Lesson 3: Trophic Levels & Energy Flow
Duration of Days: 3
Lesson Objective
Quantify the flow of energy from producers to apex predators using the 10% Rule.
How does energy flow through an ecosystem, and why does this limit the number of trophic levels?
HS-LS2-4: Use mathematical representations to support claims for the cycling of matter and flow of energy among organisms.
Requires calculating percentages and analyzing energy pyramids, a frequent task in SBA Math Performance Tasks.
An exploration of energy transfer from producers to apex predators. Students apply the "10% Rule" to quantify energy loss at each level. Building a terrestrial food web and calculating kcal availability at each level.
(DOK 2 and 3)
See "Materials / Resources / Text / Speakers" field
Students are given the kcal of a producer (e.g., 1,000,000 kcal of prairie grass) and must calculate the energy available to a tertiary consumer (e.g., a hawk), explaining why food chains are limited in length.