The following diagram shows a typical food pyramid:

Question

Hawks
Snakes
Mice
Grass
If 100,000 kJ of energy is available to the producers, how much energy is available to the secondary consumers in this food pyramid?

(1 point)
Responses

1,000 kJ
1,000 kJ

10,000 kJ
10,000 kJ

100 kJ
100 kJ

10 kJ

Answer 1

In a typical food pyramid, energy is transferred from one trophic level to the next with a significant amount being lost, usually around 90%, due to metabolic processes, heat, and other factors. This means that only about 10% of the energy is available to the next level.

1. Producers (Grass): 100,000 kJ
2. Primary consumers (Mice) would receive approximately 10% of the energy from producers:
   \[ 100,000 , \text{kJ} \times 0.10 = 10,000 , \text{kJ} \]
3. Secondary consumers (Snakes) would receive approximately 10% of the energy from primary consumers (Mice):
   \[ 10,000 , \text{kJ} \times 0.10 = 1,000 , \text{kJ} \]

Thus, the energy available to the secondary consumers (Snakes) is 1,000 kJ.

The correct response is: 1,000 kJ.