Answer to Question 1
A solar collector for heating water consists of a thin, broad box with a glass or clear plastic top and a black bottom with water tubes embedded within. Such collectors are called flat-plate collectors. Faced toward the Sun, the black bottom gets hot as it absorbs sunlight . . . and the clear cover prevents the heat from escaping. Water is thus heated and is conveyed to a tank where it is stored. In an active system, the heated water is moved by means of a pump. In a passive system, natural convection currents are used.
Answer to Question 2
Members of the decomposition food web include scavengers, detritus feeders, and chemical decomposers. Scavengers eat larger dead things and may also eat living (things) some of the time. Detritus feeders are organisms that feed directly on detritus, and chemical decomposers can include fungi and bacteria that cause rotting.
