what is a trophic level how does the amount of energy change as you go from one trophic level to another
Since this is not my area of expertise, I searched Google under the key words "trophic levels" to get these possible sources:
https://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=trophic+levels&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8
In the future, you can find the information you desire more quickly, if you use appropriate key words to do your own search. Also see http://hanlib.sou.edu/searchtools/.
http://www.hackcollege.com/blog/2011/11/23/infographic-get-more-out-of-google.html
A trophic level refers to the position of an organism in a food chain or food web. It indicates the source of energy and the position of an organism in the transfer of energy through different levels. A food chain typically consists of several trophic levels, starting with producers (plants or algae) at the bottom, followed by primary consumers (herbivores), secondary consumers (carnivores that eat herbivores), and so on.
As you move up the trophic levels in a food chain, the amount of energy generally decreases. This decrease in energy is due to the second law of thermodynamics, which states that energy is lost as heat during energy transfer. Energy is initially captured by producers through photosynthesis and converted into chemical energy. However, only a fraction of this energy is consumed and absorbed by herbivores, as they are not able to fully digest and absorb all available plant material.
Similarly, when carnivorous predators consume herbivores, not all of the energy stored in the herbivores is transferred to the predators. Energy is lost at each trophic level as heat, inedible material (such as bones and fur), and inefficiencies in the digestion and absorption processes. This results in a decrease in the amount of energy available for each successive trophic level.
On average, only about 10% of the energy from one trophic level is passed on to the next trophic level. This concept is known as the 10% rule. Therefore, as you go from one trophic level to another, there is a significant decrease in the amount of available energy, which limits the number of organisms that can be sustained at higher trophic levels.