Which statement accurately describes how energy and matter move in ecosystems?

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The main idea here is how energy and matter move through ecosystems. Energy enters as sunlight and flows from producers to consumers to decomposers, with each transfer using some energy and releasing the rest as heat. Because energy can’t be reused in the same form after transfer, it moves in one direction through the system and eventually leaves as heat to the surroundings.

Matter, however, cycles. Nutrients like carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus move between air, water, soil, and living organisms through processes such as photosynthesis, respiration, decomposition, and nutrient uptake. These elements are reused over and over within the ecosystem, never truly disappearing in the short term.

So, energy moves through ecosystems in one direction and is lost as heat, while matter is recycled within the system. That’s why the statement describing energy as recycled isn’t accurate, whereas matter’s cycling is.