Energy refers to the capacity to do . organisms spend a great deal of time acquiring energy and , which are essential atoms or molecules that an organism cannot make for itself. if an organism is able to acquire its energy and raw materials from the environment, and subsequently, make their own food, they are called . plants are capable of making their own food through the process of , in which they obtain energy from sunlight and convert it to a usable form. on the other hand, cannot make their own food and must acquire it by eating plants and other organisms.