Question

____________________________________ use reduced, preformed organic molecules (usually from other organisms) as carbon sources, obtain energy from the oxidation of organic compounds, and use reduced organic compounds as their electron source.

Answer 1

Answer:

Heterotrophs

Explanation:

Heterotroph, in ecology, is an organism that consumes other organisms in a food chain. They acquire their energy by the controlled breakdown of preexisting organic molecules, or food.

¹All heterotrophs, use organic materials as their sole source of carbon. Heterotrophs use preformed organic compounds as their source of carbon. (Source: Brittanica)

Metabolic cycles in general—the extraction by organisms of useful ²energy and food molecules from environmental source material—can be described in terms of oxidation-reduction reactions

Heterotrophs can be organotrophs or lithotrophs. Organotrophs exploit reduced carbon compounds as electron sources, like carbohydrates, fats, and proteins from plants and animals. On the other hand, lithoheterotrophs use inorganic compounds, such as ammonium, nitrite, or sulfur, to obtain electrons.