Energy Flow in an Ecosystem

The diagram below represents a food pyramid in an ecosystem.

The best explanation for the decrease in the amount of energy transferred to each succeeding level is that much of the energy is...

• consumed as a food source by predators

• used in photosynthesis

• stored within inorganic materials for other consumers

• released as heat for digestion and excretion

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS2-3

Which diagram below best represents the direction that energy flows through an energy pyramid?

• 
• 
• 
• 

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS2-3

Base your answer on the information and diagram provided, which represents the energy relationships in a forest ecosystem.

The best explanation for the decrease in the amount of energy available as one moves up the pyramid is...

• animals use less energy than plants

• much of the energy at each level is lost as heat

• producers require more energy than consumers to survive

• decomposers recycle nutrients at each level

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS2-3

Organisms living in a forest ecosystem rely on the Sun as a source of energy for metabolic processes. The following events occur as energy is captured by a plant and used in the metabolic processes of an herbivore.

Arrange the events in the correct sequence...

• [D] → [A] → [B] → [C]

• [B] → [A] → [C] → [D]

• [D] → [B] → [A] → [C]

• [A] → [D] → [B] → [C]

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS1-6

NGSS.MS-LS2-3

The diagram below does not represent a sustainable energy pyramid in an ecosystem because...

• producers feed on herbivores in most ecosystems

• ecosystems never have more than three levels of energy transfer

• more energy must be available in the producer level than in the consumer levels

• energy is never transferred between levels in ecosystems

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS2-3

Which level of the pyramid below is correctly paired with the type of organism that would most likely be found at that level in an ecosystem?

• Level C - herbivores

• Level A - producers

• Level D - decomposers

• Level B - carnivores

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS2-2

NGSS.MS-LS2-3

Which sequence best represents the flow of energy through an ecosystem?

• Sun → green plants → herbivores → carnivores

• consumers → carnivores → herbivores → producers

• green plants → carnivores → consumers → herbivores

• Sun → herbivores → producers → consumers

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS2-3

A food web is represented with arrows showing the flow of energy between owls, field mice, frogs, and grasses.

Which organism would receive the least amount of transferred solar energy?

• field mice

• grasses

• frogs

• owls

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS2-3

What is the primary source of energy for all the organisms in the ecosystem represented in the diagram below?

• minerals from the rocks

• light energy from the Sun

• photosynthesis in the producers

• respiration in the heterotrophs

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS1-6

NGSS.MS-LS2-3

The diagram below represents a food chain made up of organisms found in a field.

Which row in the chart correctly identifies characteristics that can be associated with the members of this food chain?

• Row 1

• Row 2

• Row 3

• Row 4

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS2-3