Question

1. if 10,000 kilocalories (kcal) of energy were contained in the primary producers (trophic level 1), on average how many kcal of energy would you expect to be transferred to second - order consumers (trophic level 3)? 10 kcal 10,000 kcal 1,000 kcal 100 kcal clear all

Explanation:

Step1: Recall energy - transfer rule

On average, only about 10% of the energy is transferred from one trophic level to the next.

Step2: Calculate energy at trophic level 2

Energy at trophic level 2 (primary - consumers) from 10000 kcal at trophic level 1 (primary producers) is $10000\times0.1 = 1000$ kcal.

Step3: Calculate energy at trophic level 3

Energy at trophic level 3 (second - order consumers) from 1000 kcal at trophic level 2 is $1000\times0.1=100$ kcal.

Answer:

100 kcal