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Showing 1 question in Biology for Class 10. Tap a card to reveal the answer.
BiologyOur EnvironmentmediumWhat is a food chain? State the ten percent law of energy transfer.
Reveal answer ↓
What it is
A food chain shows who eats whom, and only about 10 percent of energy passes to the next level.
Answer
A food chain is a series of organisms through which energy and nutrients pass as one organism eats another, for example grass -> deer -> lion. The ten percent law states that only about 10 percent of the energy at one trophic level is passed on to the next level; the rest is lost mainly as heat. This is why food chains usually have only three or four links.
About 10% energy transferred per trophic level
- •Energy flows: producer -> herbivore -> carnivore
- •Only about 10% of energy passes to the next level
- •The rest is lost as heat
- •Limits food chains to 3-4 links
Why learn this
It explains why top predators are few and why pollutants concentrate up the chain.
💡 Memory trick
Only 10% of energy moves up each step (the '10% law'), so chains are short (3-4 links).