Question

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energy pyramids show how energy moves through an ecosystem. at each trophic level, about 90% of the energy is lost, and only 10% moves on to the next level. students want to gather evidence to demonstrate that energy is lost at each trophic level in an energy pyramid.
which experiment would best help the students gather evidence regarding how energy is transferred through trophic levels?
feed herbivores a known amount of plant material and measure energy before and after eating. then feed those herbivores to carnivores and measure again. repeat daily for 3 weeks to compare energy changes.
set up three terrariums - one with only producers, one with only herbivores, and one with only carnivores. measure energy levels each day for 3 weeks.
go to a meadow and count how many producers, herbivores, and carnivores are there. repeat every day for 3 weeks and calculate the change in their numbers.
create one terrarium with producers, herbivores, and carnivores. measure the total energy at the start and after 3 weeks. calculate how much energy was lost.

Explanation:

To demonstrate energy loss at each trophic level, an experiment should track energy transfer between trophic levels (producers - herbivores - carnivores). Measuring energy before and after each transfer (plant material to herbivores, herbivores to carnivores) over time (3 weeks) directly shows energy change at each level. Other options either don't track transfer (e.g., separate terrariums with single - level organisms), only count numbers (not energy), or measure total energy loss without showing per - level transfer.

Answer:

Feed herbivores a known amount of plant material and measure energy before and after eating. Then feed those herbivores to carnivores and measure again. Repeat daily for 3 weeks to compare energy changes.