When energy is transferred from one trophic level to the next, about 90% of the energy is lost. If plants produce 1,000 kcal of energy, how much of the energy is passed to the next trophic level?
1 Answer
Jun 19, 2017
100 kcal of energy is passed to the next trophic level.
Explanation:
You can think about this in two ways:
1. How much energy is lost
90% of energy is lost from one trophic level to the next.
.90(1000 kcal) = 900 kcal lost.
Subtract 900 from 1000, and you get 100 kcal of energy passed on.
2. How much energy remains
10% of energy remains from one trophic level to the next.
.10(1000 kcal) = 100 kcal remaining, which is your answer.
