By Prof. Liwayway Memije-Cruz

Thermodynamics in Ecology

Energy and how it is handled and used by living organisms.

The Sun

The sun is the driving force of photosynthesis which is the most important chemical reaction of all the chemical reactions.

Food Energy Chain

Food Web

Energy input in an Ecosystem

Thermodynamics the branch of physics

involved with studies on the effects of changes in temperature, pressure, and volume on physical systems at the macroscopic scale.

The motions produced by the particles produce heat. Heat in thermodynamics means "energy in transit" and dynamics relates to "movement" Based on the said principle, thermodynamics studies the movement of energy and how energy instills movement.

First Law of Thermodynamics: “Energy cannot be created or destroyed, only converted from one form to another”.

Entrophy

the degree of disorder or uncertainty in a system

Second Law of Thermodynamics

it adds on a statement about entropy and how all energy conversions are less than perfect. The result is loss of energy – typically in the form of heat.

Life itself is but a temporary condition purchased at the cost of a continuous expenditure of energy.