Food Webs 101

Energy in Ecosystems

6th Grade Science

Essential Question:

How does energy cycle through an ecosystem?

Vocabulary

Energy

The ability to do work

​Food Chain

​A single strand of a more complex food web. A series of organisms that are dependent on each other for energy.

​Food Web

​A complex system of how energy moves through an ecosystem.

Learning Target

When given a diagram of a food web, I can identify how an organism obtains energy.

Multiple Choice

Where do plants get their energy from?

• Rocks

• Water

• Oxygen

• The Sun

Food Chains

You may have seen a food chain before. A food chain is like a single strand in a spider’s web - it’s just one piece of many that work together to make up the whole web.

Food Chains

Here is an example of a cougar’s food chain. The orange arrows shows how the energy travels. 

1. Sun provides energy to the blackberry.

2. Blackberry provides energy to the deer.

3. Deer provides energy to the cougar

Food Chains

Cougars are predators temperate rainforest ecosystems. Another predator in this ecosystem is a barn owl. This is one possible food chain for a barn owl.

This is how the energy moves through this food chain:

1. Sun -> Clovers

2. Clover -> Rabbit

3. Rabbit -> Barn owl

Food Chains

Another predator in this ecosystem is a red fox. This one possible food chain for a red fox.

This is how the energy moves through this food chain:

1. Sun -> Acorns

2. Acorns -> Squirrel

3. Squirrel -> Red fox

Multiple Choice

What organism does the cougar get energy from in this food chain? (click on the picture to make it bigger)

• Blackberries

• Deer

• Sun

Multiple Choice

Where does the clover gets its energy from in this food chain? (click on the picture to make it bigger)

• Rabbit

• Barn owl

• The sun

Multiple Choice

What organism does the squirrel get its energy from in this food chain? (click on the picture to make it bigger)

• Red fox

• The sun

• Acorns

Food webs

Food webs show how organisms get energy throughout the ecosystem - not just one possible option. This is an image of the food web made from those three separate food chains.

You can see that it is much more complex than a simple food chain is. The thinner arrows show how the food chains connect.

Multiple Choice

Which of these organisms does NOT provide energy to the cougar?

• Red fox

• Barn owl

• Squirrel

• Deer

• Rabbit

Multiple Select

What organisms provide energy to the red fox? Choose all that apply. (click on the picture to make it bigger)

• Blackberries

• Rabbits

• Clover

• Squirrels

• Barn owls

Multiple Choice

Squirrels and deer both get energy from acorns. What type of relationship do squirrels and deer have?

• Predation

• Competition

• Mutualism

• Commensalism

Multiple Choice

Barn owls get energy from rabbits and squirrels. What type of relationship do barn owls have with rabbits and squirrels?

• Predation

• Competition

• Mutualistic

• Commensalistic

Multiple Choice

If one of the plants was to go extinct, how could that affect the other animals?

• It would have no affect

• There would be more competition for resources