Lesson 1 Flashcards
(25 cards)
What is the main source of energy for most life on Earth?
The Sun
What process allows plants to convert sunlight into glucose?
Photosynthesis
What do animals use glucose for?
As a source of energy
What is an ecosystem?
- A system of living organisms
- interacting with each other
- and their environment
How doe scientists portray energy flowing through an ecosystem?
Through a food chain or a food web
What is a food chain?
A linear sequence of organisms through which nutrients and energy pass
What percentage of energy is typically transferred from one trophic level to the next?
10%
What is always the first organism in a food chain?
A producer
What is a producer?
An organism that makes its own food (e.g. plants, algae)
What is a consumer?
An organism that eats other organisms
What is a primary consumer?
An organism that eats producers
What is a secondary consumer?
An organism that eats primary consumers
What is a tertiary consumer?
An organism that eats secondary consumers
What is a scavenger?
An organism that feeds on dead animals
What is a decomposer?
An organism that breaks down dead organisms and waste
What role do decomposers play in a food chain?
They break down dead organisms and recycle nutrients
What is a food web?
A graphical representation of all the feeding relationships in an ecosystem
What does a food web show?
The flow of energy and cycling of matter in an ecosystem
What direction does energy flow in a food web?
Upwards, shown by straight arrows
What is a predator?
An animal that hunts, kills, and eats another animal
What is prey?
An animal that is eaten by a predator
What is a top predator in a food chain?
An organism that is not eaten by other animals
What is a herbivore?
An organism that only eats plants.
What is a carnivor?
An organism that only eats meant.
