Final answer:
An A. autotroph can derive all essential nutrients and factors from the environment to reproduce, utilizing processes like photosynthesis to create its own food.
Step-by-step explanation:
The type of organism that can derive all of the nutrients and factors it requires in order to reproduce from the environment is an autotroph. Autotrophs are capable of synthesizing their own food molecules from smaller inorganic molecules and do not require a 'prepackaged' form of nutrients. For example, plants utilize sunlight and carbon from carbon dioxide to synthesize carbohydrates through the process of photosynthesis, making them photoautotrophs. Conversely, heterotrophs obtain energy and carbon from food by consuming other organisms as they are incapable of photosynthesis. Therefore, the correct answer to the question is A. Autotroph.
Autotrophs are capable of producing their own food using energy from sunlight or inorganic compounds, and they do not rely on consuming other organisms for nutrition.Plants are the most well-known autotrophs, as they use photosynthesis to convert sunlight and carbon dioxide into carbohydrates.