In a food chain, consumers gather energy by
a. consuming organisms at a lower trophic level
b. consuming organisms at a higher trophic level
c. decomposing dead organic matter
d. absorbing sunlight directly

I believe the answer is (a) consuming organisms at a lower trophic level. Hope this helped ☻

The correct answer would be a. consuming organisms at a lower trophic level.

Consumers or heterotrophs are the organisms which depend on other organisms for their energy and nutritional needs.

They consume organisms present at lower trophic levels in order to get their nutrition.

They can be broadly classified as:

Primary consumers: They are primarily herbivores which consume plants or autotrophs for their nutrition. For example, deer, cow, buffalo et cetera.Secondary consumer: They are small carnivores which consume organisms present at lower trophic levels. For example, snake, frog et cetera.Tertiary consumers: They are top carnivores present at the highest trophic level. For example, lion, tiger, et cetera.

Leaves specifically the gas exchange between plants and the environment. while plants undergo photosynthesis, they also partake in cellular respiration. respiration is the process that happens in the leaves of plants.