FRI_Jan17_FoodWeb

4th Grade Science
Interactions in Ecosystems
Lesson 5

FRIDAY
January 17, 2025

2

Do Now

The diets of several types of prairie animals are described in the table below.

Which of the following prairie food
chains is in the correct order?

A. Eagles → prairie dogs → coyotes

B. Wildflowers → badgers → grasshoppers

C. Sparrows → seeds → insects

D. Grasses → prairie dogs → badgers

3

Lesson Vocabulary

food web

consumer

producer

decomposer

omnivore

herbivore

carnivore

organism

4

Food web

A diagram that shows
the relationship
between different food
chains in an
ecosystem

5

Consumer

An organism that eats
other organisms for
energy

Image by David

Mark from Pixabay

6

Carnivore

An organism that gets
its energy by eating
other consumers.

7

Omnivore

An organism that gets
its energy by eating
both consumers and
producers.

8

Herbivore

An organism that gets
its energy by eating
only producers or
plants.

9

Producer

An organism that uses
sunlight to make its
own food for energy
through
photosynthesis

10

Decomposer

An organism that
breaks down
matter into simpler
substances

Image by Thanks for your Like • donations welcome from Pixabay

11

Organism

Any living thing

12

Interactions in Ecosystems

LO: SWBAT create a model to
represent a food web and use
the model to describe the cycling
of matter and flow of energy.
DOL: Given scenarios, SW
correctly use models of a food
web to describe the cycling of
matter and flow of energy in
at least 4 of 5 questions.
SCI.4.12B describe the cycling of matter and flow of energy through food webs, including the roles of the Sun, producers, consumers,
and decomposers; and
SEPs 4.1E, 4.3A
RTCs 4.5B

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Essential Understandings &

Guiding Questions

What is a food web?

How does matter cycle through food webs?

How does energy flow through food webs?

14

How does energy and matter cycle through a food web?

15

Flow of Energy in a Food Web

Take the organism
cards out of the bag
to create a food web.

Label the producers,

consumers, and
decomposers.

Complete the

Guiding Questions.

What is the ultimate
source of energy in a
food web?

Describe how energy
flows through your
food web.

Producer

Consumer

Decomposer

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What are food webs?

A food web is a system of
interconnected food
chains.

Photo credit: stock photo site/photographer, stock photo site/photographer

Food Chain

Food Web

What are the relationships
between the organisms?

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Feeding Interactions

Draw or write an individual food chain from
the pond food web.

algae → fly → frog → kingfisher

algae → shrimp → trout → kingfisher

waterweed → slug → frog → kingfisher

waterweed → shrimp → trout → kingfisher

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How does matter cycle through food webs?

Matter cycles through food webs. A cycle
is a series of events in a repeating pattern.
Matter cycles through all levels of
organisms in an ecosystem and is recycled
over and over. Matter is conserved in
systems, such as an ecosystem food web.
The total matter remains the same as
organisms eat and interact with other
organisms.

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Cycling of Matter

Decomposers include bacteria, fungi, and other organisms that
break down dead organisms into matter that producers can use.
Explain why decomposers are important for the cycling of matter in
an ecosystem. Include how matter is conserved in a system.

Decomposers break down matter in
an ecosystem. Matter is conserved
in an ecosystem because
decomposers break down the matter
from dead organisms that can then
be used by living organisms.

Photo credit: pzAxe/Shutterstock

20

Let’s revisit the phenomenon

How does energy and

matter cycle through a food

web?

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How does energy flow through food webs?

Energy flows from the Sun to
producers to consumers.

Trace the flow of energy in one
of the food chains in the image

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Flow of Energy

Explain why the Sun is the original source of energy for every
organism in a food web.

Plants use energy from the
Sun to make food, and this
energy moves through
different parts of the food
webs as one organism eats
another.

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Analyzing a Food Web

1. How many organisms are in the food
web?

11

2. What organisms are considered
producers?

Grass/Plants

3. How many consumers are in the food
web?

9

4. What are the consumers that only eat
producers in this food web?

Rabbit, mouse,
grasshopper

5. How many consumers only eat other
consumers in this food web?

6

24

Analyzing a Food Web

Describe the flow of energy in the
food web.

Sun → Grass → Mouse → Owl

Sun → Plant → Rabbit → Fox

Sun → Plant → Grasshopper → Bird→
Snake → Hawk

Sun → Plant → Grasshopper → Frog → Owl

The ______ gives energy to the _______.

25

A food web of a grassland ecosystem is shown.

Which organisms rely on the same
food source?

A.

Snakes and hawks

B.

Rabbits and lizards

C.

Mice and snakes

D.

Grasshoppers and lizards

26

A partial desert food web is shown.

Which food chain shows one complete pathway
in which energy flows through this food web?

A.

Desert grasses and shrubs → termites → barn owls

B.

Desert grasses and shrubs → mountain zebras → cheetahs

C.

Desert grasses and shrubs → termites → spotted hyenas

D.

Desert grasses and shrubs → gemsboks → Grant’s golden moles

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DOL: Given scenarios,
SW correctly use
models of a food web
to describe the
cycling of matter and
flow of energy in at
least 4 of 5 questions.

Demonstration of Learning

●Some images used in this lesson are taken from Adobe Stock. Adobe Stock
https://stock.adobe.com

●Some images used in this lesson are taken from Great Minds. Great Minds
https://digital.greatminds.org

●Some images used in this lesson are taken from SAVVAS realize. SAVVAS
realize https://www.savvasrealize.com

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Copyright for Reference