In the given food chain, suppose the amount of energy at fourth trophic level is 5 kJ, what will be the energy available at the
producer level?
Grass → Grasshopper → Frog → Snake → Hawk
(a) 5 k J
(b) 50 k J
(c) 500 k J
(d) 5000 k J
The correct answer is (d) 5000 kJ.
Explanation:
In a food chain, only about 10% of the energy at each trophic level is transferred to the next level.
Since the energy at the fourth trophic level (Hawk) is 5 kJ, this means that at the third trophic level (Snake), there must have been 50 kJ (5 kJ * 10).
At the second trophic level (Frog), there would have been 500 kJ (50 kJ * 10).
And at the first trophic level (Grasshopper), there would have been 5000 kJ (500 kJ * 10).
Therefore, the energy available at the producer level (Grass) is 5000 kJ.