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

Define autotrophs.

Back

Autotrophs are organisms that produce their own food using sunlight or chemical energy, such as plants and some bacteria.

Front

Define heterotrophs.

Back

Heterotrophs are organisms that cannot produce their own food and must obtain nutrients by consuming other organisms, including animals, plants, and decomposers.

Front

What is a producer?

Back

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

Front

What is a primary consumer?

Back

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

Front

What is a secondary consumer?

Back

A secondary consumer is an organism that eats primary consumers; they can be carnivores or omnivores.

Front

What role do decomposers play in an ecosystem?

Back

Decomposers break down dead organic matter, returning nutrients to the soil and making them available for producers.

Front

What is predation?

Back

Predation is a biological interaction where one organism (the predator) hunts and eats another organism (the prey).

Front

What is respiration in the context of food chains?

Back

Respiration is the process by which organisms convert food into energy, releasing carbon dioxide and water as byproducts.