FOOD CHAIN & FOOD WEB

Learning Objective :
To define a food chain as showing the transfer of
energy from one organism to the next,
beginning with a producer
To state that energy is transferred between
organisms in a food chain by ingestion.
Video
• Draw a simple food chain with your prior knowledge about it.
Food webs
A food web is a network of
interconnected food chains.
It shows the energy flow
through part of
an ecosystem. The diagram
is an example:
Information from a food web

The example above contains lots of information. Here are three

food chains from it:
•oak tree → squirrel → fox
•oak tree → earthworm → wood mouse → fox
•oak tree → earthworm → wood mouse → owl
The oak trees are the producers. Squirrels and earthworms
are primary consumers, and the wood mice are secondary
consumers. The foxes and owls are tertiary consumers (the
foxes are also secondary consumers).
Foxes and owls eat the wood mice, and foxes eat wood mice and
squirrels. The fungi and earthworms are decomposers in this
food web.
Think & answer???????????
• Considering the food web above as an example, what would
happen if the population of slugs decreased?
ANSWER
• Slugs, rabbits and insects all eat grass. If there were fewer
slugs there would be more grass for the rabbits and insects.
With more food available, the populations of rabbits and insects
would increase.
• However, the thrushes would have to eat more insects to
maintain their population, so it is also possible that the
population of insects could decrease. This may reduce the
populations of voles and frogs.
Assessment (10 Marks)
• 1. State the difference between the terms in each of the
following pairs:
• A. producer and consumer(2M)
• B. carnivore and herbivore (2M)
• C. food chain and food web (2M)
Assessment
2. The diagram shows a food chain. A farmer sprays his
cabbages with pesticide. Which organisms does the farmer want
to kill? (1M)

3. Where does all energy in living organism originate from?(1M)

4. Why are green plants called producers?(2M)
Answers
• 1.(A) producer: an organism that makes its organic nutrients using energy from sunlight
through photosynthesis
• consumer: an organism that gets its energy by feeding on other organisms.
• (b) carnivore: an animal that gets its energy by feeding on other animal
• Herbivore: an animal that gets energy by feeding on plants
• 2. B- GREEN FLIES
• 3. sunlight/ solar energy
• 4. because in photosynthesis they use energy from sunlight to produce the food that then
powers the rest of the food chain.