Monday 10 May 2021

Food Chains and Food Webs

Learning Intentions
4.6 understand the names given to different trophic levels, including producers,
primary, secondary and tertiary consumers and decomposers
4.7 understand the concepts of food chains, food webs, pyramids of number,
pyramids of biomass and pyramids of energy transfer.

Starter:
Create a list of
all the biotic
and abiotic
features of
this picture
4.6 understand the names given to different trophic levels, including producers, primary, secondary and tertiary
consumers and decomposers
4.7 understand the concepts of food chains, food webs, pyramids of number, pyramids of biomass and pyramids
of energy transfer.

Simple food chains

• Arrange the organisms into a food chain

• Can you label which ones are the,

Producer Tertiary consumer

Primary consumer Decomposer

Quaternary consumer Secondary consumer

4.6 understand the names given to different trophic levels, including producers, primary, secondary and tertiary
consumers and decomposers
4.7 understand the concepts of food chains, food webs, pyramids of number, pyramids of biomass and pyramids
of energy transfer.

Simple food chains

A plant is eaten by a caterpillar.
The caterpillar is eaten by a bird.
The bird is eaten by a fox.

Plant Caterpillar Bird Fox

Food chains start with a plant that is eaten by an animal.

Chains usually have about 3-5 species.

Mini Task:
You have 30 seconds to write down another simple food
chain.
4.6 understand the names given to different trophic levels, including producers, primary, secondary and tertiary
consumers and decomposers
4.7 understand the concepts of food chains, food webs, pyramids of number, pyramids of biomass and pyramids
of energy transfer.

Plants Decomposers:
Things that cause
breaking down or
rotting away

Animals
Producers:
They produce their own
food using carbon
dioxide and water.

Fungi/Bacteria Consumers:
Things that eat other
living things (can be
herbivores, omnivores
or carnivores).
4.6 understand the names given to different trophic levels, including producers, primary, secondary and tertiary
consumers and decomposers
4.7 understand the concepts of food chains, food webs, pyramids of number, pyramids of biomass and pyramids
of energy transfer.

Food webs
The Food Web is a series of food chains all connected to
each other. Plants are eaten by a variety of consumer
animals and then those animals may be eaten by a variety of
different carnivores.
4.6 understand the names given to different trophic levels, including producers, primary, secondary and tertiary
consumers and decomposers
4.7 understand the concepts of food chains, food webs, pyramids of number, pyramids of biomass and pyramids
of energy transfer.

How confident are you?

If I asked you to identify the different types of
components of a food web how confident are you
that you could do this?

Very Confident

Can you show the

class?
Confident

Maybe

Not at all.
 Confident???? Then create
Low confidence??? Then your own food web
complete the sheet to containing 10 organisms
help build it up. and identify the following
components:
-Producers
-Herbivores
-Omnivores
-Carnivores
-Decomposer
Mini - plenary
 Self assess

6
marks
Monday 10 May 2021
4.7 understand the concepts of food chains, food webs, pyramids of number, pyramids of biomass and pyramids
of energy transfer.

Use this information to construct a pyramid of numbers

4.7 understand the concepts of food chains, food webs, pyramids of number, pyramids of biomass and pyramids
of energy transfer.

Energy and biomass

Think, pair, share
•What do you think biomass is?
•Biomass is the mass of material in living
organisms.
4.7 understand the concepts of food chains, food webs, pyramids of number, pyramids of biomass and pyramids
of energy transfer.

Construct your own Pyramid of Biomass:

There are 25 leaves. Each leaf weighs 5g.
4.7 understand the concepts of food chains, food webs, pyramids of number, pyramids of biomass and pyramids
of energy transfer.

Construct your own Pyramid of Biomass:

20 aphids can eat that
amount of leaves
in one day.

Each Aphid weighs 1g

4.7 understand the concepts of food chains, food webs, pyramids of number, pyramids of biomass and pyramids
of energy transfer.

Now count the number of lady birds that can

eat that amount of aphids in one day.

Each Ladybird weighs 10g

4.7 understand the concepts of food chains, food webs, pyramids of number, pyramids of biomass and pyramids
of energy transfer.

Construct your own pyramid of biomass

Organism Numbers Biomass (g)
Leaves 25 5 x 25 =
Aphids 20 1 x 20 =
Ladybirds 1 10 x 1 =

On Graph paper construct a scaled pyramid of biomass

Answer these questions that interpret your pyramid:

a)What percentage of the biomass of the leaves is passed on to the
aphids?

b)What percentage of the aphids is passed on to the ladybirds?

4.7 understand the concepts of food chains, food webs, pyramids of number, pyramids of biomass and pyramids
of energy transfer.

Findings from our pyramids of biomass

Q1. What is happening to the biomass as we go
up the food chain?

Q2. What is happening to the energy as we go

up the food chain? Why?
4.7 understand the concepts of food chains, food webs, pyramids of number, pyramids of biomass and pyramids
of energy transfer.

Findings from our pyramids of biomass

The amount of material and energy contained in
the biomass at each stage is less than it was at a
previous stage.
This is because some material and energy taken in
is passed out as waste by the organism.
A lot of the biomass eaten is used in respiration by
the animal cells to release energy, and used for
growth and movement.
4.7 understand the concepts of food chains, food webs, pyramids of number, pyramids of biomass and pyramids
of energy transfer.

Plenary
Past exam
question

Monday 10 May 2021

4.7 understand the concepts of food chains, food webs, pyramids of number, pyramids of biomass and pyramids
of energy transfer.

Peer assess

8
marks
Monday 10 May 2021