EVERYDAY SCIENCE

Detailed explanation-1: -The first and lowest level contains the producers, green plants. The plants or their products are consumed by the second-level organisms-the herbivores, or plant eaters. At the third level, primary carnivores, or meat eaters, eat the herbivores; and at the fourth level, secondary carnivores eat the primary carnivores.

Detailed explanation-2: -The different feeding positions in a food chain or web are called trophic levels. Generally, there are no more than four trophic levels because energy and biomass decrease from lower to higher levels.

Detailed explanation-3: -Trophic level is defined as the position of an organism in the food chain and ranges from a value of 1 for primary producers to 5 for marine mammals and humans. The method to determine the trophic level of a consumer is to add one level to the mean trophic level of its prey.

Detailed explanation-4: -Answer: D. Tertiary consumers acquire less energy than primary consumers. Tertiary consumers are organisms that feed secondary consumers. Energy distribution in the food chain decreases as the trophic level increases.

Detailed explanation-5: -In an ecological pyramid, the various trophic levels are primary producers (at the base), consumers (primary, secondary, tertiary, etc.), and predators (apex). There are essentially two major types of organisms based on their feeding mode.