Ecosystem Roles and Energy Flow

The video explains food webs as a representation of matter and energy flow in ecosystems. It highlights the role of producers, like plants, in harnessing energy from the sun and converting it into matter. Consumers, such as rabbits and foxes, obtain energy by eating producers or other consumers. Decomposers, like fungi and worms, recycle matter by breaking down dead organisms and waste, returning nutrients to the environment. Throughout the ecosystem, energy is used and released as heat.

What is the primary source of energy in most ecosystems?

• Volcanoes

• The ocean

• The sun

• The moon

What do producers use to construct themselves?

• Hydrogen, helium, and methane

• Oxygen, nitrogen, and minerals

• Sulfur, phosphorus, and potassium

• Carbon dioxide, water, and nutrients

Which of the following is NOT a producer?

• Grass

• Tree

• Algae

• Rabbit

How do consumers obtain their energy and matter?

• By producing their own food

• By decomposing dead organisms

• By consuming producers or other consumers

• By absorbing sunlight

What happens to the matter that a consumer cannot use?

• It disappears

• It is excreted as waste

• It is converted into energy

• It is stored in the body

What is the role of decomposers in an ecosystem?

• To consume other animals

• To produce energy from sunlight

• To store energy in their bodies

• To break down dead matter and recycle nutrients

Which of the following is an example of a decomposer?

• Fungi

• Rabbit

• Fox

• Tree

What happens to the atoms released by decomposers?

• They are reused by producers

• They form new organisms

• They are lost forever

• They become energy

In a food web, what does an arrow from a plant to a rabbit represent?

• The plant and rabbit share energy

• The rabbit produces food for the plant

• The plant consumes the rabbit

• The rabbit consumes the plant

What is released as organisms use energy to live?

• Light

• Electricity

• Heat

• Sound