Energy Transfer in Food Chains Flashcards

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What is the main source of energy for almost all food chains on Earth?

The Sun is the main source of energy for almost all food chains.

How do green plants change light energy from the Sun into a form that can be passed along a food chain?

They use photosynthesis to change light energy into chemical energy stored in sugars and other substances.

What is meant by biomass in a food chain?

Biomass is the mass of living material in an organism, and it stores chemical energy from food.

How is energy passed from plants to animals in a food chain?

When animals eat plants, the chemical energy stored in the plant biomass is transferred to the animals.

What is a producer in a food chain?

A producer is a green plant or algae that makes its own food using light energy, starting the flow of energy in a food chain.

Give two ways in which energy from food is not passed on to the next level in a food chain.

Some energy is used in respiration and released as heat, and some is lost in movement, uneaten parts, or waste such as faeces.

What happens to energy that is released as heat or lost in waste products?

It spreads into the surroundings and cannot be used by the next organism in the food chain.

Why does each stage in a food chain have less energy available than the stage before it?

At each stage, organisms use some energy for life processes and lose it to the surroundings, so only part is stored in biomass and passed on.

Why are food chains usually short, with only a few stages?

Because so much energy is lost at each stage that there is not enough energy left to support many levels of consumers.

In a diagram of energy transfer in a food chain, what does a wider arrow usually show compared with a narrow arrow?

A wider arrow shows a larger amount of energy being transferred, while a narrow arrow shows a smaller amount.

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