AP BIOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -Ecosystem ecologists are often most interested in tracing the movement of energy and matter through ecosystems.

Detailed explanation-2: -Biotic and abiotic factors are what make up ecosystems. Biotic factors are living things within an ecosystem; such as plants, animals, and bacteria, while abiotic are non-living components; such as water, soil and atmosphere. The way these components interact is critical in an ecosystem.

Detailed explanation-3: -The law of thermodynamics in the ecosystem explains the flow of energy at each trophic level.

Detailed explanation-4: -Energy flows through an ecosystem and is dissipated as heat, but chemical elements are recycled. The ways in which an element-or compound such as water-moves between its various living and nonliving forms and locations in the biosphere is called a biogeochemical cycle.