Question

why is energy lost at every step of a food chain

Answer 1

The food chain follows the 10% law i.e., 90% of the energy is lost in the environment in the form of heat and only 10% is made available to the next level. This energy lost occurs in many ways and ultimately returns to the environment in the form of heat for eg., the energy is lost in the form of waste materials or products. Also, energy released during the process of respiration gets used up in other life processes and eventually released in the form of heat to the surroundings.The energy released is not made available to the next level of the food chain.