Food Chains
A food chain shows how energy passes from one living thing to another through eating. Every chain starts with the sun!
🔗 What is a Food Chain?
A food chain shows the order in which living things eat each other. It tells us how energy flows from the sun through plants and then through different animals.
☀️ Energy always starts with the SUN
The sun provides energy to plants. Plants store this energy in their leaves and fruit. When animals eat plants, they get that energy. When other animals eat those animals, the energy passes on again!
Sun
Grass
Grasshopper
Frog
Eagle
Key Roles in a Food Chain
Producer
Plants are producers because they produce (make) their own food using sunlight. They are always at the start of a food chain. Examples: grass, gum tree, seaweed, wheat.
Consumer
Animals are consumers because they eat (consume) other living things for energy. There are primary consumers (eat plants) and secondary consumers (eat other animals).
Predator and Prey
A predator is an animal that hunts and eats other animals. The animal that is caught and eaten is called the prey. Example: a wedge-tailed eagle (predator) eats a rabbit (prey).
Worked Examples
Example 1: Australian bush food chain
The leaves are the producer. The koala is a consumer (prey). The dingo is the predator at the top.
Example 2: What happens if a link is removed?
If all the frogs in a food chain disappeared, the grasshoppers (their prey) would have no predator and their population would explode. The eagles (which eat frogs) would have less food and their numbers would fall.
✓ Every link in a food chain matters for the whole ecosystem.
Example 3: Ocean food chain
Algae is the producer. Krill eat algae. Fish eat krill. Sharks eat fish. Energy flows along the chain.
Key Vocabulary
Producer
A plant that makes its own food from sunlight. Always the first link in a food chain.
Consumer
An animal that eats other living things for energy. All animals are consumers.
Predator
An animal that hunts and eats other animals. Example: eagle, shark, dingo.
Prey
An animal that is hunted and eaten by a predator. Example: rabbit, grasshopper, fish.
Knowledge Check
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Key Concepts Summary
- ●A food chain shows how energy flows from the sun through plants and animals.
- ●Producers (plants) are always at the start — they make food from sunlight.
- ●Consumers (animals) eat other living things for energy.
- ●A predator hunts and eats other animals (prey).
- ●If one part of a food chain is removed, it affects the whole ecosystem.