Food Energy Chain
Read the notes below then write out the following questions in your notebook and fill in the answers.
All living things that live together in the same place make up a community. The living things depend on each other for food, water, shelter and a place to live.
A food chain is found in every community on land , in water, and in the soil. Plants and animals get energy from their food. All animals get their food from eating plants or from eating other animals that have eaten plants. The process of transferring food energy from one organism to another is called a food chain.
In the food chain at right, the man gets his energy from the rabbit, the rabbit gets its energy from the plant, and the plant gets its energy from the sun, In this food chain, the plant receives the most amount of energy and the man receive the least. The rabbit receives more than the man.
Each arrow in the chain indicates the direction in which the energy flows.
Green plants use the sun’s energy, carbon dioxide, water and chlorophyll to make food. Green plants are called producers because they make their own food. The animals that eat other plants and animals are called consumers. There are different levels of consumers. A primary consumer (also called a herbivore) feeds directly on green plants. Cows goats and sheep are herbivores. A secondary consumer (also called carnivores) is one that feeds on the primary consumer. Examples are lions and tigers. Carnivores may also be classified as tertiary consumers. Animals which eat both plants and animals are called omnivores.
Any change in the size of one population in a food chain will affect the other populations in that food chain.
For example in this food web when there are too many hawks, there will be insufficient mice and frogs for all of them to eat. Many hawks will starve and die. Fewer hawks means more time for the mice and frogs to grow to maturity and multiply. Fewer hawks also means less food is available for the eagles to eat and some eagles will starve to death. When there are fewer eagles the hawk population will increase.
Write the following questions in your notebook and fill in the answers.
- All living things that live together in the same place make up a ___________________.
- A food chain is found in every _______________.
- Name three places where a food chain can be found___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
- All animals get their food from eating plants or from eating ________________ that have been eaten _____________________.
- The process of transferring food energy from one organism to another is called a _________________.
- In the food chain at right, the man gets his energy from the _________, the rabbit gets its energy from the _____________________ and the plant gets its energy from the _________. In this food chain, the plant receives the most amount of ________________ and the man receives the least.
- Green plants use the Sun’s energy, ___________________, ___________ and _______________ to make food.
- Because they make their own food, green plants are called _____________________
- The animals that eat other plants and animals are called ___________________
- A _____________________ is also called a herbivore.
- A primary consumer feeds directly on ______________________. Examples of primary consumers are __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
- A secondary consumer is also called a __________________________
- A secondary consumer feeds on ________________ consumers . Examples of secondary consumers are __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
- Animals which eat both plants and animals are called ________________________________________________.
- People are examples of ______________________.