Food Chains & Food Webs

4th Grade

consumer

an organism that gets energy from eating plants or animals

decomposer

an organism that breaks down the remains of dead plants or animals without need for internal digestion

energy

what is needed to do work or cause change

food web

an interconnected set of food chains

food chain

the path to food energy from one organism to another in an ecosystem

producer

an organism that uses sunlight to make its own food energy

bacteria

a type of organism that can break down just about any type of organic matter and is too small to see without tools

fungus

a type of organism that can break down just about any type of organic matter and can be large, such as a mushroom, or small, such as tiny pieces of mold

organism

a single, self-contained, living thing

ecosystem

all living and nonliving things and al their interactions in an area

flow

to move or travel smoothly in a certain direction

matter

anything that has mass and takes up space

producer

a plant or other living organism that makes its own food using sunlight

consumer

an organism that eats plants or other animals, can’t make their own food, so they get energy by eating

decomposer

an organism that breaks down dead plants and animals and converts them into nutrients for the soil

carnivore

a consumer that eats only MEAT (lions eat zebras & gazelles)

omnivore

a consumer that eats MEAT and PLANTS (hornbills eat fruit, insects, reptiles, and small animals)

herbivore

a consumer that eats only PLANTS (elephants eat grass, leaves, fruit, roots, & tree bark)