Chapter 2.2, Problem 3MI

Summary Introduction

To fill:

The correct term in the given blank.

Introduction:

The sun is the ultimate source of energy for all the living organisms, the producers such as plants, uses the energy of the sun convert the energy in usable form. Other organism depends on the producers for nutrition and are known as heterotrophs. Based on the consumption behavior, the heterotrophs are divided as herbivores, carnivores and omnivores. The food chain and food web represent the flow of energy in the ecosystem. The trophic level of an organism describes the position it occupies in the food web or food chain.

Answer to Problem 3MI

The given blanks can be filled as follows:

S. no.	Correct term
1	Food chain
2	Autotroph
3	Heterotroph
4	Decomposer
5	Trophic level
6	Herbivore
7	Carnivore
8	Omnivore
9	Detritivore
10	Food web
11	Biomass

Explanation of Solution

The food chain represents the linear stepwise chain of energy transfer from one organism to another, in which the energy is transferred from the autotrophs to the heterotrophs and then to the decomposers. The steps in the food chain is occupied by an organism, which represents a trophic level.

The heterotroph that eat plants or any other producers are known as a herbivore. The organism that feed on the herbivores or other heterotrophs are known as a carnivore. An omnivore is an organism that can eat both plants and other heterotrophs.

An organism does not rely on a single species for feeding and similarly, an organism can be prey of multiple heterotrophs. So, there is an interlinking of different food chains, this interlinked representation of the food chain looks like a web, that is why it is known as food web.

Each trophic level consists of different organism. At certain trophic level, the weight of the living matter can be measured by calculating the total biomass. The biomass is the measurement of total weight of the organisms present in a region or in a given volume.