Food Webs: Cycling of Matter and Flow of Energy

Dylan drew a diagram showing that certain organisms eat other organisms. The diagram included a caption stating that the amount of available energy decreases with each organism that is eaten. How is this explained by the law of conservation of energy?

• Living things change energy into matter.

• Some of the energy is used for life processes.

• Some energy disappears when living things are eaten.

• Only small amounts of energy can be destroyed at a time.

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The arrows in a food web show the direction

• water is flowing

• matter and energy are flowing

• organisms are moving in

• consumers are moving in

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Where do animals get their energy?

• by eating plants

• by eating other animals

• from the sun

• from nutrients in the ground

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Worms break down dead plants in the soil to release nutrients. Which property of nutrients shows that they are matter?

• Nutrients are warm.

• Nutrients have mass.

• Nutrients can do work.

• Nutrients contain energy.

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Why is energy transfer in a food chain not 100% efficient?

• Because some energy is always lost as heat.

• Because consumers create energy during digestion.

• Because producers absorb all the energy from the sun.

• Because decomposers use all the energy from dead organisms.

Why is it important for an ecosystem to have a variety of different food chains and not just one?

• It ensures more energy is available at each trophic level

• It prevents any single species from becoming too dominant

• It provides multiple pathways for energy flow and increases ecosystem stability

• It makes the ecosystem less complex and easier to study

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DOK Level 3: Strategic Thinking

How does energy flow in a food web?

• From decomposers to producers to consumers.

• From producers to consumers to decomposers.

• In a circular pattern, with no clear start or end.

• From consumers to producers to decomposers.

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How does a decomposer contribute to the energy flow in an ecosystem?

• By consuming live plants and animals

• By producing its own food through photosynthesis

• By breaking down dead organisms and releasing nutrients back into the ecosystem

• By preying on primary consumers

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How do decomposers contribute to the energy flow in a food web?

• By eating live plants and animals.

• By converting sunlight into chemical energy.

• By breaking down dead organisms and releasing nutrients back into the ecosystem.

• By hunting and consuming other animals.

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What role do primary consumers play in a food web?

• They break down dead organisms

• They eat secondary consumers

• They eat producers

• They produce their own food

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