13.6: Pyramid Models

Each level in a food chain contains less energy than the one below it because some energy is

• added to the system

• lost as heat

• consumed by carnivores

• incorporated into biomass

The term biomass refers to the total

• dry mass of the organisms in a given area

• unused material excreted as waste

• producer-to-consumer ratio

• mass of all living things on Earth

A diagram that shows how available energy is distributed among trophic levels in an ecosystem is called a(n)

• food pyramid

• pyramid of numbers

• food web

• energy pyramid

A biomass pyramid is a diagram that compares the

• masses of different organisms

• numbers of different organisms

• biomass of different trophic levels

• distribution of energy in trophic levels

A diagram that shows the numbers of individual organisms at each trophic level in an ecosystem is called a(n)

• biomass pyramid

• pyramid of numbers

• energy pyramid

• inverted pyramid