The energy transfer within the food web has a ______ pattern.

Question

Question

This question was previously asked in

RRB Technician Grade III Official Paper (Held On: 29 Dec, 2024 Shift 3)

Answer 1

The correct answer is Unidirectional.

Key Points

In a food web, the energy transfer follows a unidirectional pattern.
This means that energy flows in one direction—from the producers (such as plants) to various levels of consumers (herbivores, carnivores, omnivores).
Producers capture energy from the sun through the process of photosynthesis.
This captured energy is then transferred to herbivores that consume the plants.
From herbivores, the energy is passed on to carnivores and omnivores that eat the herbivores.
At each transfer, a portion of the energy is lost as heat, making the transfer inefficient and ensuring that it does not revert back to the previous stage.
The laws of thermodynamics support this unidirectional flow, particularly the second law which states that energy transformations are not 100% efficient.
This unidirectional flow helps maintain the structure and function of ecosystems.

Additional Information

Circular
- The term circular is not applicable to energy transfer in a food web because energy is not recycled in the same manner as nutrients in an ecosystem.
Multidimensional
- Multidimensional suggests multiple directions or dimensions, which is not accurate for the one-way flow of energy in food webs.
Bidirectional
- Bidirectional would imply energy flows in two directions, which is not true for food webs as energy moves from producers to consumers in a one-way direction.