Food chains and webs

Question 1

What is a food chain?

Answer 1

A food chain is a sequence that shows how energy and nutrients flow from one organism to another.

Example -
Grass -> Grasshopper -> frog -> snake -> hawk

Question 2

What are the main components of a food chain?

Answer 2

1. Producers - create their own food via photosynthesis
2. Primary Consumers - herbivores which eat producers
3. Secondary Consumers - carnivores/omnivores that each primary consumers
4. Tertiary consumers - carnivores that eat secondary consumers
5. Decomposers - break down dead matter

Question 3

What is a food webs?

Answer 3

A food web is a network of interconnected food chains that show the complex feeding relationships in an ecosystem

Examples -
algae -> small fish -> big fish -> bird

Question 4

What are the main points of a food web?

Answer 4

1. Interconnected chains - in a food web, organisms may belong to multiple food chains
2. More stable - food webs are more stable that food chains because they provide alternative food sources
3. Energy flow - like in a food chain, energy decreases as you move up the trophic levels

Question 5

How is energy lost at each trophic level?

Answer 5

Energy decreases because organisms use most of the energy they obtain for life processes such as respiration, movement, and reproduction. Only about 10% of the energy is passed on to the next trophic level, while the rest is lost as heat.