The Food Chain - Vocabulary/Comprehension Passage

According to the text, what is an organism that breaks down deceased animals into tiny pieces?

• a carnivore

• an herbivore

• a producer

• a decomposer

What does the author list in the text?

• vocabulary words, their definitions, and examples of the words

• definitions of consumers, their locations, and examples of consumers

• different types of food chains, their locations, and animals in them

• all types of producers, their locations, and examples of producers

Read these sentences from the text.

"When an animal dies, decomposers break apart the animal, returning nutrients back into the environment. These nutrients then feed plants (the producers), which completes the cycle."

What can you conclude based on this information?

• When animals are decomposed, parts of them become nutrients that go in the ground and feed plants.

• Decomposers are the most skilled hunters in the food chain because they have no other way to eat.

• Decomposers begin the cycle of the food chain because they are the first step in the process.

• When an animal is decomposed, a carnivore must eat the decomposer to complete the cycle.

Based on the text, what role do omnivores play in the food chain?

• Omnivores are the most important part of the food chain because they eat more than one part.

• Omnivores are most like decomposers because they also eat meat from dead animals.

• Omnivores are both primary and secondary consumers because they eat plants and animals.

• Omnivores are the least effective consumers because they eat both producers and consumers.

What is the main idea of the text?

• Decomposers are the last part of the food chain because they break apart dead animals.

• The food chain is a cycle of nutrients in the environment made up of producers, consumers, and decomposers.

• Consumers eat plants or meat, and they can be either primary or secondary.

• Producers are at the top of the food chain because primary consumers eat producers to begin the cycle.

Match the following.

​ (a)   - Animals that eat only plants.

​ (b)   - Animals that only eat meat.

​ (c)   - Animals that eat plants and meat.

• Herbivore
• Carnivore
• Omnivore
• Decomposer
• Scavenger
• Detritivore

Sort the organism to the role it plays in the food chain.

• Decomposer

• 
• Producer

• 
• Consumer

•