why food chain generally consist 3 or 4 steps

dear friend this is because at each level of the food chain enery is being lost.so when the chain comes to its 4th or 5th stp thr s no enrgy to be taken..so the no of levels in a food chain is limited!

food chain consists of maximum 6 trophic level because as per 10% law only 10% of energy is transferred from 1 trophic to another, so energy at 6th level is very low to support to next trophic level.

As the food is passed through the food web, energy is lost. In general terms, only 10% of the energy stored in one trophic level (such as producers) is actually transferred to the next trophic level (for example the herbivores). This is known as the pyramid of energy. Eventually there is so little energy remaining in the top trophic level that no higher trophic level can be supported. This is why there are few if any fourth order consumers or higher in any ecosystem.

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food chain consits of 3-4 steps only as after these steps the energy that can be transferred becomes very less and so the energy cannot be transferred