question_answer 21)

  Approximately how much of the solar energy that falls on the leaves of a plant is converted to chemical energy by photosynthesis? (a) Less than 1 %              (b)2-10%                              (c) 30%                                 (d) 50%

Answer:

                  (b) Sun is the ultimate source of energy in all ecosystems except deep hydrothermalecosystem. Of the incident solar radiation (less than 50% is Photosynthetically Active Radcation (PAR)) and about 2-10% or 1-5% of solar incident energy is captured by the autotrophs and is converted to chemical energy by the process of photo synthesis.