What is true of the energy that is passed from one trophic level to the next in a food chain? . a)about 10% of the energy passed from one level to the next is released as heat.. b)about 10% of the stored energy of one level becomes stored energy at the next higher level.. c)the energy at each level increases by about 10% with each move up in trophic level.. d)the total energy at all trophic levels is constant, but only about 10% is available for use by organisms for life functions.