Final answer:
Processes of matter that gain energy include endothermic reactions and phase changes such as melting, vaporization, and sublimation. These processes absorb heat, leading to a higher energy state in the atoms or molecules involved. In biological systems, energy is essential for growth and the reorganization of matter.
Step-by-step explanation:
The processes of matter that gain energy can include various physical and chemical changes. One such process is the endothermic process, which is characterized by the absorption of heat and an increase in the energy state of an atom. These processes can lead to a transition to an excited state, which has more energy than the ground state. Examples of endothermic phase changes are melting (solid to liquid), vaporization (liquid to gas, including boiling and evaporation), and sublimation (solid to gas). Chemical reactions can also be endothermic, such as the use of a cold pack that absorbs heat.
Conversely, exothermic processes release energy. For instance, combustion reactions, such as those occurring in an oxyacetylene torch, are exothermic as they release heat and light energy.
In biological systems, matter and energy are also interconnected. Organisms grow by arranging matter in ways that either release or require energy. Essential to this is the conservation of matter and energy, whereby transformations must either release energy or acquire it to form higher energy arrangements.