7B.1a Food Chains, Webs & Feeding Relationships

Question 1

What does a FOOD CHAIN show? (2)

Answer 1

The PASSAGE OF ENERGY from organism to organism.

Question 2

Give a short example of a short food chain (3 species, with arrows!) (3)

Answer 2

Grass ➔ Rabbit ➔ Fox

Question 3

What do all food chains start with (type and term)? (2)

Answer 3

A PRODUCER (plant)

Question 4

What do producers do (2)?

Answer 4

Make their own food (1) - in the form of chemical energy (1).

Question 5

What eats the producers (1), and what are they (1)?

Answer 5

PRIMARY CONSUMERS, which are HERBIVORES.

Question 6

Are secondary consumers CARNIVORES (2)?

Answer 6

Nope. They can also be OMNIVORES (like humans).

Question 7

What happens when organisms die? (4)

Answer 7

They become FOOD for SCAVENGERS (e.g. Vultures) and DECOMPOSERS (bacteria and fungi), that are able to RECYCLE the NUTRIENTS (e.g. Carbon and Nitrogen) in the dead bodies.

Question 8

Name 2 NUTRIENTS that PLANTS need, and where they come from (4)

Answer 8

1. NITRATES, and
2. PHOSPHATES
   that come from decaying matter and certain bacteria that can pull nitrogen from the air.

Question 9

What is it called when POISONS build up in a food web, and kill the predators higher up in a food chain? (1)

Answer 9

Bioaccumulation.

Question 10

Give an example of BIOACCUMULATION (2)

Answer 10

Mercury, used in paints on the hulls of boats (to stop algae growing there) escapes into plankton, which are eaten by prawns. Prawns are eaten by small fish, which are eaten by larger fish. These large fish are eaten by TUNA. Tuna are eaten by humans, which can then become ill if we eat too much. There is no easy way to excrete mercury.