Question

Compare and contrast how energy and matter flow through ecosystems. How are they similar and how they are different?

Answer 1

• There is a fundamental difference in the way energy and matter flows through an ecosystem. Matter flows through the ecosystem in the form of the non-living nutrients essential to living organisms. .So you see, matter is recycled in the ecosystem. Unlike matter, energy is not recycled through the system

The difference between matter and energy exists in the Classical Physics because they are different substances, where matter is passive and energy is active stuff. In the Quantum Physics mass and energy are one and the same substance -- one quantum particle has mass-energy power : E=Mc^2.

• So energy and matter are really the same thing. Completely interchangeable. And finally, although energy and mass are related through special relativity, mass and space are related through general relativity. ... So in a way, energy, matter, space and time are all aspects of the same thing.