Environmental Science

Elective 7
1st Quarter
(Notes on Worksheets #5)

Food Chain, Food Web and Energy Pyramid

Interactions are the relationships that organisms have within an ecosystem. These relationships are
usually defined by the organism’s niche.

These interactions form food chains and food webs.

Niche- an organism’s job or role within an ecosystem

Producer – an organism that makes its own food. *Example – Plants
Consumer– an organism that has to eat to get energy. Consumers include Herbivores, Carnivores,
Omnivores & Scavengers.
Scavengers- are organisms that eat dead material (left overs from other animals’ kills).
herbivore – an organism that only eats plants
carnivore - an organism that only eats meat
omnivore – an organism that eats both plants & meat.
Decomposers_ - Break down (digest) dead plants and animals.
Two examples are bacteria & fungi
Decomposers- reduce dead organisms to simpler forms of matter
and return them to the soil.

FOOD CHAIN
 A food chain or web shows the movement of energy through ecosystems.
 Food chains show how each living thing gets food. Organisms transfer
energy by eating and being eaten.
 Food chains begin with the sun energy moving to a producer.
(Sometimes they don’t put the sun on the diagrams though).
 The arrows of a food chain show the flow of energy from one
organism to another and go in one direction.

FOOD WEB
 A food web is a collection of interconnected or overlapping food chains from the same ecosystem.
 The arrows in a food web show the flow of energy from one organism to another. This flow of energy
branches out in many directions.
 Food webs contain multiple producers and consumers.
The higher in the pyramid, the less energy is available.

Energy Pyramid

3rd Level Consumer

Tertiary Consumer (Carnivores)

2nd Level Consumer

Secondary Consumer
(Omnivores and Carnivores)

1st Level Consumer

Primary Consumer (Herbivores)

Producers
Decomposers break down dead organisms at ALL levels.

Source:

Arms, K., et al., 2006 , Environmental Science of Rex Book Store, Inc.

Pavico, J., et al., 2017, Exploring Life Through Science Series of Phoenix Publishing House Inc.

Valdoz, Meliza P., et al., 2013, Science Links (K to 12) of Rex Book Store, Inc.
 Environmental Science
Elective 7
1st Quarter
(Worksheet #5)
Name: _________________________ Year & Section: ____________________ Date: _____________

Most Essential Learning Competencies:

 Trace the flow of energy in a food chain, and food pyramid.

Objective:
 Explain the flow of energy from one trophic level to the next trophic level among organisms.

Activity 1: “Which Eats What?”

Lettuce Slug Frog Snake Eagle

I. Use the food web to help you answer these questions.

1. What does the arrow mean in a food chain?
2. Which organism is the producer?___________________________________________
3. Which animal is the top predator?__________________________________________
4. Name the consumers in the food chain ______________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
II. Frogs are also eaten by racoons and snakes. Lettuce is also eaten by rabbits. Coyotes eat raccoons,
snakes, and rabbits. Eagles eat snakes, rabbits and frogs. Draw in the arrows below to form a food
web.

Activity 2: “Enjoy Your Meal”

Direction: Describe how energy transferred from one organism to another. Below is an example of a food web in
the forest. Use this to answer the questions:
Guide Questions:
1. Which of the organisms depends on plants for food?
___________________________________________________________________________________

2. Which among them serves as food for the eagle?

____________________________________________________________________________________

3. What serves as food for the snake?

____________________________________________________________________________________

4. What is the producer?

____________________________________________________________________________________

5. Cite other kinds of organisms that may also be part of the web.
____________________________________________________________________________________

Activity 3: “Energy for Life”

Direction: Describe the flow of energy from one trophic level to the next trophic level among organisms.

Below is an empty energy pyramid. Write the organisms for each trophic level. It is possible that many
organisms occupy the different trophic levels. Specify the type of ecosystem where these organism live.
Label your answers to indicate the herbivores, carnivores, and omnivores.

Guide Questions:
1. In what kind of ecosystem are the organisms found?
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
2. Which organism uses the greatest energy from the sun?
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
3. What happens with the energy as it is being passed from one organism to another organism?
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
4. What causes the decrease of energy from one trophic level to the next?
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
5. Which organisms will be greatly affected when the organism on the base of the pyramid is
eliminated?
____________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
Activity 4: “Energy Transfer in the Ecosystem”

Direction:
A. List down the activities found in your community. Classify the organisms according to the
following categories.
Organism Producer First Order Second Order Third Order
Consumer Consumer Consumer

B. Construct a food chain using the organisms listed on the table above.

Evaluation:
I. Read each statement carefully. Choose the letter that corresponds to the correct answer. Write
the letter on the space provided before each number.

___________1. What are the producers in a community?

a. omnivores c. Green plants
b. consumers d. decomposers
___________2. Which of the following consumers in a food chain has the least food energy??
a. grasshopper b. snake c. frog d. grass
Study the sample food chain below and answer questions 3 to 5.
algae tilapia cat bacteria
___________3. Which organism is the producer?
a. cat b. Tilapia c. algae d. bacteria
___________4. Which organism is the decomposer?
a. cat b. Tilapia c. algae d. bacteria
___________5. Which is the first-order consumer?
a. cat b. Tilapia c. algae d. bacteria
___________6. As we move upward to the ladder of the energy pyramid, the biomass level
____________.
a. increases c. remains the same
b. decreases d. has no effect
___________7. Grasses, shrubs, seedlings, and young trees are ________.
a. producers c. decomposers
b. Consumers d. ditritivores
___________8. Earthworms feed on partly decayed organic matter. What is the classification of
earthworm as a consumer?
a. detritus b. decomposer c. producer d. herbivore
___________9. What term is used to describe the series of organism in which the next lower
organism of the series serves as a food source?
a. food chain b. food web c. trophic level d. energy booster
___________10. What type of consumer is a dog as it feeds on bone and meat?
a. omnivore b. detritus c. herbivore d. carnivore
II. Use the diagram below to answer the following questions.
Plant insect mice snake Hawk
_________1. Which converts light energy to chemical energy?
_________2. Among animals, which will have the least energy?
_________3. Which is the secondary consumer?
_________4. Which is a herbivore?
_________5. What kind of diagram is represented by this flow of energy?
 Answer Key

Activity 1:
I.
1. flow of energy
2. lettuce
3. slug
4. eagle
5. slug, frog, snake, eagle
II.

Activity 2: (Possible answers)

1. rat and rabbit
2. snake
3. rat and rabbit
4. grass
5. insect, frog, etc.

Activity 3:
Answers will depend on student’s energy pyramid

Activity 4:
Answers will depend on student’s data

Evaluation:
I.
1. c
2. b
3. c
4. d
5. b
6. b
7. a
8. b
9. a
10. a
II.
1. plant
2. hawk
3. mice
4. insect
5. food chain