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Grade 4-5
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Food Chains & Ecosystems
Trace energy flow through food chains and describe how organisms depend on each other.
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Food Chains & Ecosystems
Trace energy flow through food chains and describe how organisms depend on each other.
Science - Grade 4-5
Instructions: Answer in complete sentences. Use vocabulary: producer, consumer, decomposer, predator, prey, herbivore, carnivore, omnivore.
- 1
What is a producer? Give one example.
A producer is an organism that makes its own food through photosynthesis, such as grass or an oak tree. - 2
A rabbit eats grass, and a hawk eats the rabbit. Write this as a food chain.
Grass -> Rabbit -> Hawk - 3
What role do decomposers play in an ecosystem?
Decomposers break down dead organisms and return nutrients to the soil. - 4
Is a bear a herbivore, carnivore, or omnivore? Explain.
A bear is an omnivore because it eats both plants (berries, roots) and animals (fish, small mammals). - 5
If all the rabbits in an ecosystem disappeared, what might happen to the hawk population?
The hawk population would likely decrease because it would have less food available. - 6
Why do all food chains start with plants (or other producers)?
Plants capture energy from the sun through photosynthesis, making them the original energy source for the ecosystem. - 7
Name two ways humans can negatively affect an ecosystem.
Examples: habitat destruction/deforestation, pollution, introduction of invasive species, overhunting. - 8
What is the difference between a food chain and a food web?
A food chain shows one path of energy transfer; a food web shows many interconnected feeding relationships in an ecosystem.
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