Chap. 4; Lesson 4.2 TOC: How Organisms Get Energy Class: Owl Pellets

Getting Energy Everything you do requires energy. All living things need energy to move, eat, grow, & reproduce The Sun is the source of all energy in almost all ecosystems. This makes it the 1 st step in most food chains. Food Chain (w.w) sequence of connected producers & consumers. A food chain shows how energy flows through an ecosystem. Producer (w.w) organisms that get energy from Sun & make their own food. What is this process called? Photosynthesis Consumer (w.w) organism that eats another organism. Herbivore- plant eater (primary consumer) Carnivore- eats other animals (secondary consumer) Different levels of carnivore- dog eat cat Omnivore- eats plants & animals Ecosystems also have scavengers/decomposers. Decomposers- consumers (bacteria/fungi) that break down plant/animal waste & return them to the soil. Once there the energy cycle begins again.

Food Chain Lets play the food chain game! m/content/animals/kidscorner/ga mes/foodchaingame.htm m/content/animals/kidscorner/ga mes/foodchaingame.htm

A Day in the Energy Cycle Under a big acorn tree in a grassy field surrounded by trees, a small herd of deer were grazing on freshly fallen acorns. Not far from them was a couple red squirrels scurrying about collecting acorns for winter. The squirrels left behind all the acorns that were rotten and moldy. Across the field, in separate trees sat 2 other animals. A hawk that was keeping a close eye on the squirrels and a man that was keeping a close eye on the deer. Identify the producers. Identify the primary consumers. Identify the secondary consumers.

Food Webs Food web (w.w)- group of connected food chains in an ecosystem. Most organisms eat more than one type of food. Ex: rabbit eats grass & carrot, deer eats acorns & grass, we eat all kinds of things. The fewer the primary consumers (plants, algae, etc) the fewer the secondary consumers.

Food Webs

Class Activity Create a food web. Materials: Index cards, markers, string

The Energy Pyramid Each time an organism is consumed, some energy is used, some is lost as heat, & the rest is stored. This means energy is lost each time it passes from one organism to another. 90% of energy is lost. Only 10% passes on. Energy Pyramid (w.w)- shows that energy is lost at each level of the food chain. The loss of original energy increases w/ each level B/c of this energy loss, the higher up on the food pyramid, the fewer organisms.

The Energy Pyramid Remember each level only gets 10% of the previous level. 1 st level has 100% 2 nd gets 10% 3 rd gets 1% 4 th gets.1%

4.2 Review Q’s 11 points 1.Put the following organisms into the correct order they would be found on a food chain. rabbit, coyote, lettuce, Sun, bear (5 points) 2.In terms of energy; why might it be better to eat foods lower on the food energy pyramid? (2 points) 3.What is the first step in the production of energy in a food chain? (2 points) 4.Explain the difference between primary consumers and secondary consumers. (2 points)