______ percent can be taken as the average value for the amount of organic matter that is present at each step of food chain and reaches the next level of consumers.

10

The correct answer is Option (2) -10

The average value for the amount of organic matter that transfers to the next level in a food chain is 10 percent.

This principle is known as the ten percent rule or the law of diminishing energy transfer. It states that only about 10% of the energy captured by producers (plants) is transferred to herbivores (plant-eating animals) at the next trophic level. The remaining energy is lost through various processes like respiration, movement, and waste. This loss continues as energy moves up the food chain to carnivores and decomposers.