Found in both animal sources (meat, fish, eggs, cheese) and vegetables (beans, nuts, some grains), proteins are important for the body's maintenance, growth, and repair.

A proton is a subatomic particle found in the nucleus of an atom. It carries a positive electric charge.

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.

Food is mixed with gastric acid and pepsin in the stomach to help break down protein.

The traits represented by genes are inherited independently of each other (one from the male and one from the female gamete) and a trait can be dominant or recessive. A dominant trait will be expressed when paired with a recessive trait while two copies of a recessive trait (one from each parent) must be present for the recessive trait to be expressed.