Which statement about the biomass equation is correct?

Which statement about the biomass equation is correct?

• A. Biomass is calculated by adding heat loss to ingested food.
• B. Biomass equals the energy intake divided by losses.
• C. Biomass equals the ingested food minus energy gained as biomass.
• D. Food ingested − (heat loss + respiration + waste) = biomass

Answer: (D)

Energy budgeting in organisms means that the energy from food is split among what’s used for heat and maintenance, what’s lost as waste, and what is stored as biomass. The amount left after subtracting these losses from what is ingested becomes biomass. So the statement that Food ingested minus (heat loss plus respiration plus waste) equals biomass captures this idea: you start with what you eat, subtract the energy used for warming the body and metabolic processes (heat loss and respiration) and the energy lost in waste, and the remainder is stored as biomass. The other options don’t reflect how energy is allocated: adding heat loss to ingested food exaggerates input, dividing intake by losses isn’t how energy balance works, and subtracting biomass from ingested food is circular and incorrect.

Energy budgeting in organisms means that the energy from food is split among what’s used for heat and maintenance, what’s lost as waste, and what is stored as biomass. The amount left after subtracting these losses from what is ingested becomes biomass.

So the statement that Food ingested minus (heat loss plus respiration plus waste) equals biomass captures this idea: you start with what you eat, subtract the energy used for warming the body and metabolic processes (heat loss and respiration) and the energy lost in waste, and the remainder is stored as biomass. The other options don’t reflect how energy is allocated: adding heat loss to ingested food exaggerates input, dividing intake by losses isn’t how energy balance works, and subtracting biomass from ingested food is circular and incorrect.