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Evaluation

Cloze Activity

Read the paragraph below and fill in the missing words.

Energy from the sun or the solar energy is converted by the photosynthetic into energy in the form of carbohydrates in plants. Primary consumers like the consume the plant carbohydrates and so the chemical energy is transferred to them. Herbivores are consumed by , so the energy is further transferred into the next level. In these animals the chemical energy is used as and . The chemical energy in the food molecules is stored as ATP molecules. This stored energy is used by the body cells for synthesis of new chemical compounds and for mechanical work. Energy used at each trophic level, only 10% of it is transferred to the next trophic level. At the last trophic level, that is with the decomposer no energy is left for recycling. Hence, energy flow from to the producers to consumers is in a single direction only.

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Case Study

The largest source of energy for an ecosystem is the sun. Energy that is not used in an ecosystem is eventually lost as heat. Energy and nutrients are passed around  through the food chain, when one organism feeds the other. Any energy remaining in a dead organism is consumed by decomposers. Nutrients can be cycled through an ecosystem but energy is lost over time.

An example of energy flow in an ecosystem would begin with the autotrophs that take energy from the sun. herbivores then feed on the autotrophs and  change the energy from the plant into energy that it can use. Carnivores subsequently feed on the herbivores and finally other carnivores prey on the carnivores.

In each case, energy is passed on from one trophic level to next and in each time some energy is lost. The top consumer of a food chain  will be the organism that receives the least amount of energy.

Read the story above and say why least energy is passed to next trophic level.

PBL Tasks

Duration: 20 minutes
1 month
Grouping:
10 students per group

Select a study area within the school compound. using quadrant method, capture-recapture and head count, estimate the population of organisms in the area. Represent them in a food chain and develop a pyramid of numbers. explain the shape of the pyramid