Download A Backyard Food Chain - Avery County Schools

10/28/14, 1:36 PM
A Backyard Food Chain
By Cindy Grigg
Your backyard is a busy place. Grass grows there. Grass uses sunlight,
water, and carbon dioxide to make its own food. Like all plants, grass is a
primary producer in the food chain. The grass grows. It makes more food
energy than it needs. Some of the food energy is stored in the plant as
grass seed.
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A mouse comes to eat the grass seed. It is an herbivore. Herbivores are
animals that eat only plants as food. The mouse is a consumer. It can't
make its own food; it must eat or consume food from plants. The mouse is
a first-level consumer. It is first in line getting food from the plant producers.
2
A snake sneaks into your yard. It is looking for food. It sees the mouse!
It eats the mouse. The snake is a carnivore. It is an animal that eats other
animals. What is its place in the food chain? It is a second-level consumer.
3
There is a sudden, silent swoop in the darkness. An owl glides down
and snatches the snake. The owl eats the snake. The owl is also a
carnivore. It eats other carnivores. It is called a third-level (or tertiary)
consumer.
4
Animals must eat to get energy. They need energy from food to
breathe. They need food energy to keep their hearts beating. They need
food energy to move around. They need food energy to get more food.
When one animal eats another, it gets the energy that was stored in the
dead animal's body. Energy is passed through the food chain.
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10/28/14, 1:36 PM
Name _____________________________
Date ___________________
A Backyard Food Chain
1.
Put these in order from the first
food to the last food eaten.
2.
Plants are ______.
Consumers
Producers
Carnivores
______, ______, ______
a. Snake
b. Mouse
c. Grass
3.
A ______ is an animal that eats
other animals.
Consumer
Carnivore
Producer
4.
How does grass get food?
5.
Animals must ______ to get
energy.
Kill
Eat
Make their own food
Hunt
6.
Some animals eat ______ as
food; some animals eat other
animals.
Only plants
Rocks
Only sunlight
Only water
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