When a consumer eats a producer, 10 percent of the producer’s energy is passed on to the consumer trophic level. What happens to the other 90 percent?(1 point)

Question

When a consumer eats a producer, 10 percent of the producer’s energy is passed on to the consumer trophic level. What happens to the other 90 percent?(1 point)
Responses

It is used for cell processes or released as heat.
It is used for cell processes or released as heat.

It is used by the producer to pass on to the next trophic level.
It is used by the producer to pass on to the next trophic level.

It is consumed and used by the consumer.
It is consumed and used by the consumer.

It is added back to the soil by decomposers.

GPT-4o mini · Answer

The correct response is: **It is used for cell processes or released as heat.** In ecological terms, when energy is transferred from one trophic level to another, typically only about 10% of the energy is passed on to the next level. The remaining energy is used by the organism for various cellular processes (such as growth, maintenance, and reproduction) and is often released as heat through metabolic activities.