IGCSE Biology / Ecosystems

Why energy is lost between levels

Edexcel International GCSE Biology (4BI1), chapter 14: Ecosystems, specification point 4.8, 4.9. Part of the full course.

Read the revision notes · IGCSE Biology past papers

Only about 10% of energy passes from one trophic level to the next. This explains how energy transfer is calculated and why food chains are short and plant-based diets can feed more people.

More lessons in Ecosystems

• Habitat, population, community, ecosystem
• Practical: quadrats and transects
• What biodiversity means and how it is measured
• Food chains and food webs
• Decomposers and decay
• Pyramids of number, biomass and energy
• The carbon cycle
• The nitrogen cycle