Chapter 2.2, Problem 1NV

Summary Introduction

To fill:

The blanks with correct terms.

Introduction:

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

Answer to Problem 1NV

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

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

Heterotrophs that eat plants are known as herbivores. The organisms that feed on herbivores or other heterotrophs are known ascarnivores. An omnivore is an organism that can eat both plants and other heterotrophs.

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

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