TEKS & Objectives
7.3.B use models to represent aspects of the natural world such as human body systems and plant and animal cells
7.5.B diagram the flow of energy through living systems, including food chains, food webs, and energy pyramids.
7.10.A observe and describe how different environments, including microhabitats in schoolyards and biomes, support different varieties of organisms
We will explore how energy moves through a system of living things.
I will create a pyramidal model of a food chain.
1. Watch video.
GG Food Webs 3-5
2. Review vocabulary and complete quiz.
Food Chain This is a sequence of living things in which each one feeds on the living thing below it.
Food Web A food web is a model made of intersecting food chains.
Producer This is a living thing (almost always a plant) that takes energy from the sun and make its own food. They are found in the first level of a food web.
Apex Predator This is an animal found at the top of a food web and is not eaten by any other animals. Examples include sharks, owls and lions.
3. Model a food chain using stacked cups.
- This can be done two ways. In both ways, you need cups with animals drawn or taped on, upside down.
- The simplest way is to layer the cups so that the bottom cup is the bottom of the food chain (producers) and the top is the apex predator.
- Alternately, you could model the flow of energy by using a stacked up tower, with each level containing one fewer cup:
- In a food chain, there is energy loss (in the form of heat) at each level.
- That means that the higher up the food chain you look, the fewer animals there are.
- Stack your cups beginning with a bottom layer of sunlight, followed by producers, then consumers, up to the apex predator.
Speaking of the food chains…
What do cats call mice on skateboards?
Meals on wheels
4. “Genius Challenge – Food Webs and Food Chains”
