Food Chains and Food Webs

Question 1

Roles in a food chain/web

Answer 1

The consumer that eats the producer is called the primary consumer. All herbivores are primary consumers.

Whatever eats the primary consumer is called the secondary consumer.

Whatever eats the secondary consumer is called the tertiary consumer.

If there is any animal that is large and dangerous enough to eat the tertiary consumer, it is called a quaternary consumer.

In a food web organisms may play more than one role

Question 2

Food Chain

Answer 2

Food chains always start with a producer, such as grass, trees, algae or seaweed.

Each arrow in a food chain represents the flow of energy and matter from one organism to the organism that eats it. Energy arrows always point towards the consumer.

Question 3

Food Web

Answer 3

Joining all the food chains in an ecosystem together forms a food web