An organism that makes its own food by photosynthesis, such as grass or algae.

What is a secondary consumer?

An animal that eats primary consumers.

What does a decomposer do?

Breaks down dead organisms and waste, recycling nutrients.

What is a trophic level?

A feeding level in a food chain.

What do the arrows in a food chain show?

The flow of energy, from the organism that is eaten to the one that eats it.

What is the difference between a herbivore, a carnivore and an omnivore?

Herbivores eat plants, carnivores eat animals and omnivores eat both.

Many food chains linked together in a habitat.

An animal that hunts and eats other animals.

An animal that is hunted and eaten by a predator.

In a predator-prey cycle, which peak comes first?

The prey peak; the predator peak follows after a delay.

What happens to the prey if a predator is removed?

Prey numbers increase at first, as fewer are eaten.

Why can one organism be at two trophic levels in a food web?

It may eat organisms from different levels, so it is a different consumer in different chains.

Food chains and food websIB MYP Sciences: Flashcards

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What is a producer?

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What is a producer?: An organism that makes its own food by photosynthesis, such as grass or algae.
What is a primary consumer?: An animal that eats producers.
What is a secondary consumer?: An animal that eats primary consumers.
What does a decomposer do?: Breaks down dead organisms and waste, recycling nutrients.
Name two decomposers.: Bacteria and fungi.
What is a trophic level?: A feeding level in a food chain.
What do the arrows in a food chain show?: The flow of energy, from the organism that is eaten to the one that eats it.
What is the difference between a herbivore, a carnivore and an omnivore?: Herbivores eat plants, carnivores eat animals and omnivores eat both.
What is a food web?: Many food chains linked together in a habitat.
What is a predator?: An animal that hunts and eats other animals.
What is prey?: An animal that is hunted and eaten by a predator.
In a predator-prey cycle, which peak comes first?: The prey peak; the predator peak follows after a delay.
What happens to the prey if a predator is removed?: Prey numbers increase at first, as fewer are eaten.
Why can one organism be at two trophic levels in a food web?: It may eat organisms from different levels, so it is a different consumer in different chains.

Exam questions on Food chains and food webs

On a grassland in Kenya, grass is eaten by grasshoppers. The grasshoppers are eaten by lizards, and the lizards are eaten by eagles. Ecologists draw this as a food chain with arrows between the organisms.
Explain why the grass is called the producer in this food chain.2 marks
A freshwater pond in Hungary contains algae, snails, tadpoles, dragonfly larvae, sticklebacks (small fish), a heron, bacteria and fungi. Snails and tadpoles feed on the algae. Dragonfly larvae eat tadpoles. Sticklebacks eat both snails and dragonfly larvae. The heron eats the sticklebacks. Bacteria and fungi live on the dead remains and waste of all the other organisms.
Explain why the decomposers are important in the pond.2 marks
Ecologists in a national park in Canada counted the snowshoe hares and the lynxes (large wild cats that hunt hares) in the same forest for seven years. The hare population was 40 000, 80 000, 120 000, 70 000, 30 000, 25 000 and 60 000 in years 1 to 7. The lynx population was 10 000, 12 000, 25 000, 50 000, 60 000, 35 000 and 15 000 in the same years.
Describe the pattern shown by the hare and lynx populations.3 marks

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Written by the Exaim team, led by Shaun Daswani (Head of Upper Secondary, Improve ME Institute; MSc Financial Mathematics, Imperial College London; BSc, UCL) and Jason Daswani (operational lead, Improve ME Institute; LSE).