Question

Draw a model to illustrate the flow of energy from a nonliving source to an herbivore.

Answer 1

A food chain diagram can visually represent the flow of energy from sunlight captured by plants through photosynthesis to the energy acquisition of an herbivore that consumes the plants, with an energy pyramid showing the diminishing amounts of energy at each trophic level.

Step-by-step explanation:

To illustrate the flow of energy from a nonliving source to an herbivore, we can use a food chain diagram that represents a single pathway by which energy flows through organisms in an ecosystem. Initially, energy enters the ecosystem through photosynthesis, with plants acting as producers. They capture sunlight and convert it into glucose. When an herbivore, such as a rabbit, eats these plants, it gains energy. This energy is used by the rabbit for various metabolic processes, growth, and activities. However, not all of the energy is transferred; a significant amount is used by the plant itself for cellular respiration, and some is lost as heat during energy conversion within the herbivore.

Energy Pyramids can also depict this process, showing that energy decreases with each increase in trophic level. For example, in an ecosystem such as Silver Springs, Florida, an energy pyramid would show a large amount of energy in the producer level (plants), but the herbivores would have less available energy due to the loss in transfer.

Answer 2

A model illustrating the flow of energy from a nonliving source to an herbivore is: sun -----> goat.

In this model, the sun is a nonliving object that emits energy in the form of solar radiation. The goat represents a herbivore. A herbivore is an animal that feeds on plant or plant-derived foods only.

The model is such that the goat is standing under the sun and solar radiation directly hits it. Some of the solar energy from the sun is absorbed by the goat while others are reflected into space.

In other words, solar energy traveling from the sun to the goat represents a model depicting an energy flow from a nonliving source to a herbivore.