Energy and the Food Web Created by Miss Morris Next

Tutorial on Energy and the Food Web The purpose of this tutorial is for fourth, fifth, or sixth grade students to understand how plants and animals, including humans, depend upon each other and the nonliving environment for survival. They will learn about classifying different types of organisms, food chains, food webs, and energy pyramids. Next Back

Student Objectives Students will: –understand what food chains and food webs are, including the relationships of organisms within them. –understand the different components of a food chain (producers, consumers, decomposers). –be able to identify different consumers as herbivores, carnivores, omnivores, parasites, and scavengers. –understand that the sun is our primary source of energy. –be able to describe the flow of energy and matter through food chains and food webs. NextBack

NYS Learning Standards Science Standard 4: The Living Environment Key Idea #6: Plants and animals depend on each other and their physical environment. Technology Standard 2 Key Idea: Information technology is used to retrieve, process, and communicate information and as a tool to enhance learning. Next Back

Directions Click on the arrows or boxes at the top or bottom of each screen to move to the next slide. On the “Main Menu” screen, you can explore the different topics in any order that you’d like. Once you have looked at the tutorial and examples, do the practice questions, and then the quiz. Next Back

Our Sources of Energy Food Chains vs. Food Webs Decomposers Consumers Producers Energy Pyramid Practice Questions Test Your Knowledge (Quiz)

Where Do Living Things Get Energy From? The sun provides the primary source of energy for life on earth. Organisms also get energy from other plants and animals. Main Menu Food Chains vs. Food Webs

Food Chains & Food Webs Animals that eat plants for food may in turn become food for other animals. This sequence is called a food chain. Most animals are part of more than one food chain and eat more than one kind of food in order to meet their food and energy requirements. These interconnected food chains form a food web. The types of organisms involved in a food chain are producers, consumers (including herbivores, carnivores, omnivores, parasites, and scavengers), and decomposers. Watch a video Producers Main Menu

Producers Plants are called producers because they are able to use light energy from the sun to produce food (sugar) from carbon dioxide and water. Consumers Main Menu

Consumers Many organisms can’t make their own food so they must eat plants and/or other animals. They are called consumers. There are several groups of consumers: –H–Herbivores –C–Carnivores –O–Omnivores –P–Parasites –S–Scavengers Herbivores Main Menu

Herbivores Animals that eat ONLY PLANTS are called herbivores (or primary consumers). Rabbits and giraffes are examples of herbivores. Main Menu Carnivores

Animals that only eat OTHER ANIMALS are called carnivores. ***Think of them as meat eaters! Carnivores that eat herbivores are called secondary consumers. (i.e. Wolves are carnivores that eat rabbits which eat plants.) Carnivores that eat other carnivores are called tertiary consumers. (i.e. Killer whales eat seals which eat smaller fish which eat plankton.) secondary consumer tertiary consumer Main Menu Omnivores

Animals and people who eat BOTH animals and plants are called omnivores. Human beings and raccoons are examples of omnivores. Main Menu Parasites

Another type of consumer is a parasite. Parasites are small organisms that live on the bodies of other organisms using up their energy. Ticks are parasites that feed on animals such as deer. Main Menu Scavengers

Another type of consumer is a scavenger. Scavengers eat the bodies of other dead animals. Vultures are large birds that are scavengers. Main Menu Decomposers

Decomposers feed on decaying matter and waste products, recycling nutrients back into the soil. Many bacteria and fungi are decomposers. Main Menu Example of Food Chain

Example of a Food Chain Main Menu Click for example of a food web

Example of a Food Web Main Menu Watch video

Check out this video! Click on the following link to watch a short video clip about food chains and food webs: xplorer/0309/quickflicks/ * Be sure to read the interesting facts below the video. You may want to play the video more than once in order to read the captions below. Main Menu Food Chains vs. Food Webs Transfer of Energy

