Energy in the Ecosystem - 6th Grade

Life Science

Energy Pyramid

a diagram that shows the amount of energy that moves from the producers to the top consumers in an ecosystem

producers/autotrophs

Organisms that make their own food

Organisms

living things

consumers

An organism that gets energy by eating other organisms.

energy is never destroyed it …

only changes forms and gets cycled through the earth

Energy on Earth comes from the

sun

Which level of the energy pyramid has the most available energy?

the producer level

There is only one producer level all the rest are

types of consumers

Which is there more of producers or consumers.

There are more producers

What are reasons the consumers have less energy available to them?

Consumers have to use more energy to stay alive and find food.

ten percent rule

Only about 10% of the energy in one level is passed on to the next higher level.

photosynthesis

producers turn light energy into chemical energy - the chemical energy travels up the energy pyramid giving energy to consumers

ecosytem

all the living and nonliving things in an area

apex predator

Top of the food chain. No natural predators

food chain

series of steps showing a straight line of who eats who for energy

food web

a system of many food chains in one ecosystem

decomposer

An organism that breaks down wastes and dead organisms and returns the nutrients to the soil

Cycling of Matter in the Ecosystem

The process by which nutrients and minerals are recycled and reused in an ecosystem, cycles such as the water, carbon, and nitrogen cycles.

Flow of Energy in the Ecosystem

The transfer of energy from the sun through producers to consumers and decomposers in an ecosystem.

The Law of Conservation of Energy

states that energy cannot be created or destroyed, only transformed from one form to another