Elementary Science

Science Focus LessonSC.4.L.17.3Food Chains

Polk County Public Schools

SC.4.L.17.3Benchmark: 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 producer consumerpredator prey

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.

PhotosynthesisOnly 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.

SummarizingIn your science journal, illustrate and

label the process by which a green plant makes food from the Sun’s energy. Use these words: PhotosynthesisSun’s energyCarbon dioxideWater

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?

producerPrimaryconsumer consumer consumer

EnergyEnergy Energy

Energy

Some consumers eat other consumersA predator is an animal that hunts, catches and eats other animalsPrey is an animal that is hunted, caught, and eaten by another animal

prey predator

Energy

Energy

Special kinds of consumersCarnivores 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 animalsThe 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.

SummarizingDraw 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 labelSunEnergyProducerConsumer

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. sun b. waterc. animals d. plants

The answer isA

Energy

Energy

Energy Energy

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. Carnivoreb. Herbivorec. Omnivored. producer

The answer is

COmnivores, 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. foodb. energyc. waterd. heat

The answer is BA 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.

SummarizingTalking Chips:In a group of 4, each member answer

one of these questions1. 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?

Check Your UnderstandingNumber your paper from 1-3, select the

answers that you think are correct1. 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.  Carnivores Sun herbivores plantsb.  Sun carnivores plants herbivoresc.  Plants carnivores Sun herbivoresd.  Sun plants herbivores carnivores

Check Your Understanding2. Which of the following shows one path in which energy flows through an environment?

a. An animal chainb. A food chainc. A food pyramidd. A food web

Check Your Understanding3. 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 Understanding4. What is one way that all animals depend on plants? 

a. for energyb. for shelterc. for waterd. for sunlight

Check your Answers

1.d2.b3.b4.a

SummarizingAssign 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 betweenthe sun, producers, and consumers?