| Questions | 5 |
| Topics | Decomposers, Prefixes, Primary Consumers, Scavengers, Vitamins |
Decomposers (saprotrophs) are organisms such as bacteria and fungi that break down the organic matter in the dead bodies of plants and animals into simple nutrients.
A prefix is added to the base units of the metric system to indicate variations in size. Each prefix specifies a value relative to the base unit in a multiple of 10. Common prefixes are:
| Prefix | Symbol | Relative Value | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| mega | M | 106 (1,000,000) | Mm |
| kilo | k | 103 (1,000) | km |
| base unit | N/A | 1 | m |
| centi | c | 10-2 (1/100) | cm |
| milli | m | 10-3 (1/1,000) | mm |
Primary consumers (herbivores) subsist on producers like plants and fungus. Examples are grasshoppers, cows, and plankton.
Like decomposers, scavengers also break down the dead bodies of plants and animals into simple nutrients. The difference is that scavengers operate on much larger refuse and dead animals (carrion). Decomposers then consume the much smaller particles left over by the scavengers.
Vitamins are necessary for a wide variety of bodily processes. Some vitamins like Vitamins A and C come from diet but others, like Vitamin D, are generated in response to sunlight.