Food chains

• What does a food chain show?

  How plants and animals get their energy
• What does the arrow in a food chain represent?

  Movement of energy
• What is the initial source of energy for all food chains?

  The sun
• What is a producer?

  An organism that makes its own food
• Why do most food chains start with a green plant?

  Because plants make food through photosynthesis
• What is a consumer?

  A living thing that eats other plants and animals
• What are the basic stages in a food chain?

  1. Producer (plant)
  2. Primary consumer (eats producer)
  3. Secondary consumer (eats primary consumer)
• In the food chain grass → cow → human, who is the producer?


  Grass
• What is a habitat?

  The place where an organism lives
• What is a predator?

  An animal that eats other animals
• What are prey?

  The animals that predators eat
• Where are predators found in a food chain?

  At the top of the food chain
• What is a herbivore?

  An animal that only eats plants
• What is an omnivore?

  An animal that eats plants and animals
• What is a carnivore?

  An animal that only eats animals
• What is an insectivore?

  An animal that eats insects and worms
• What are the trophic levels in a food chain?

  1. Primary consumer
  2. Secondary consumer
  3. Tertiary consumer
• What is a pyramid of numbers?

  A bar chart showing organism populations
• Where does the producer go in a pyramid of numbers?

  At the bottom of the pyramid
• Why are there usually fewer organisms at each level of a food chain?

  Energy is lost to the surroundings
• What happens if the producer in a food chain is large?

  The pyramid of numbers may not look like a pyramid
• What is food chain summary's initial source of energy?

  The sun
• What is a food web?

  A network of interconnected food chains
• What happens if the population of one organism in a food web decreases?

  Other organisms may starve or increase
• What would happen if grass died in a food web?

  Rabbits, insects, and slugs would starve
• What happens if the population of slugs decreases?

  More grass for rabbits and insects
• How does food security relate to plants?

  All food relies on plants for energy
• What happens if pollinating insects decrease?

  Less fruit and fewer seeds for crops
• What are toxic materials?

  Poisonous substances in the environment
• What is bioaccumulation?

  Accumulation of substances in food chains
• What is the effect of mercury in the food chain?

  Damages nervous and reproductive systems
• What was DDT used for?

  An insecticide that accumulates in food chains
• What effect does DDT have on birds of prey?

  Weakens eggshells, reducing populations
• What is the current status of mercury and DDT?

  Both are now banned or regulated