Transcript Slide 1

Science Focus Lesson
SC.4.L.17.3
Food Chains
Polk County Public Schools
SC.4.L.17.3
Benchmark: Trace the flow of energy from the Sun
as it is transferred along the food chain through
the producers to the consumers.
Essential Question:
What is the relationship between the
sun, producers, and consumers?
Vocabulary:
food chain
predator
producer
prey
consumer
photosynthesis
Energy Transfer
All organisms need energy.
The sun is the main source of energy for Earth.
Through photosynthesis, plants convert energy from
the sun into food. Animals depend on plants for
their food.
It what other ways do animals, including people,
depend on plants?
Talk it over with your shoulder partner.
Photosynthesis
 Only green plants can convert the Sun’s energy into
food!
 This process is called Photosynthesis.
 Photosynthesis takes place in the leaves of a plant.
 Green plants use carbon
dioxide, water and energy
from the sun to make their
own food.
Summarizing
In your science journal, illustrate and label
the process by which a green plant makes
food from the Sun’s energy. Use these
words:
 Photosynthesis
 Sun’s energy
 Carbon dioxide
 Water
Pass the Energy
The path of energy from one
organism to another is
called a food chain.
Think about what you ate for your last meal.
Can you trace your meal back to the sun?
Links in the chain…
Producers are organisms that use the sun’s energy to
make their own food. Plants are producers.
Consumers are organisms that cannot make their own
food. They get their energy to stay alive and grow by
eating other organisms. All animals are consumers.
The arrows show how energy flows through an ecosystem.
Why is the grasshopper the primary consumer?
Energy
producer
Energy
Primary
consumer
Energy
consumer
consumer
Some consumers eat other consumers
A predator is an animal that hunts, catches and eats other
animals
Prey is an animal that is hunted, caught, and eaten by
another animal
Energy
prey
predator
Energy
Special kinds of consumers
Carnivores are animals that eat other animals
Alligators are carnivores, they eat fish, birds, turtles, snakes,
mammals, and amphibians (this alligator has a deer!).
Herbivores are animals that eat only plants or plant
products.
Manatees are herbivores, they eat over 60 different plant
species such as mangrove leaves, turtle grass, and algae
Omnivores are animals that eat both plants and animals
The Florida Wild boar is an omnivore. It preys on reptiles (including
rattlesnakes), amphibians, birds and their eggs, insects, worms, and
any smaller mammal, dead or alive. Favored vegetation includes
acorns, any fruits, seeds or nuts, mushrooms, roots,
and bark.
Summarizing
Draw and label a food chain with no more
than five links. Draw arrows to show the
flow of energy through the system. Use
these words in your label
 Sun
 Energy
 Producer
 Consumer
Guided Instruction:
Talk to your shoulder partner about the answer to each
question. Check your work.
Where does the producer in an
ecosystem get its energy?
a.
b.
c.
d.
sun
water
animals
plants
The answer is
Energy
Energy
Producers
capture the
energy in
sunlight to
make their
own food.
Plants are
producers.
What kind of organism eats both meat
and plants?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Carnivore
Herbivore
Omnivore
producer
The answer is
Omnivores, like
chickens and
chimpanzees, eat
both plants and
animals. Grizzly
bears feed on
salmon but also on
fruits and nuts. Even
humans are
omnivores!
What is flowing from one part of a food
chain to another?
a.
b.
c.
d.
food
energy
water
heat
The answer is
A food chain shows the
FLOW OF ENERGY
as it passes from one
organism to another.
Producers capture and
store the energy from
the sun. The food
chain shows the path
of the energy as each
organism is eaten by
another.
Summarizing
Talking Chips:
In a group of 4, each member answer one of
these questions
What is the main source of energy on Earth?
2. What do we call an organism that captures and stores
energy?
3. In a food chain, what does the arrow indicate?
4. What would the FIRST consumer in a food chain be
called?
1.
Check Your Understanding
Number your paper from 1-3, select the
answers that you think are correct
1. Carnivores are animals that eat other animals, and
herbivores are animals that only eat plants. Which of the
following shows a way that energy from the Sun can flow
through an ecosystem that has both carnivores and
herbivores?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Carnivores
Sun
herbivores
plants
Sun
carnivores
plants
herbivores
Plants
carnivores
Sun
herbivores
Sun
plants
herbivores
carnivores
Check Your Understanding
2. Which of the following shows one path in
which energy flows through an environment?
a.
b.
c.
d.
An animal chain
A food chain
A food pyramid
A food web
Check Your Understanding
3. A bird called a snail kite gets its energy
from eating the apple snail. What would
happen to the snail kite if the apple snail
died?
a. There would be more snail kites.
b. The snail kites would eventually die.
c. The snail kite would get extra energy from the food
chain.
d. The snail kite would be eaten by predators.
Check Your Understanding
4. What is one way that all animals
depend on plants?
a.
b.
c.
d.
for energy
for shelter
for water
for sunlight
Check your Answers
1.d
2.b
3.b
4.a
Summarizing
Assign a role to each member of your
collaborative group. Make a food
chain and be ready to explain your
role to others.
Essential Question:
What is the relationship between
the sun, producers, and consumers?