Lithotroph

Lithotroph is a really big word but it actually means something very simple! You know how plants eat food from the sun (through a process called photosynthesis) and we eat food from plants or animals? Well, Lithotrophs are like opposite of plants, they eat food from dead or inorganic things instead of living things.

Lithotrophs are tiny creatures that can exist in many different environments such as deep in the ocean, in a volcano, and even on rocks. They can be bacteria, archaea or in some cases fungi. These creatures use a process called chemosynthesis to make their own food. This is totally different from the way plants make their own food. Lithotrophs use chemicals from their surroundings, like ammonia or methane, and they turn them into energy that they can use to grow and survive.

Think of it like this: You are a chef and you have to cook food to eat. For plants, they get their cooking ingredients from the sun and they mix it into a great meal called energy. For lithotrophs, they get their cooking ingredients from things like rocks and dead plants, and they mix it into energy.

In summary, Lithotrophs are like the opposite of plants because they don't get their energy from the sun, rather they get it from inorganic or dead things. These tiny creatures are found in various environments and use a process called chemosynthesis to create their own food.