thanks a lot anita for saying i am a hard worker. your constant encouragement is great;) although it took me 5 weeks to understand the role of kinase enzymes in the steps of glycolysis and how cells produce ATP through endergonic and exergonic reactions, but I think I have a better understanding of the process. when i first wrote the essay in july, my ap bio teacher said i forgot to mention kinase enzymes and also that photosynthesis and fermentation aren’t relevant to ATP production. fermentation doesn’t produce atp, it is only used to convert toxic pyruvic acid in glycolysis to lactate when there is no oxygen (this explains tired muscles using atp energy). Consumers like us get chemical energy from the producers such as plants when they convert light energy to chemical energy in photosynthesis. i think i have realized how every chapter connects now. the energy generated by the plants which are eaten by the herbivores which are in turn eaten by the carnivores and the humans make up the food chain in our ecosystem. there is only a transfer of 10% of energy through the trophic levels of the biological pyramid of biomass b/c some of the energy is lost as heat or consumed by detritivores/decomposers. the laws of thermodynamics (energy transfer and transformation): the first law is the conservation of energy, the second law states that every energy transfer and transformation increases the entropy or disorder of the universe. energy flows through an ecosystem as light and exits as heat, so some of the heat energy is unavailable for work (entropy). the ap biology book doesn’t talk about the third law, but i looked it up and it’s pretty complicated. matter cycles through the ecosystem unlike energy which undergoes transformations, matter goes through cycles such as the carbon cycle, nitrogen cycle, phosphorus cycle and the water cycle. these elements are important to life on earth.
i ended up taking at least 50 pages of notes and using three other books in relation to my ap biology book and also 10 internet sources to understand. i think it makes sense now and i have shortened my notes to around 10 pages. i love science even though it’s a bit hard at times.