Question

Explain unidirectional flow of energy.

Answer 1

Unidirectional flow of energy:

1. Green plants convert solar energy into the chemical energy present in food.
2. Some energy gets stored in plants while the rest is used up by them.
3. When plants are eaten by herbivores, the energy stored in them is transferred to herbivores.
4. Again, herbivores use some of the energy for their activities and store a part of it in their body.
5. This stored energy is further transferred to carnivores when they eat herbivores.
6. Thus, as one organism eats the other, energy passes on from producers to herbivores and then to carnivores.
7. The flow of energy from producers to consumers is always in one direction.
8. According to scientists only 10 per cent of the energy stored by producers is passed on to primary consumers.
9. A secondary consumer who eats the primary consumer absorbs only 10 per cent of its energy.
10. Therefore, most food chains never go higher than secondary or tertiary consumers.