19.2

Food chains and food webs

12 flashcards to master Food chains and food webs

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Definition Flip

What is a food chain?

Answer Flip

A food chain illustrates the transfer of energy from one organism to the next, starting with a producer.

Example: Grass (producer) → Grasshopper (primary consumer) → Frog (secondary consumer) → Snake (tertiary consumer).
Definition Flip

What is a food web?

Answer Flip

A food web is a network of interconnected food chains, showing the complex feeding relationships within an ecosystem. A food web shows multiple options of energy flows.

Example: a hawk might eat snakes, mice, or squirrels.
Definition Flip

What is a producer?

Answer Flip

A producer is an organism that creates its own organic nutrients, typically using sunlight through photosynthesis.

Example: Plants, algae, and some bacteria convert sunlight into glucose.
Definition Flip

What is a consumer?

Answer Flip

A consumer is an organism that obtains energy by feeding on other organisms.

Example: A lion consuming a zebra or a deer consuming grass.
Definition Flip

What are primary, secondary, tertiary, and quaternary consumers?

Answer Flip

Consumers are classified based on their position in the food chain. Primary consumers eat producers, secondary eat primary, tertiary eat secondary, and quaternary eat tertiary consumers.

Example: Grass → Grasshopper → Frog → Snake → Hawk shows primary, secondary, tertiary, and quaternary consumers respectively.
Definition Flip

Define a herbivore.

Answer Flip

A herbivore is an animal that obtains energy by consuming plants.

Example: A cow eating grass, or a caterpillar eating leaves.
Definition Flip

Define a carnivore.

Answer Flip

A carnivore is an animal that obtains energy by consuming other animals.

Example: A lion eating a zebra, or a snake eating a mouse.
Definition Flip

Define a decomposer.

Answer Flip

A decomposer is an organism that obtains energy from dead or waste organic material.

Example: Fungi and bacteria breaking down a dead log.
Key Concept Flip

How can overharvesting impact food chains?

Answer Flip

Overharvesting a food species can cause its population to collapse, impacting the consumers that rely on it and potentially disrupting the entire food web.

Example: Overfishing cod can lead to starvation of seabirds that depend on them.
Key Concept Flip

Why is a pyramid of biomass better than a pyramid of numbers?

Answer Flip

A pyramid of biomass accounts for the mass of organisms at each trophic level, providing a more accurate representation of energy flow than a pyramid of numbers, which only counts individuals. Biomass corrects for differences in size.

Example: Many aphids can feed on one tree, but the tree's biomass is far greater.
Definition Flip

Define 'trophic level'.

Answer Flip

A trophic level is the position of an organism in a food chain, food web, or ecological pyramid.

Example: Producers form the first trophic level, primary consumers the second, and so on.
Key Concept Flip

Why is energy transfer between trophic levels inefficient?

Answer Flip

Energy transfer is inefficient because energy is lost as heat through respiration, used for movement, or not all of the organism is consumed. Only about 10% of the energy is transferred to the next level.

Example: A cow eats grass but uses energy for movement and body heat.

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19.1 Energy flow 19.3 Nutrient cycles

Key Questions: Food chains and food webs

What is a food chain?

A food chain illustrates the transfer of energy from one organism to the next, starting with a producer.

Example: Grass (producer) → Grasshopper (primary consumer) → Frog (secondary consumer) → Snake (tertiary consumer).
What is a food web?

A food web is a network of interconnected food chains, showing the complex feeding relationships within an ecosystem. A food web shows multiple options of energy flows.

Example: a hawk might eat snakes, mice, or squirrels.
What is a producer?

A producer is an organism that creates its own organic nutrients, typically using sunlight through photosynthesis.

Example: Plants, algae, and some bacteria convert sunlight into glucose.
What is a consumer?

A consumer is an organism that obtains energy by feeding on other organisms.

Example: A lion consuming a zebra or a deer consuming grass.
What are primary, secondary, tertiary, and quaternary consumers?

Consumers are classified based on their position in the food chain. Primary consumers eat producers, secondary eat primary, tertiary eat secondary, and quaternary eat tertiary consumers.

Example: Grass → Grasshopper → Frog → Snake → Hawk shows primary, secondary, tertiary, and quaternary consumers respectively.

About Food chains and food webs (19.2)

These 12 flashcards cover everything you need to know about Food chains and food webs for your Cambridge IGCSE Biology (0610) exam. Each card is designed based on the official syllabus requirements.

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