Food Webs STAAR Questions

Front

What is a food web?

Back

A food web is a complex network of feeding relationships among various organisms in an ecosystem, showing how energy and nutrients flow through different trophic levels.

Front

What is a trophic level?

Back

A trophic level is a position in a food chain or food web that indicates the organism's role in the flow of energy, such as producers, primary consumers, secondary consumers, and tertiary consumers.

Front

Who are primary consumers?

Back

Primary consumers are organisms that eat producers (plants) to obtain energy. Examples include herbivores like rabbits and deer.

Front

What are secondary consumers?

Back

Secondary consumers are organisms that eat primary consumers. They can be carnivores or omnivores, such as foxes and birds of prey.

Front

What is a producer in an ecosystem?

Back

A producer is an organism that can make its own food through photosynthesis or chemosynthesis, typically plants and algae.

Front

What role do decomposers play in a food web?

Back

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

Front

What is an energy pyramid?

Back

An energy pyramid is a graphical representation of the energy flow in an ecosystem, showing the amount of energy available at each trophic level.

Front

What is the difference between a food chain and a food web?

Back

A food chain is a linear sequence of organisms where each is eaten by the next, while a food web is a more complex network of interconnected food chains.

Front

What is a top predator?

Back

A top predator is an organism that is at the top of the food chain and has no natural predators, such as the American alligator.

Front

How does energy transfer between trophic levels?

Back

Energy transfer between trophic levels is inefficient, with only about 10% of the energy being passed on to the next level, while the rest is lost as heat.