Ecosystem

Biology · Class 12

Simulation · Biology · Class 12

From sunlight to herbivores

"From sunlight to herbivores" is a free, interactive Class 12 Biology simulation for NEET, built on the NCERT section "Energy flow" in Ecosystem. Funnel of solar energy: incident light → PAR (<50%) → captured by plants (2–10% of PAR) → passed up trophic levels. NEET has asked about this idea 1 time in 10 years of papers.

From the lesson Energy flow in Ecosystem. Change the values and watch what happens.

From sunlight to herbivoresBiology · Class 12

What it shows

NCERT §12.4

Funnel of solar energy: incident light → PAR (<50%) → captured by plants (2–10% of PAR) → passed up trophic levels.

Controls

4 to try

  • Sliderincident solar energy
  • SliderPAR fraction 40–50%
  • Slidercapture efficiency 2–10% of PAR
  • Readoutenergy at producer, herbivore, carnivore

Try this

Find the largest herbivore energy possible from 1,000,000 kcal of sunlight within NCERT's ranges.

Common mistake

Giving PAR as 2–10% of sunlight.

In NEET

10 years of papers

Asked 1 time in 10 years of NEET.

See the past questions: Energy Flow in Ecosystem, Ecosystem (chapter)

The idea behind it

NCERT §12.4

  • Apart from deep-sea hydrothermal ecosystems, every ecosystem on Earth runs on energy from the sun.
  • Less than 50 per cent of the incident solar radiation is photosynthetically active radiation (PAR).
  • Of this PAR, plants trap just 2-10 per cent, yet that small share keeps the whole living world going.
  • All organisms depend on producers for food, directly or indirectly, so energy flows one way: from the sun to producers and then to consumers.
  • Ecosystems obey the second law of thermodynamics. They need a constant energy supply to build the molecules they need and to counter the universal trend towards disorder.
  • Producers in terrestrial ecosystems are mainly herbaceous and woody plants; in aquatic ecosystems they are phytoplankton, algae and higher plants.
  • Energy trapped in an organism does not stay there for ever. It passes to a consumer, or the organism dies, and death starts the detritus food chain.

Questions

4 answers

What does the "From sunlight to herbivores" simulation show?
Funnel of solar energy: incident light → PAR (<50%) → captured by plants (2–10% of PAR) → passed up trophic levels.
What mistake does the "From sunlight to herbivores" simulation fix?
A common mistake it clears up: giving PAR as 2–10% of sunlight.
Has NEET asked about this idea?
Yes. NEET has asked about this idea 1 time in 10 years of papers.
Is this simulation free?
Yes. It is free and runs in the browser on a phone or a laptop. It belongs to the lesson "Energy flow" in Ecosystem (Class 12 Biology).

Embed this simulation

Free, with a link back

Teaching this idea? Put the simulation on your own page or LMS with this code.