Food Chains and Food webs

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What is a food chain?

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A food chain is a linear sequence that shows how energy and nutrients flow from one organism to another in an ecosystem, starting from producers to various levels of consumers.

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What is a food web?

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A food web is a complex network of interconnected food chains that illustrates how different organisms in an ecosystem are related through feeding relationships.

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What are producers?

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Producers, also known as autotrophs, are organisms that can make their own food through photosynthesis or chemosynthesis, such as plants and algae.

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What are consumers?

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Consumers, also known as heterotrophs, are organisms that cannot produce their own food and rely on consuming other organisms for energy.

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NGSS.MS-LS2-3

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What are decomposers?

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Decomposers are organisms, such as bacteria and fungi, that break down dead organic matter, returning nutrients to the soil and completing the nutrient cycle.

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NGSS.MS-LS2-3

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What is the role of primary consumers in a food chain?

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Primary consumers are herbivores that eat producers (plants) and are the second level in a food chain.

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NGSS.MS-LS2-3

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What is the role of secondary consumers in a food chain?

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Secondary consumers are carnivores or omnivores that eat primary consumers and are the third level in a food chain.

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What is the role of tertiary consumers in a food chain?

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Tertiary consumers are top predators that eat secondary consumers and are at the highest level in a food chain.

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How does energy transfer in a food chain?

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Energy transfer in a food chain is inefficient; only about 10% of the energy from one trophic level is passed to the next level, with the rest lost as heat.

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NGSS.MS-LS2-3

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What is an example of a food chain?

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An example of a food chain is: Grass (producer) → Grasshopper (primary consumer) → Frog (secondary consumer) → Owl (tertiary consumer).

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