Food Chains

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.

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What is a producer in a food chain?

Back

A producer is an organism, typically a plant or algae, that can make its own food through photosynthesis and serves as the base of the food chain.

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What is a primary consumer?

Back

A primary consumer is an herbivore that eats producers (plants) in a food chain.

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What is a secondary consumer?

Back

A secondary consumer is a carnivore that eats primary consumers in a food chain.

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What is a tertiary consumer?

Back

A tertiary consumer is a carnivore that eats secondary consumers in a food chain.

Front

What role do decomposers play in a food chain?

Back

Decomposers break down dead organic matter, returning nutrients to the soil and completing the cycle of energy flow in an ecosystem.

Front

What percentage of energy is typically passed from one trophic level to the next?

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About 10% of energy is passed from one trophic level to the next in a food chain.

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What is an herbivore?

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An herbivore is an animal that primarily eats plants.

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What is a carnivore?

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A carnivore is an animal that primarily eats other animals.

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What is an omnivore?

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An omnivore is an animal that eats both plants and animals.