A consumer, or heterotroph, gets its energy comes from the foods it <em>consumes. </em> An example of this is a human, who gets energy from the foods it eats every day.
On the other hand a producer, or autotroph, <em>produces </em>its energy by itself.
An example of this is a plant, who uses photosynthesis to combine different things, like sunlight, carbon dioxide, and water, to make their own food, in the form of glucose, along with other byproducts.
It's important to not touch the sides or the bottom of the test tube with the thermometer because touching it to the sides or bottom of the test tube fractures the glass and does not allow for correct temperature measurements.
