Final answer:
Autotrophs are organisms that can produce their own food, typically through photosynthesis or chemosynthesis. Plants, algae, and cyanobacteria are examples of photoautotrophs, which use sunlight to create carbohydrates for energy. Bees are not autotrophs, as they rely on consuming products made by autotrophs.
Step-by-step explanation:
What is an Autotroph?
An autotroph is an organism that can produce its own food using sunlight, water, carbon dioxide, and other chemicals. When answering which of the following is an autotroph, bees would not fall into this category as they are heterotrophs that depend on substances produced by autotrophs for their nutrition. The most common autotrophs are plants, certain algae, and a group of bacteria known as cyanobacteria. Plants carry out the process of photosynthesis, capturing solar energy to synthesize glucose from carbon dioxide and water. Thus, among the given options, it is the plants, algae, and certain bacteria that are considered autotrophs, while bees are not.
While discussing autotrophs, it's important to distinguish between the two main types: photoautotrophs and chemoautotrophs. Photoautotrophs use sunlight as their energy source to carry out photosynthesis, which is the process of converting light energy into chemical energy stored as carbohydrates. Chemoautotrophs, on the other hand, use energy from chemical reactions to make their food, through a process known as chemosynthesis.