AP BIOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -Grazing food chain (GFC) – This is the normal food chain that we observe in which plants are the producers and the energy flows from the producers to the herbivores (primary consumers), then to carnivores (secondary consumers) and so on.

Detailed explanation-2: -Primary producers use energy from the sun to produce their own food in the form of glucose, and then primary producers are eaten by primary consumers who are in turn eaten by secondary consumers, and so on, so that energy flows from one trophic level, or level of the food chain, to the next.

Detailed explanation-3: -The reason for this is that only around 10 per cent of the energy is passed on to the next trophic level. The rest of the energy passes out of the food chain in a number of ways: it is released as heat energy during respiration. it is used for life processes (eg movement)

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: -The organisms that eat the producers are the primary consumers. They tend to be small in size and there are many of them. The primary consumers are herbivores (vegetarians). The organisms that eat the primary consumers are meat eaters (carnivores) and are called the secondary consumers.