| Questions | 5 |
| Topics | Consumers, Cytoplasm, Fats, Mesosphere, Primary Consumers |
Most animals consume other organisms to survive. Consumers (heterotrophs) are divided into three types, primary, secondary, and tertiary, based on their place in the food chain.
The nucleus of a eukaryotic cell contains the genetic material of the cell and is surrounded by cytoplasm which contains many organelles. These include:
| Organelle | Function |
|---|---|
| ribosomes | produce proteins |
| mitochondria | produce energy |
| endoplasmic reticulum | helps synthesize proteins and fats |
| Golgi apparatus | prepare proteins for use |
| lysosomes | help the cell manage waste |
| centrosomes | guide cell reproduction |
Like carbohydrates, fats provide energy to the body. The difference is energy from fats tends to be longer burning as opposed to the quick fuel provided by carbohydrates. Fats come in three types, saturated (meats, shellfish, eggs, milk), monounsaturated (olives, almonds, avocados), and polyunsaturated (vegetable oils). Saturated fats can raise LDL ("bad") cholesterol while unsaturated fats can decrease it.
In the mesosphere, temperature again drops as altitude increases until the coldest point in the Earth's atmosphere, the mesopause, is reached where temperatures fall to −225 °F (−143 °C).
Primary consumers (herbivores) subsist on producers like plants and fungus. Examples are grasshoppers, cows, and plankton.