Final answer:
A snake typically occupies the trophic level of a tertiary consumer in a food chain, which is the fourth trophic level.
Step-by-step explanation:
The trophic level a snake occupies in a food chain is that of a tertiary consumer. Tertiary consumers are carnivores that eat other carnivores. Since snakes often eat secondary consumers, such as rodents, which in turn eat primary consumers like insects or herbivores that eat plants, snakes are considered tertiary consumers. They are not producers, primary consumers, or decomposers, as these categories belong to other organisms within the ecosystem, such as plants, herbivores, and bacteria or fungi respectively.
In ecosystems, there are generally four trophic levels: producers (1st trophic level), primary consumers (2nd trophic level), secondary consumers (3rd trophic level), and tertiary consumers (4th trophic level). Snakes fit into the fourth trophic level due to their position as predators of other meat-eating animals.