Which statement about energy transfer in a food web is true?

Which statement about energy transfer in a food web is true?

• A. It shows fewer pathways for energy.
• B. It prevents energy loss.
• C. It has many interconnected paths and greater redundancy, though energy still declines at each trophic level.
• D. It eliminates all energy transfer.

Answer: (C)

Energy moves through a food web along many interconnected paths, giving the system redundancy so there isn’t just one route for energy to travel. At the same time, energy decreases at every transfer from one organism to the next because organisms use part of that energy for life processes like moving, growing, and staying alive, and a lot is released as heat or lost in waste. So a food web shows multiple pathways and still has energy dropping as you go up the levels. That’s why this statement is the best choice. The other ideas aren’t accurate: there aren’t fewer pathways in a web, energy isn’t prevented from being lost, and energy transfer isn’t eliminated.

Energy moves through a food web along many interconnected paths, giving the system redundancy so there isn’t just one route for energy to travel. At the same time, energy decreases at every transfer from one organism to the next because organisms use part of that energy for life processes like moving, growing, and staying alive, and a lot is released as heat or lost in waste. So a food web shows multiple pathways and still has energy dropping as you go up the levels. That’s why this statement is the best choice. The other ideas aren’t accurate: there aren’t fewer pathways in a web, energy isn’t prevented from being lost, and energy transfer isn’t eliminated.