Transfer of Energy Through the Food Chain As energy is transferred from one organism to another, the amount of energy available at the next level becomes less and less. For example, when a herbivore eats, only a fraction of the energy (that it gets from plant food) becomes new body mass; the rest of the energy is lost as waste or used up by the herbivore to carry out its life processes (i.e., movement, digestion, reproduction). Therefore, when the herbivore is eaten by a carnivore, it passes only a small amount of total energy (that it has received) to the carnivore. Of the energy transferred from the herbivore to the carnivore, some energy will be "wasted" or "used up" by the carnivore. The carnivore then has to eat many herbivores to get enough energy to grow. The further along the food chain you go, the less food (and hence energy) remains available. The food chain is an inefficient system. Energy Pyramid Main Menu

This energy pyramid shows many plants providing food and energy to giraffes. As you go up, there are fewer giraffes than plants and even fewer lions than giraffes. As you continue along the food chain, fewer consumers exist. A large mass of living things at the base is needed to support a few at the top. Many herbivores are needed to support a few carnivores. Energy Pyramid carnivores herbivores producers Main Menu Food Chain

This food chain is inaccurate It should look like this… Next because it doesn’t show the flow of energy in the correct order. Main Menu Energy

This food chain is accurately illustrated producer Primary consumer or herbivore secondary consumer or carnivore Tertiary consumer or omnivore because it shows the flow of energy from the producer (which makes the food) to the largest, most complex consumer. Energy Practice Main Menu

Grasshoppers, mice, rabbits, deer, beavers, moose, cows, sheep, goats and groundhogs only eat plants. What type of consumers are they? Excellent! Consumers that only eat plants are called herbivores. Try again! Omnivores are consumers that eat both plants and animals. Try again! Carnivores are consumers that only eat other animals. Try again! Decomposers are consumers that feed on decaying matter and waste products. A) omnivores B) herbivores C) carnivores D) decomposers Main Menu Next

Foxes, frogs, snakes, hawks, and wolves only eat other animals. What type of consumers are they? A) omnivores D) decomposers B) scavengers C) carnivores Great job! Carnivores are consumers that only eat other animals. Try again! Omnivores are consumers that eat both plants and animals. Try again! Scavengers are consumers that eat the bodies of dead animals. Try again! Decomposers are consumers that feed on decaying matter and waste products. Main Menu Next

Bears, turtles, monkeys, and squirrels eat both plants and animals. What type of consumers are they? Main Menu A) omnivoresomnivores B) herbivoresherbivores D) scavengersscavengers C) carnivorescarnivores

You are correct! Omnivores eat BOTH plants and animals. Bears eat insects, fish, moose, elk, deer, sheep as well as honey, grass, and sedges. Turtles eat snails, crayfish, crickets, earthworms, and also lettuce, small plants, and algae. Monkeys eat frogs and lizards as well as fruits, flowers, and leaves. Squirrels eat insects, moths, bird eggs and nestling birds and also seeds, fruits, acorns, and nuts. Next

Try again! Herbivores are consumers that only eat plants. Back to question This deer is a herbivore.

Try again! Carnivores are consumers that only eat other animals. Back to question This snake is a carnivore.

Try again! Scavengers are consumers that eat the bodies of dead animals. Back to question This raven is a scavenger.

What is the largest group of organisms in a food chain, food web, or energy pyramid? A) decomposers B) consumers C) carnivores D) producers That’s right! Producers make up the largest group in order to sustain all of the other organisms that depend on them. They make the food that all other organisms consume. Try again! There are less consumers than producers because there has to be more producers to support the consumers that eat other plants and/or animals. Try again! Decomposers are an important part but do not make up the largest group. Try again! Because carnivores are higher up in the food chain, there are less of them. Next Main Menu

What are the herbivores in this food web? Answer the question here Main Menu

What are the herbivores in the food web? Look at the food web again A) grass & trees B) deer, rodents, birds, & insects C) foxes, owls, skunks, birds, & opossums D) cougars and bears Excellent! These organisms are herbivores. They eat the producers. Try again! These organisms are producers. They make their own food. Try again! These organisms are secondary consumers which eat the herbivores. Try again! These organisms are tertiary consumers which other eat carnivores, herbivores, and producers. Next Main Menu

Nice job with the practice questions! Are you ready for the quiz? Yes, I’m ready! No, I want to review more.

