify:

The autotrophic organism from the scenario in which a cat eat a bird, which ate a caterpillar that chewed on a weed.

Introduction:

Different organisms take nutrition in different ways. The organisms are divided into autotrophs and heterotrophs on the basis of nutrition. Autotrophs make their own food and heterotrophs depend on other organisms to take up the nutrition.

Explanation of Solution

Autotrophs take up raw material from the surrounding and use it to synthesize their food on their own. In autotrophs, photosynthesis is a metabolic pathway that uses carbon dioxide and water from surrounding and converts it into sugars and oxygen molecules.

In the given scenario, the weed is an autotroph because it can synthesize its own food by photosynthesis.

Summary Introduction

To determine:

The heterotrophic organism from the scenario in which a cat eat a bird, which ate a caterpillar that chewed on a weed.

Introduction:

Different organisms take nutrition in different ways. The organisms are divided into autotrophs and heterotrophs on the basis of nutrition. Autotrophs make their own food and heterotrophs depend on other organisms to take up the nutrition.

Explanation of Solution

Heterotrophs are animals that are dependent on other organisms to take organic carbon. They utilize organic carbon to convert it into energy. Photosynthesis is not carried out by these animals because they derive nutrition of others.

In the given scenario, the cat is dependent on a bird for nutrition and that bird takes nutrition by eating a caterpillar. Caterpillar chewed on a weed so it takes its nutrition from an autotroph. All these animals are dependent on other organisms to fulfill the need for nutrition.

Hence, in this scenario, the cat, the bird, and the caterpillar are the example of heterotrophs.