Question

The given table shows some information about the trophic levels of a food chain.

Trophic level	Energy in the trophic level	Number of organisms
P	10,000 kJ	1000
Q	200 kJ	10
R	100,000 kJ	1
S	2000 kJ	500

Select the option with correct order of trophic levels in a food chain.

• A. $Q\to S\to P\to R$
• B. $S\to Q\to R\to P$
• C. $P\to R\to Q\to S$
• D. $R\to P\to S\to Q$

Answer 1

The correct option is D $R\to P\to S\to Q$

Ten percent law states that only 10% of the energy contained in a lower trophic level is trapped by the next higher tropic level, the remaining 90% being lost in transfer and respiration of the latter. As a result, the energy will go on decreasing as we go higher in the tropic level. Also, the number of organisms goes on decreasing with each trophic level.

Thus, the correct answer is option D.