B1.5 - Energy and Biomass in food chains

B1.5 - Energy and Biomass in food chains

1. Radiation from the sun is an energy source for all living organisms

2. Photosynthesis

   • In green plants and algae, photosynthesis captures a fraction of the energy that reaches them.
     • This energy is stored in the cell of the plant.
       • The energy is passed onto the organism that eats the plant

3. Energy Loss

   • Energy is lost at each stage of the food chain due to:
     • Faeces
       • Energy released by respiration is used up in movement as heat energy

4. Pyramids of Biomass

   • Biomass: The mass of living material

5. Tertiary Consumer

   • Only gets a small fraction of the energy left because some energy is caught by the sun by producers, most biomass stays in the roots, only a tenth of the energy is passed on due to running, mating, excreting and generating heat & they only recieve a bit of the energy from the bottom of the pyramid

6. Producer

   • Provides food for primary consumer who passes on the energy to the secondary consumer who passes on the energy to the tertiary consumer