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Food Chains

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This sample is an excerpt from one presentation on Food Chains in Boardworks Elementary School Science, which contains 44 interactive presentations in total.

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Look carefully at the organisms in this garden habitat.

Food chains

Can you identify who might eat who or what in this picture?”

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Food chains

In every habitat, some animals eat plants and some animals eat other animals.

This is an example of a food chain. All organisms are linked together by food chains. They depend on each other to survive.

caterpillarlettuce bird fox

In this garden, lettuce is eaten by a caterpillar, which is then eaten by a bird, which is then eaten by a fox.

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Food chains

Most food chains start with a green plant.

Green plants are producers. They produce food for other living things.

Producers make their own food using energy from the Sun. Most producers need sunlight, water and carbon dioxide to make food.

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Food chains

Other organisms eat producers to get the energy they need to live and grow.

producer consumer consumer consumer

seaweed limpet crab human

Organisms that consume other organisms are called consumers.

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Food chains

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Food chains

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Food chains

Predators are consumers that hunt for their prey. Predators eat other animals, but they might also eat producers.

This worm is food for the bird.

Write a list of other predators and their prey. How many different pairs of animals can you think of?

Who is the predator and who is the prey?