Question

1. assume that the grasshopper in the food pyramid above must eat half its body weight in grass each day. if an average - size grasshopper weighs 2 grams, and 1 blade of grass weighs 0.1 grams (one tenth of a gram), how many blades of grass does the grasshopper need to eat each day?
2. assume a snake must eat 5 grasshoppers per day, while an eagle must eat 2 snakes per day. use this information along with your answer from question #1 to calculate how many blades of grass are needed to keep an eagle alive for a day?

Explanation:

Step1: Calculate grass consumption per grasshopper

The grasshopper weighs \(2\) grams and eats half its body weight in grass. So, the amount of grass it eats is \(\frac{2}{2}=1\) gram.

Step2: Calculate number of grass blades per grasshopper

Since each blade of grass weighs \(0.1\) grams, the number of blades a grasshopper eats is \(\frac{1}{0.1}=10\) blades.

Step3: Calculate grass consumption per snake

A snake eats \(5\) grasshoppers. Each grasshopper eats \(10\) blades. So, a snake needs \(5\times10 = 50\) blades.

Step4: Calculate grass consumption per eagle

An eagle eats \(2\) snakes. Each snake needs \(50\) blades. So, an eagle needs \(2\times50=100\) blades.

Answer:

1. \(10\) blades.
2. \(100\) blades.