AP BIOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -As little as 10 percent of the energy at any trophic level is transferred to the next level; the rest is lost largely through metabolic processes as heat.

Detailed explanation-2: -On average, only about 10 percent of energy stored as biomass in a trophic level is passed from one level to the next. This is known as “the 10 percent rule” and it limits the number of trophic levels an ecosystem can support. living organisms, and the energy contained within them.

Detailed explanation-3: -One major factor that limits the number of steps in a food chain is energy. Only about 10% of the energy in one trophic level is transferred to the next trophic level. This is because much energy is lost as heat during transfers between trophic levels or to decomposers due to the second law of thermodynamics.

Detailed explanation-4: -The ten percent rule states that each trophic level can only give 10% of its energy to the next level. The other 90% is used to live, grow, reproduce and is lost to the environment as heat. All energy pyramids start with energy from the Sun which is transferred to the first trophic level of producers.

Detailed explanation-5: -What is the 10 percent law of energy flow? The 10 percent law of energy flow states that when the energy is passed on from one trophic level to another, only 10 percent of the energy is passed on to the next trophic level.