Exploring Food Chains and Predator-Prey Dynamics

The video explores how energy flows through ecosystems using food chains, starting with producers like plants that convert sunlight into biomass. It explains the roles of primary, secondary, and tertiary consumers, highlighting energy loss at each level. The video also covers predator-prey cycles, showing how populations of predators and prey fluctuate over time due to their interactions. The concept of lag in population peaks is discussed, emphasizing the dynamic nature of ecosystems.

What is the primary purpose of a food chain in an ecosystem?

• To measure the biomass of each organism

• To display the physical characteristics of organisms

• To show the energy flow between organisms

• To list all species in an ecosystem

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What type of organism is always at the start of a food chain?

• Tertiary consumer

• Secondary consumer

• Producer

• Primary consumer

Which of the following is an example of a primary consumer?

• Alga

• Mouse

• Owl

• Grass

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What is the role of secondary consumers in a food chain?

• They are eaten by producers

• They decompose organic matter

• They eat primary consumers

• They produce glucose through photosynthesis

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What happens to most of the energy as it is passed up the food chain?

• It is completely transferred to the next level

• It increases at each level

• It is stored in the producers

• It is lost as heat

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What do the arrows in a food chain represent?

• The direction of energy flow

• The size of the organisms

• The speed of energy transfer

• The number of organisms

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What is a predator-prey cycle?

• A graph showing the energy flow in an ecosystem

• A diagram of the food web

• A cycle showing the interaction between predators and their prey over time

• A list of all predators in an ecosystem

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In a predator-prey cycle, what typically happens to the predator population when the prey population increases?

• The predator population decreases

• The predator population remains the same

• The predator population increases

• The predator population becomes extinct

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Why do predator and prey populations not reach a steady equilibrium?

• Due to the time it takes for populations to increase or decrease

• Because of constant environmental changes

• Because predators always eat all the prey

• Due to the lack of food for prey

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What causes the lag in the predator population peak compared to the prey population peak?

• Prey migrate to other areas

• Predators migrate to other areas

• Prey reproduce faster than predators

• Predators reproduce faster than prey

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