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In a 2018 study, carbon was found to compose approximately 550 billion tons of all life on Earth. [ 16][ 17] It is the second most abundant element in the human body by mass (about 18.5%) after oxygen. [ 18] The most important characteristics of carbon as a basis for the chemistry of cellular life are that each carbon atom is capable of forming ...
Carbon compounds are defined as chemical substances containing carbon. [ 1][ 2] More compounds of carbon exist than any other chemical element except for hydrogen. Organic carbon compounds are far more numerous than inorganic carbon compounds. In general bonds of carbon with other elements are covalent bonds.
A carbon source is a carbon -containing molecule that is used by an organism to synthesise biomass. Such sources may be organic or inorganic. Heterotrophs must use organic molecules as a source of both carbon and energy. In contrast, autotrophs may use inorganic materials as a source for both, such as inorganic chemical energy (chemolithotrophs ...
Correlation between the carbon cycle and formation of organic compounds. In plants, carbon dioxide formed by carbon fixation can join with water in photosynthesis (green) to form organic compounds, which can be used and further converted by both plants and animals. Carbon can form very long chains of interconnecting carbon–carbon bonds, a ...
Photosynthesis is the main means by which plants, algae and many bacteria produce organic compounds and oxygen from carbon dioxide and water ( green arrow ). An autotroph is an organism that can convert abiotic sources of energy into energy stored in organic compounds, which can be used by other organisms. Autotrophs produce complex organic ...
A heterotroph ( / ˈhɛtərəˌtroʊf, - ˌtrɒf /; [ 1][ 2] from Ancient Greek ἕτερος (héteros) 'other' and τροφή (trophḗ) 'nutrition') is an organism that cannot produce its own food, instead taking nutrition from other sources of organic carbon, mainly plant or animal matter. In the food chain, heterotrophs are primary ...
The food chain is an energy source diagram. The food chain begins with a producer, which is eaten by a primary consumer. The primary consumer may be eaten by a secondary consumer, which in turn may be consumed by a tertiary consumer. The tertiary consumers may sometimes become prey to the top predators known as the quaternary consumers.
Biomass can refer to species biomass, which is the mass of one or more species, or to community biomass, which is the mass of all species in the community. It can include microorganisms, plants or animals. [ 3] The mass can be expressed as the average mass per unit area, or as the total mass in the community.