Flashcards: Food chains and food webs

What is a food chain?

A food chain shows how energy moves from one organism to another. It starts with a producer.

Define producer.

Producers are organisms that make their own food, usually from sunlight. Example: plants.

What is a consumer?

Consumers are organisms that eat other organisms for energy. Examples: animals, humans.

True or false: Decomposers are producers.

False, because decomposers break down dead organisms and recycle nutrients.

Difference between herbivores and carnivores.

Herbivores eat plants, while carnivores eat other animals. Omnivores eat both.

Fill in the blank: The top predator in a food chain is called the __________.

apex predator.

What is a food web?

A food web is a complex network of interconnecting food chains in an ecosystem.

Question: Who eats the producer?

The primary consumer eats the producer.

True or false: All organisms in a food web are connected.

True, because each organism affects others in the ecosystem.

Example of a primary consumer.

A rabbit is a primary consumer because it eats grass, a producer.

What do decomposers do?

Decomposers break down dead plants and animals, returning nutrients to the soil.

What is the role of sunlight in a food chain?

Sunlight provides energy for producers to make food through photosynthesis.