Simple Food Chain PDF

STUDENT SHEET 3.7.A Page 1 of 3 Examining a Simple Food Chain Corn Chicken...

STUDENT SHEET 3.7.A Page 1 of 3 Examining a Simple Food Chain Corn Chicken Human Diet/food source Corn plants are able to Chickens are omnivores that eat both Human diets vary. Some individuals choose make their own food. plants and animals. A chicken diet can be to eat a fully vegetarian plant-based diet made up of a variety of fruits, vegetables, and others choose to eat both plants and grains, insects, and even table scraps. animals. Chickens also will eat (or try to eat) other non-food items like small rocks. For a human who eats animal products chicken can make up 15% of the total diet. Most chicken feed (fed to chickens being The average person in the United States raised for human consumption) is made eats approximately 25.3 chickens per year. up of:  Corn (60%–70% of diet, the equivalent of 4 ears of corn/day)  Oats and/or barley (less than 15% of diet) Alfalfa meal, peas, and wheat Lifetime 60–100 days Time from birth to harvest: Approximately For a human in the United States the Copyright © BSCS. All rights reserved. 56 days average lifetime is 78.5 years. Average mass 453.6 grams/ear of corn 3,401 grams/chicken 180 lb/person (1 lb = 453.6 grams) Average amount of edible 1 ear of corn produces 1 chicken produces approximately N/A mass produced approximately 184.5 grams 1,170 grams of meat that can be eaten. of corn that can be eaten. UNIT 3 | CHAPTER 8 Lesson 7 Why do plant-based foods tend to require less land to produce?  STUDENT SHEET 3.7.A Page 2 of 3 Using the information about the organisms in the food chain, answer the questions below: 1. How many grams of corn does one chicken eat in a lifetime? 2. How many grams of chicken does one person eat in a lifetime? 3. Fill in the chart below. Mass of food source consumed Mass of organism Chicken Human a. What is the difference between the mass of the chicken and the mass of the corn a chicken consumes? Copyright © BSCS. All rights reserved. b. What is the difference between the mass of the human and the mass of the chicken a human consumes? c. Why is there a difference between the mass of food consumed and the mass of the organism? UNIT 3 | CHAPTER 8 Lesson 7 Why do plant-based foods tend to require less land to produce?  STUDENT SHEET 3.7.A Page 3 of 3 4. How many ears of corn does it take to sustain one chicken during its lifetime? 5. How many chickens does it take to sustain one human during their lifetime? 6. How much corn is needed to allow one human to consume a lifetime of chickens? Copyright © BSCS. All rights reserved. 7. What do you notice about the number of organisms needed to sustain an organism at each step of the food chain? UNIT 3 | CHAPTER 8 Lesson 7 Why do plant-based foods tend to require less land to produce?