Photo AI

The diagram shows the flow of biomass through an agricultural food chain - OCR Gateway - GCSE Biology - Question 23 - 2018 - Paper 4

Question icon

Question 23

The-diagram-shows-the-flow-of-biomass-through-an-agricultural-food-chain-OCR Gateway-GCSE Biology-Question 23-2018-Paper 4.png

The diagram shows the flow of biomass through an agricultural food chain. Cattle food crop 22,000 kg Cattle 2,000 kg Humans 200 kg (a) (i) Calculate the percenta... show full transcript

Worked Solution & Example Answer:The diagram shows the flow of biomass through an agricultural food chain - OCR Gateway - GCSE Biology - Question 23 - 2018 - Paper 4

Step 1

Calculate the percentage efficiency of transfer of biomass between the cattle food crop and humans.

96%

114 rated

Answer

To calculate the percentage efficiency of biomass transfer, we can use the formula:

ext{Efficiency} = rac{ ext{Biomass at the higher trophic level}}{ ext{Biomass at the lower trophic level}} imes 100

Here, the biomass of cattle is 2,000 kg (higher trophic level) and the biomass of cattle food crop is 22,000 kg (lower trophic level). Thus:

ext{Efficiency} = rac{2000}{22000} imes 100 = 9.09 ext{ %}

Therefore, the percentage efficiency of transfer of biomass is approximately 9.09%.

Step 2

Write down two ways that biomass is lost from the food chain.

99%

104 rated

Answer

  1. Egestion (not all biomass consumed is absorbed and some is excreted as undigested food).
  2. Respiration (energy is lost as heat during metabolic processes).

Join the GCSE students using SimpleStudy...

97% of Students

Report Improved Results

98% of Students

Recommend to friends

100,000+

Students Supported

1 Million+

Questions answered

Other GCSE Biology topics to explore

;