LIFE SCIENCE

Detailed explanation-1: -Algae, along with plants and some bacteria and fungi, are autotrophs. Autotrophs are the producers in the food chain, meaning they create their own nutrients and energy. Kelp, like most autotrophs, creates energy through a process called photosynthesis.

Detailed explanation-2: -Only certain organisms, called autotrophs, can perform photosynthesis; they require the presence of chlorophyll, a specialized pigment that can absorb light and convert light energy into chemical energy.

Detailed explanation-3: -Because most autotrophs transform sunlight to make food, we call the process they use photosynthesis. Only three groups of organisms-plants, algae, and some bacteria-are capable of this life-giving energy transformation. Autotrophs make food for their own use, but they make enough to support other life as well.

Detailed explanation-4: -A major difference between autotrophs and heterotrophs is that the former are able to make their own food by photosynthesis whereas the latter cannot.

Detailed explanation-5: -The ability to photosynthesize is found in both eukaryotic and prokaryotic organisms. The most well-known examples are plants, as all but a very few parasitic or mycoheterotrophic species contain chlorophyll and produce their own food. Algae are the other dominant group of eukaryotic photosynthetic organisms.