3.4 energy in ecosystems

Question 1

compare how much energy is lost and passed onto each transfer in a food chain

Answer 1

majority of energy is lost at each transfer in a food chain only a small quantity of energy gained by an organism is used for growth ie converted into body cells only this chemical energy is available and passed onto next level of food chain

Question 2

three main ways energy can be lost in a food chain

Answer 2

heat energy
kinetic energy (movement)
undiagested materials

Question 3

two types of pyramid diagrams that can be used to represent a food chain

Answer 3

pyramids of numbers
pyramids of energy

Question 4

two types of pyramid diagrams that can be used to represent a food chain

Answer 4

pyramid of numbers- diagram that shows the relative number of organisms found at each stage within food chain

pyramid of energy- energy available within the organisms found at each stage within food chain

Question 5

advantage of using pyramid of energy compared to pyramid of numbers

Answer 5

pyramid of numbers is constructed by simply counting the relative number of each organism in food chain. This is relatively easy to measure but it can produce irregular shaped pyramids as this measure takes no account of the size of the organism and the actual quantity of energy present within each level

Question 6

pyramid of number constructed

Answer 6

base level - producer organism
wider section - producer
next level- herbivore primary consumer
followed by next consumer finishing with top predator