Food Chain and Web Class 3

Food Chain

a) A food chain is like a line or a chain that shows how energy is passed from one living thing to another.

b) It starts with plants, which are called producers because they make their own food using sunlight. Herbivores then eat these plants. For example, a grasshopper eating a plant is part of a simple food chain.

c) There are also animals that eat other animals such as carnivores or predators. For example, a frog that eats the grasshopper is also part of the food chain. So, we have plants at the beginning of the chain, then herbivores, and finally, carnivores.

Food Web

a) In a natural ecosystem, there are many different food chains that are connected to each other. It forms a food web.

b) A food web is like a big network of interconnected food chains. It shows how all the different plants and animals in an ecosystem are connected through what they eat.

c) In a food web, you can see that some animals called omnivores may eat both plants and other animals, like us humans.

d) There are also some special creatures called decomposers. They help break down dead plants and animals, returning nutrients back to the soil. Examples of a few decomposers are earthworms, millipedes, bacteria, etc.

e) Food web is like a never-ending cycle of energy flow, with each organism playing a role in the survival of others.

So, food chains and food webs help us understand how all the plants and animals in an ecosystem are linked together through their feeding relationships. They show us how every living thing relies on other living things for energy and survival.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Give an example of a food chain with an explanation.

Sun (Producer) → Grass (Producer) → Rabbit (Herbivore) → Fox (Carnivore)

1. Sun provides energy to plants.
2. Rabbits eat the grass for energy.
3. Foxes hunt and eat rabbits for energy.

The transfer of energy from the sun to plants, then to herbivores (rabbits), and eventually to predators (foxes) is shown in this example.

2. What is a food web?

The food web is similar to a large, interconnected food chain. It shows a variety of animals and plants and how they are all linked by what they eat.

3. What's the difference between a food chain and a food web?

A food chain shows a simple, straight line of energy transfer from one organism to another, starting with a producer and moving through herbivores to carnivores, whereas a food web is a large, tangled web that shows many animals and plants and how they are all linked by what they eat.

4. What is an Omnivore?

An omnivore is an animal that eats both plants and animals. Humans are an example of omnivores because we eat vegetables and meat.

5. What is a consumer in a food chain?

A consumer is a type of animal that consumes plants or other animals. They are herbivores (eat plants), carnivores (consume meat), or omnivores (eat both plants and animals).