Food Chains and Food Webs

Front

What is a food chain?

Back

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.

Front

What is a food web?

Back

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

Front

What is the role of the sun in a food chain?

Back

The sun provides the primary source of energy for producers, which use sunlight to create food through photosynthesis.

Front

Define producers in an ecosystem.

Back

Producers are organisms, such as plants and algae, that can make their own food using sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide.

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What are consumers?

Back

Consumers are organisms that cannot produce their own food and must eat other organisms (plants or animals) to obtain energy.

Front

What are decomposers?

Back

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

Front

What is an energy pyramid?

Back

An energy pyramid is a graphical representation that shows the flow of energy at different trophic levels in an ecosystem, with producers at the base and top predators at the top.

Front

How much energy is typically transferred from one trophic level to the next?

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Typically, only about 10% of the energy is transferred from one trophic level to the next, while the rest is lost as heat or used for the organism's life processes.

Front

What is the significance of the 90% energy loss in an energy pyramid?

Back

The 90% energy loss indicates that energy diminishes at each trophic level, limiting the number of organisms that can be supported at higher levels.

Front

What is a primary consumer?

Back

Primary consumers are herbivores that eat producers (plants) to obtain energy.