Question

referring to the picture below, the cat is considered a(an)
a. tertiary consumer
b. decomposer
c. secondary consumer
d. herbivore

Explanation:

1. First, analyze the food chain: The plant (producer) is eaten by a herbivore (like the small animal), then the cat eats that herbivore, and the wolf eats the cat.
2. Producers (plants) are at the base. Primary consumers are herbivores (eat producers). Secondary consumers eat primary consumers. Tertiary consumers eat secondary consumers. Decomposers break down dead matter.
3. The cat eats the primary consumer (the small herbivorous animal), so it is a secondary consumer. Option A is wrong (tertiary would eat secondary, like the wolf here). Option B is wrong (decomposers aren’t in this predation chain). Option D is wrong (herbivores eat plants; the cat eats animals).

Answer:

C. Secondary Consumer