Autotrophs & Heterotrophs
What type of organism makes its food from simple inorganic substances?
What is an autotroph?
What gas do plants take in during photosynthesis?
What is carbon dioxide?
What is the first trophic level in a food chain?
What are producers?
What do herbivores eat?
What are plants?
What is a food web?
A complex diagram showing multiple feeding relationships in an ecosystem.
What do autotrophs use as a source of energy to make food?
What is sunlight?
What is the main product of photosynthesis that provides energy?
What is glucose?
What do primary consumers eat?
What are producers (plants)?
Name one animal that is a carnivore.
What is a lion? (Acceptable: tiger, snake, spider, etc.)
How is a food chain different from a food web?
A food chain is linear; a food web shows many interconnected paths.
What is the main difference between autotrophs and heterotrophs?
Autotrophs make their food; heterotrophs must consume other organisms.
Write the word equation for photosynthesis.
Carbon dioxide + Water → Glucose + Oxygen (in the presence of sunlight)
What trophic level do carnivores that eat herbivores belong to?
What is the third trophic level (secondary consumers)?
What are organisms called that eat both plants and animals?
What are omnivores?
Why is a food web a better model than a food chain?
Because it accounts for organisms feeding at multiple trophic levels.
Name one example of a heterotrophic organism.
What is a lion? (Also acceptable: human, bear, chicken, etc.)
What two materials must a plant have for photosynthesis besides sunlight?
What are water and carbon dioxide?
Why does the energy decrease as you go up the food chain?
Because energy is lost as heat at each trophic level.
What role do decomposers play in the food chain?
They break down dead organisms and return nutrients to the environment.
What happens to most of the energy in an ecosystem?
It is lost as heat.
Which organisms play a vital role in converting inorganic substances to organic food?
What are autotrophs (like green plants)?
In which part of the plant does photosynthesis mainly occur?
What are the leaves (specifically, the chloroplasts)?
After how many energy transfers is there usually not enough energy to support organisms?
After four to six transfers.
Name two decomposers or detritivores.
What are fungi and worms (also: bacteria)?
What law explains the loss of energy during trophic transfers?
What is the second law of thermodynamics?