Question

Why is a diagram of energy flow from trophic level to trophic level shaped like a pyramid?

a. Organisms at each level store most of the energy and pass little on.
b. There are more producers than primary consumers, and so on.
c. Organisms eventually die.
d. Most energy at each level is lost, leaving little for the next.
e. Secondary consumers are larger than primary consumers, and so on.

Answer 1

The correct answer is: d. Most energy at each level is lost, leaving little for the next.

The trophic pyramid or energy pyramid is graphical representation of relationships between organisms depending on their nutrition. The base of the pyramid has the largest amount of biomass so it can support the energy requirements of the organisms above it (at higher levels). Each higher level in the pyramid is smaller because only about 10% of the available energy is transferred to the next level. So, energy is lost at each level.