Food chain

High school (ages 12+)
Animals & Nature

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/food-chain

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the key application?Ecological modeling, conservation biology, and integrated pest management
2. What is the biomagnification?Pollutants can become more concentrated in organisms at higher trophic levels
3. Who are the producers in a food chain?Producers are plants or bacteria that make food from sunlight or chemicals and are the base of the chain.
4. Why do we only get about 10% of energy at each level?Only about 10% of the energy is kept when one level eats another because most of it is lost as heat when the animals use it for body work.

Autotroph: An organism that produces its own food, usually through photosynthesis or chemosynthesis.
Detritivore: An organism that feeds on dead organic matter, such as decaying plants and animals.
Keystone Species: A species that has a disproportionately large effect on its environment relative to its abundance.