Based on the food chain below, if a bald eagle acquires [tex][tex]$50 \, \text{kg}$[/tex][/tex] of energy, how much energy did the zooplankton get from the phytoplankton?

phytoplankton [tex]\rightarrow[/tex] zooplankton [tex]\rightarrow[/tex] bivalves [tex]\rightarrow[/tex] sea ducks [tex]\rightarrow[/tex] bald eagle

A. [tex]500 \, \text{kg}[/tex]

B. [tex]5{,}000 \, \text{kg}[/tex]

C. [tex]50{,}000 \, \text{kg}[/tex]

D. [tex]500{,}000 \, \text{kg}[/tex]



Answer :

Sure, let's solve this step-by-step. In this problem, we are following a food chain and need to determine the energy transferred through each trophic level. It's known that energy transfer efficiency is roughly 10% between each trophic level.

Given that a bald eagle acquires [tex]\( 50 \)[/tex] kg of energy, we need to find out how much energy the zooplankton received from the phytoplankton.

1. Energy acquired by the bald eagle:

The bald eagle receives [tex]\( 50 \)[/tex] kg of energy.

2. Energy acquired by the sea ducks:

Since the energy transfer efficiency is 10%, the energy received by the sea ducks is:
[tex]\[ \text{Energy received by sea ducks} = \frac{\text{Energy received by bald eagle}}{0.1} = \frac{50}{0.1} = 500 \, \text{kg} \][/tex]

3. Energy acquired by the bivalves:

Applying the same 10% efficiency, the energy received by the bivalves is:
[tex]\[ \text{Energy received by bivalves} = \frac{\text{Energy received by sea ducks}}{0.1} = \frac{500}{0.1} = 5000 \, \text{kg} \][/tex]

4. Energy acquired by the zooplankton:

Again, with 10% efficiency, the energy received by the zooplankton is:
[tex]\[ \text{Energy received by zooplankton} = \frac{\text{Energy received by bivalves}}{0.1} = \frac{5000}{0.1} = 50000 \, \text{kg} \][/tex]

Thus, the energy acquired by the zooplankton from the phytoplankton is [tex]\( 50000 \, \text{kg} \)[/tex].

So, the correct answer is:
[tex]\[ 50,000 \, \text{kg} \][/tex]