AP BIOLOGY

ECOLOGY

ENERGY FLOW AND THE FOOD CHAIN

Question [CLICK ON ANY CHOICE TO KNOW THE RIGHT ANSWER]
How does the food chain start?
A
Plant life uses energy from the sun to make food.
B
Insects like grasshoppers eat plant life.
C
Animals like rats eat insects.
D
Humans eat large animals and plant life.
Explanation: 

Detailed explanation-1: -Producers, also known as autotrophs, make their own food. They make up the first level of every food chain. Autotrophs are usually plants or one-celled organisms. Nearly all autotrophs use a process called photosynthesis to create “food” (a nutrient called glucose) from sunlight, carbon dioxide, and water.

Detailed explanation-2: -Plants use a process called photosynthesis to make food. During photosynthesis, plants trap light energy with their leaves. Plants use the energy of the sun to change water and carbon dioxide into a sugar called glucose. Glucose is used by plants for energy and to make other substances like cellulose and starch.

Detailed explanation-3: -Explanation: The food chain begins with the sun: plants get their energy by photosynthesizing sunlight into energy, and then herbivores eat those plants to get their energy. Carnivores who then eat the herbivores are getting that sunlight passed along from sun to plant to herbivore to carnivore.

Detailed explanation-4: -All food chains start with energy from the sun. This energy is captured by plants. Thus the living part of a food chain always starts with plant life and ends with an animal. Plants are called producers because they are able to use light energy from the sun to produce food (sugar) from carbon dioxide and water.

Detailed explanation-5: -Through photosynthesis, certain organisms convert solar energy (sunlight) into chemical energy, which is then used to build carbohydrate molecules. The energy used to hold these molecules together is released when an organism breaks down food.

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