To answer the question "What percent of the energy from the sun gets captured through photosynthesis by producers and is available for energy for the rest of the ecosystem?", we need to look at the specific amount of energy that is captured by producers, such as plants, through the process of photosynthesis. This energy becomes available to other organisms in the ecosystem through various food chains.
Here's a detailed explanation:
1. Photosynthesis: Producers, specifically plants, capture energy from the sun through the process of photosynthesis. During this process, plants convert sunlight, carbon dioxide, and water into glucose and oxygen.
2. Energy Transfer: Not all of the solar energy reaching the Earth is captured by producers. A very small percentage of this energy is actually used in photosynthesis. The remaining energy is either reflected back into space or absorbed by non-living components of the Earth.
3. Efficiency: The efficiency of energy conversion in photosynthesis is quite low. A specific percentage of the sun's energy is captured and stored in the form of chemical energy in the producers.
Through our knowledge of ecosystems and energy transfer, it is understood that:
- Generally, only about 1% of the energy from the sun that hits the Earth's surface is captured by producers through photosynthesis and made available for the rest of the ecosystem.
Hence, the correct answer to the question is:
1%
This means that only 1% of the sun's energy is used by producers in the ecosystem to create energy-rich compounds that are then available for consumption by other living organisms in various food webs.
