Process
What is a food chain
All living things need food to give them the energy to grow and move. A food chain shows how each living thing gets its food. It shows who is eating who. The arrow means "is eaten by" .
The Sun is very important for all living things, without the sun the plants would not grow, without plants there would be no animals.
After the sun, a food chain starts with a Producer which is always a plant. It makes its own food with the energy of the sun. All other animals rely on eating other things to gain energy to live.
Next is the Primary Consumer which eats the producer to survive. These animals are known as herbivores because they only eat plants.
A Secondary Consumer follows. It may eat both the producer and the primary consumer so because it eats both plants and meat we call it an omnivore.
At the top of the food chain we have the Predator or Tertiary Predator. This animal eats only other consumers and no producers. We call him a carnivore because he only eats meat. He is the last in the food chain so nobody eats him.
We also have animals called Decomposers. They feed off the producers, the consumers and the predators only once they have died. They turn the dead matter into reusable nutrients so that the cycle of life can start all over again.
 Practice Here are some websites that will help you practice your understanding of food chains. Type into your web browser or click on the links:
These sites will give you ideas about the different sorts of environments that you may choose for your presentation. It will also help with your understanding of the different elements of a food chain and how a food chain works. This site especially will help with the second part of your presentation. If you follow the instructions of the game it will explain what would happen if there were no producers, not enough predators or too many or not enough concumers. Food chains work on a fine balance and it can be difficult to understand however this game will allow you to see the consequences of different changes within the food chain. After playing this game what do you think might happen in your food chain if:
These are the questions you must be able to answer in your presentation. |
Definitions:
If you have trouble undertasanding what some of the words used in food chains are then this information may be helpful.
Herbivore - an animal that eats plants.
Carnivore - an animal that eats other animals.
Omnivore - an animal that eats both plants and animals eg bears and humans.
Producer - usually a green plant that produces its own food by photosynthesis
Primary Consumer - Animals that consume only plant matter. They are herbivores - eg rabbits, caterpillars, cows, sheep, and deer.
Secondary Consumer - Animals that eat primary consumers (herbivores).
Tertiary Consumer/ Predator - Animals that eat secondary consumers ie carnivores that feed on other carnivores.
Decomposers - an organism such as bacteria and fungi that breaks down dead organisms and their wastes. . (They do not 'eat' the food like scavengers, as they have no mouth-parts. Instead they break down solid matter into liquids which they can absorb.) Examples: bacteria and some fungi.
Predators - kill for food. They are either secondary or tertiary consumers - eg polar bears, golden eagles
Prey - are the organisms that predators feed on. Examples of predator and prey species are: fox and rabbit; blue tit and caterpillar; wolf and lamb
(From the site: http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/homework/fooodchains.htm)
Type this address into your web browser or click on the link. Using the knowledge you have learned complete the quiz on this web page: http://www.theteacherspot.com/classroom/foodchains.htm Please show the teacher your score by the end of the first technology session so she can record the results. This will demonstrate the depth of your understanding about food chains and show where you may need a little more practice. This should be completed by the first session because in the second technology session you should be creating your presentation in your pairs to show to the class.
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