Final answer:
The primary source of energy in a food chain is the sun, captured by primary producers through photosynthesis. The energy is passed through the food chain via consumption, with plants converting sunlight into chemical energy that is then utilized by organisms that consume these plants or other consumers.
Step-by-step explanation:
The primary source of energy in a food chain is the sun. This energy is captured by primary producers, such as plants, through the process of photosynthesis. Within this process, in the presence of sunlight, carbon dioxide and water are converted into sugars/carbohydrates and oxygen. These sugars act as the food source which provides energy to plants and all other organisms in the food chain that consume these plants or other consumers. Therefore, energy flows from the sun to the producers and through each subsequent trophic level when an organism is consumed by another.
Primary producers like plants can only obtain energy directly from sunlight, whereas primary consumers such as herbivores gain energy by feeding on plants, and secondary consumers such as carnivores gain energy by consuming herbivores. When we, as humans, eat either plants or animals, we are getting the energy that originated from the sun and was converted into chemical energy by these organisms. Ultimately, through cellular respiration, this stored energy is released for use in the body, and glucose, the main product of photosynthesis, is converted into usable chemical energy in the form of ATP.
The primary source of energy in a food chain is the sun.
Plants, known as primary producers, convert sunlight into chemical energy through the process of photosynthesis. They use this energy to produce sugars/carbohydrates and release oxygen.
These sugars/carbohydrates serve as the primary source of energy for all other organisms in the food chain.