Final answer:
The laws of thermodynamics and the 10 percent rule are connected in that they both deal with energy transfer. The first law says energy can't be created nor destroyed, while the 10 percent rule says that only about 10% of energy is available for the next trophic level due to loss as heat. This loss of energy as heat and consequent increase in entropy is outlined in the second law.
Step-by-step explanation:
Both the laws of thermodynamics and the 10 percent rule in ecology are interconnected primarily because they both govern the transfer of energy. The first law of thermodynamics, which is related to the conservation of energy, states that energy cannot be created nor destroyed, only transferred or transformed. This parallels the 10 percent rule in ecology that estimates that only about 10 percent of the energy at one trophic level is available for the next level, as the rest is lost as heat during transfer. As indicated by the second law of thermodynamics, in any energy transfer, there will be some loss of energy as heat, leading to increased entropy in the system.
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