Biology CLEP Prep Practice Exam

Which type of organism captures energy from the sun to produce food?

1. Fungi

2. Bacteria

3. Plants

4. Animals

The correct answer is: Plants

Plants are the only organisms among the listed options that are capable of photosynthesis, the process by which they capture energy from the sun and use it to produce food. Fungi are heterotrophs that obtain their food by absorbing nutrients from other organisms, bacteria can be either autotrophs or heterotrophs but their photosynthetic capabilities are limited in comparison to plants, and animals are purely heterotrophs that obtain their food by consuming other organisms. Therefore, plants are the only organisms among the given choices that capture energy from the sun to produce their own food.