Assignment task: Energy and Life
Life Possible Without Plants?
In many popular fictional movies and books, future projections of the Earth (and other fictional planets) show a world devoid of plants, with civilization bustling with activity throughout a worldwide city of skyscrapers hundreds of stories high.
Based on your reading about photosynthesis and aerobic (cellular) respiration, is this future world possible without plants? Explain why it is or is not possible in terms of the Laws of Thermodynamics, energy flow in the biosphere, and the critical role of oxygen in living things. Be specific.