How do food chains and food webs illustrate the transfer of energy between organisms in an ecosystem?

• A. By depicting the physical movement of organisms within the ecosystem.
• B. By showing the direct feeding relationships and energy flow from producers to consumers.
• C. By representing the chemical reactions occurring within individual organisms.
• D. By indicating the genetic exchange between different species.

Answer: (B)

Verified step by step guidance

1. Understand that food chains and food webs are models used to represent the flow of energy through an ecosystem.
2. Recognize that a food chain is a linear sequence showing how energy is transferred from one organism to another, starting with producers and moving up to various levels of consumers.
3. Identify that producers, such as plants, are at the base of the food chain and convert solar energy into chemical energy through photosynthesis.
4. Acknowledge that consumers, such as herbivores, carnivores, and omnivores, obtain energy by feeding on other organisms, with energy being transferred at each trophic level.
5. Realize that food webs are more complex and interconnected than food chains, illustrating multiple feeding relationships and pathways through which energy flows in an ecosystem.