Question

lets look at one more way to visualize why only about 10% of energy moves from one trophic level to the next

1. what is the amount of energy that passes through the caterpillar that cant be absorbed?

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1. what is the amount of energy that the caterpillar actually consumes (eats)? how much energy did the plant have to produce to supply the caterpillar with that energy?

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1. how much energy is actually used to make more caterpillar?

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1. what kinds of things did the caterpillar use the 67 j for? (the answer is not cellular respiration)

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diagram: leaf material eaten by caterpillar (200 j), growth (33 j), feces (100 j), cellular respiration (67 j)

Explanation:

Question 1

Step1: Identify unabsorbed energy

The unabsorbed energy is the energy in feces. From the diagram, feces energy is 100 J.

Step1: Find consumed energy

Consumed energy (eaten) is the leaf material eaten, which is 200 J (from the diagram: 33 J growth + 100 J feces + 67 J respiration = 200 J, or directly given as leaf material eaten by caterpillar: 200 J).

Step2: Find plant energy to supply

Since only 10% of energy moves up trophic levels (given context: about 10% energy transfer), if caterpillar consumes 200 J, plant energy \( E_{plant} \) satisfies \( 0.1 \times E_{plant} = 200 \), so \( E_{plant} = \frac{200}{0.1} = 2000 \) J.

Step1: Identify energy for growth

Energy used to make more caterpillar is growth energy, which is 33 J (from the diagram: Growth (33 J)).

Answer:

100 J

Question 2