Flow of Energy

in an Ecosystem

Where does energy come from?

All of the energy that we
receive from eating food
originally comes from the sun.
How?
Photosynthesis

What is photosynthesis?
Photo means light
Synthesis means putting together
Photosynthesis: The process by
which plants and other organisms
capture light energy using carbon
dioxide and water to make food.

2 Stages of Photosynthesis:
1. Capturing the Suns Energy
Occurs in leaves and green parts

2. Using Energy to Make Food

Captured energy is used to
produce sugar.
Need water and carbon dioxide
Products are oxygen and
glucose

Photosynthesis Equation:

What is the purpose of

photosynthesis?
Photosynthesis converts energy
from the sun into chemical
energy that supports life.

What are organic and

inorganic compounds?
Sort the compounds at your table
into organic and inorganic
columns.

What are organic and

inorganic compounds?
Organic compounds always
contain carbon.
Organic compounds usually
contain carbon-hydrogen
bonds
CH4 (methane) is an organic
compound, but CO2 is not.
Why?

Which compounds involved in

photosynthesis are organic and
which are inorganic?
Organic: C6H12O6
Inorganic: H2O
CO2

Which elements are necessary

for human life to exist?
Six elements are
considered the
building blocks of
life:
1.Sulfur
2.Phosphorous
3.Oxygen
4.Nitrogen
5.Carbon
6.Hydrogen

Organic
compounds
contain carbon
attached to one
of these
building blocks.

Noteworthy

What is an ecosystem?
All the living and nonliving things that
interact in an area.
reAll the living and nonliving things
that interact in an area.
a.

What is a producer?
A producer is an organism that can
make its own food.
Example: Plants, algae

Plants are called producers because

they are able to use light energy
from the Sun to produce food (sugar)
from carbon dioxide and water.

What is a consumer?
Consume means eat.rganisms.

Animals are consumers because

they eat (consume) food provided
by plants or other animals.

What is a decomposer?
A decomposer is an organism that
breaks down large molecules from
dead organisms into small molecules
and returns important materials to
the environment.
Example: Bacteria and Fungus

Teach your partner

1. What is a producer?
2. How do consumers get their energy?
3. How are consumers different from
decomposers?

Flow of Energy in the Ecosystem

Noteworthy

Sun

Producers

Consumers

Decomposers

What is a Food Chain?

A series of events in which one
organism eats another and obtains
energy.

The fly is eaten by the bird.

What do the arrows in a food

chain mean?
The arrow shows the direction the
energy is flowing.

The lettuce is eaten by the

rabbit. The energy flows from
the lettuce to the rabbit.

Food chains always start

with a plant.

The lettuce is eaten by the slug, the slug

is eaten by the bird.

What are the levels of

consumers in a food chain?
The organism that eats the producer is
called the primary consumer - Cricket
The organism that eats the primary
consumer is called the secondary
consumer
- Lizard
The organism that eats the secondary
consumer is called the tertiary
consumer - Eagle

Teach your partner

1. How does energy flow in the
ecosystem?
2. What is a food chain?

Food Chains - a Reminder

A food chain shows which animals eat
other animals or plants.
A food chain starts with what gets
eaten and the arrows point towards
what does the eating.
Food chains only go in one direction.

Where do the arrows point?

What is a Food Web?

The pattern of overlapping
food chains in an
ecosystem.

Food Webs
We can show this by using a food web, which is
just a more complicated version of a food chain.

owl

fox

rabbits

mice

grass

seeds

berries

What is an Energy Pyramid?

A diagram that shows the amount
of energy that moves from one
feeding level to another in a food
web.

Teach your partner

1. What is a difference between a
food web and food chain?
2. What is an energy pyramid?

1. If a disease strikes the snake population in the food chain shown, what will be the initial
effect on the populations of hawks and rabbits?

A. The populations of hawks and rabbits will increase.

B. The populations of hawks and rabbits will decrease.
C. The population of hawks will increase. The population of rabbits will decrease.
D. The population of hawks will decrease. The population of rabbits will increase.

2. In the stable food chain shown below, what would you expect to
happen initially if you were to suddenly double the population of
rabbits?
A. The populations of the other three species would also
increase.
B. The populations of the other three species would decrease.
C. The grass population would decrease. The snake population
and hawk population would increase.
D. The grass population and hawk population would decrease.
The snake population would increase.

3. Energy used by producers in a grassland food

web is provided by
a. sunlight
b. photosynthesis
c. oxygen
d. carbon dioxide

4. Use the food chain below to answer the

following question.
PLANTS > APHIDS > SPIDERS >
SPARROWS
In this food chain, the spiders are

A.
B.
C.
D.

producers
primary consumers
competitors
secondary consumers

5.

In this food pyramid, which level contains the greatest amount

of energy?
a. Tertiary consumers
b. Secondary consumers
c. Primary consumers
d. Producers