Energy Roles in Ecosystems Quiz

Questions and Answers

What is a producer? List several examples.

A producer is an organism (usually a plant) that makes food for itself from a process called photosynthesis. Examples include oak trees, flowers, and corn.

What is a consumer? List several examples.

Consumers are organisms that cannot make food for themselves. Examples include grasshoppers, lions, and humans.

Explain and give an example of the three types of consumers.

Herbivore: Plant eater (e.g., bunny). Omnivore: Eats both plants and animals (e.g., humans). Carnivore: Meat eater (e.g., tiger).

What is a decomposer? List several examples.

A decomposer eats dead plants and animals. Examples include bacteria, fungi, mushrooms, and termites. Signup and view all the answers

How are producers, consumers, and decomposers interrelated?

Producers make food, which consumers eat. Decomposers recycle nutrients back into the soil, supporting producers and creating a continuous cycle. Signup and view all the answers

What is a food chain?

A pathway of energy flow in an ecosystem. Signup and view all the answers

Explain and give an example of the three levels of consumers in a food chain.

Primary consumer: 1st level (herbivore, e.g., grasshopper). Secondary consumer: 2nd level (carnivore or omnivore, e.g., snake). Tertiary consumer: 3rd level (carnivore, e.g., hawk). Signup and view all the answers

What is a food web?

A diagram that shows complex interactions and feeding relationships between all organisms in an ecosystem. Signup and view all the answers

How does energy flow in an ecosystem?

As each organism eats the one below it, energy is transferred to that organism. Signup and view all the answers

How does a major change in a population happen?

For example, if a disease destroys the grasshopper population, the snake population will have nothing to eat, and their population will decrease as well. Signup and view all the answers

Study Notes

Producers

Organisms that create their own food through photosynthesis.
Examples include oak trees, flowers, and corn.

Consumers

Organisms that cannot produce their own food.
Classified into three types: herbivores, carnivores, and omnivores.
Examples include grasshoppers (herbivores), lions (carnivores), and humans (omnivores).

Types of Consumers

Herbivore: Primarily eats plants; example is a bunny.
Omnivore: Consumes both plants and animals; example is a human.
Carnivore: Mainly eats other animals; example is a tiger.

Decomposers

Organisms that break down dead plants and animals to recycle nutrients.
Examples include bacteria, fungi, mushrooms, and termites.

Interrelationship of Producers, Consumers, and Decomposers

Energy cycle: Producers create food, consumers eat producers, and decomposers return nutrients to the soil.
Healthier producers lead to healthier consumers and decomposers in a continuous cycle.

Food Chain

Represents the flow of energy in an ecosystem through a linear pathway.

Levels of Consumers in a Food Chain

Primary Consumer: First level, eats producers (herbivore); an example is a grasshopper.
Secondary Consumer: Second level, eats either producers or other consumers (carnivore or omnivore); an example is a snake.
Tertiary Consumer: Third level, primarily eats secondary consumers (carnivores); an example is a hawk.

Food Web

A diagram illustrating the complex feeding relationships and interactions among all organisms in an ecosystem.

Energy Flow in Ecosystems

Energy transfers from one organism to the next as they consume each other.

Population Changes

Major changes in population can occur, for instance, when a disease affects one species (e.g., grasshoppers), leading to cascading effects on predator populations (e.g., snakes) due to lack of food.

Description

Explore the roles of producers and consumers in ecosystems with this quiz. Understand the basics of photosynthesis and food chains through the lens of ecological interactions. Test your knowledge on different types of organisms and their functions in the environment.