What is the primary source of energy for life on Earth? A) the moonthe moon B) the rainthe rain C) the sunthe sun D) the oceansthe oceans Main Menu

Yes, that’s right! The sun is the necessary energy source for all life on Earth. Producers use light energy to make food, and all other organisms benefit from the sun’s energy indirectly through the food chain. Next

Try again! The moon does not provide life on Earth with energy. Think about what plants need to make food besides water and carbon dioxide. What kind of energy is it and where does this energy come from? Back to question

Try again! Rain does not provide life on Earth with energy. Think about what plants need to make food besides water and carbon dioxide. What kind of energy is it and where does this energy come from? Back to question

Try again! The oceans do not provide life on Earth with energy. They contain organisms that contain energy but aren’t the primary source of energy. Think about what plants need to make food besides water and carbon dioxide. What kind of energy is it and where does this energy come from? Back to question

Bacteria and fungi are which of the following? A) decomposers B) producers C) consumers D) carnivores That’s correct! Bacteria and fungi are decomposers which break down matter and recycle nutrients back into the soil. Try again! Producers make their own food. All plants are producers. Try again! Consumers are organisms that consume plants and other animals. Try again! Carnivores are animals that only eat other animals. Next

Which of these is NOT a producer? A) a tiger B) a fern C) a maple tree D) grass Very good! A tiger is not a producer. It’s a carnivore because it eats deer, wild hog, peafowl, elephants, and buffalo. Try again! A fern is a producer because it’s a plant and therefore makes its own food. Try again! A maple tree is a producer because it’s a large plant and therefore makes its own food. Try again! Grass is a producer because it’s a plant and therefore makes its own food. Next

What do you call an animal that eats only plants and no meat? Next A) a decomposer B) a herbivore D) a carnivore C) an omnivore Try again! A decomposer is an organism that breaks down dead matter and waste products. Excellent! A herbivore is a consumer that eats only plants. Try again! An omnivore is a consumer that eats BOTH plants and animals. Try again! A carnivore is a consumer that eats only animals.

What do you call an organism that eats both plants and animals? Next A) carnivore B) omnivore C) herbivore D) producer Try again! A carnivore only eats animals. Great job! An omnivore eats BOTH plants and animals. Can you think of an example? Try again! A herbivore only eats plants. Try again! A producer makes its own food using water, light energy, and carbon dioxide.

As energy is transferred from one organism to the next, what happens to the amount of available energy? A) It increases. B) It decreases. C) It stays the same. D) It increases then decreases. Try again! Think about the energy pyramid. Try to picture it. Where is the most energy available and where is the least? Nice work! The energy pyramid shows that the most energy is at the bottom with the producers and as you go up to the top, the amount of energy decreases. Next

What role do we humans play in our food web? Next A) The role of producer B) The role of consumer C) The role of decomposer D) The role of scavenger Try again! Humans can’t make their own food like producers can. Excellent! Humans are consumers, specifically omnivores, because they eat plants and animals. Try again! Humans don’t feed on decaying matter and waste products like decomposers do. Try again! Humans don’t eat the bodies of dead animals like scavengers do.

How did you do on the quiz? Main MenuFINISH! A) 0 questions wrong B) 1 or 2 questions wrong C) 3 or 4 questions wrong D) 5, 6, or 7 questions wrong Superb job! Keep up the great work. Good job! Review the questions you had trouble with. Keep practicing! Go back and review the questions you had trouble with. Keep practicing! Go back and review the questions you had trouble with. Look back at the earlier slides for more information.

Congratulations! You completed this lesson on energy and the food web. Nice work! You may either go back and review some of the concepts or exit the PowerPoint. Keep up the great work! Main Menu References

Hazen, R. M. & Trefil, J. (1992). Science Matters. New York: Anchor Books. ecoresci.pdfhttp:// ecoresci.pdf xplorer/0309/quickflicks/ xplorer/0309/quickflicks/