Food Chains and Consumers Quiz

Food Chain Basics

• A food chain is a model showing the path of energy in food as it moves from one organism to another.
• Energy for food chains comes from the sun.
• Organisms that make their own food are called producers.
• Producers get their energy from the sun.

Types of Consumers

• Consumers cannot make their own food, so they must eat producers or other consumers to gain energy.
• Organisms that eat producers are called primary consumers.
• Animals that eat other animals are called carnivores.
• A secondary consumer is a consumer that eats another consumer.

Roles in the Ecosystem

• Organisms that are eaten by other animals are called prey.
• Decomposers break down decaying material in an ecosystem.
• Decomposers recycle waste back into the soil, providing nutrients to the soil.

Predators and Prey

• A hawk is a predator to a mouse.
• A herbivore is an animal that eats only plants.

Food Chain Path

• The typical path of a food chain is: energy source to producer to herbivore to carnivore to decomposer.

Ecosystem Balance

• If a consumer is removed from an ecosystem, the population of primary and secondary consumers will likely increase.

Test your knowledge on food chains, consumers, and energy flow in ecosystems. Learn about producers, primary consumers, secondary consumers, and the relationship between organisms in a food chain.