ENERGY BASICS
The original source of energy for most ecosystems
What is the Sun?
A producer is...
What is an organism that makes its own food
A food chain is...
What is a linear sequence of who eats whom
Q: Which level of the pyramid has the most energy?
Producers
Q: If all producers died, what would happen to the ecosystem?
A: It would collapse
The process plants use to convert sunlight into chemical energy
What is Photosynthesis?
The trophic level producers belong to...
What is the first level?
A food web is _____________.
What is a network of interconnected food chains
Q: About what percent of energy is passed to the next level?
A: 10%
Q: What would happen if a top predator was removed?
A: Prey populations would increase
The type of energy is stored in food
What is Chemical Energy?
A primary consumer is...
What is an organism that eats producers
In a food chain, the direction does energy flows...
What is from producer → consumers
Q: Why are there fewer organisms at higher trophic levels?
A: Less energy is available
Q: Why are plants essential to all ecosystems?
A: They provide energy for all other organisms
What happens to energy as it moves through an ecosystem
What is lost as heat
A secondary consumer is...
What is an organism that eats primary consumers
If a food chain goes:
grass → rabbit → fox, what is the rabbit?
What is a primary consumer
Q: What happens to the other 90% of energy?
A: Lost as heat / used by organisms
Q: If a snake eats a mouse that ate grass, what trophic level is the snake?
A: Secondary consumer
Why organisms need energy
What is for life processes (growth, movement, reproduction, etc.)
What are decomposers and what do they do?
What are organisms that break down dead matter and recycle nutrients
Why are food webs more realistic than food chains?
Organisms have multiple food sources
Q: Why can’t food chains have many levels?
A: Energy decreases at each level
Q: Why is energy flow not a cycle like matter?
A: Energy is lost as heat and cannot be reused