Download Producer and Consumer - Kawameeh Middle School

Unit 7 A: Photosynthesis and
Energy Flow
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Think about this…
• All organisms need energy to be able to carry
out all of their life functions. Each and every
cell is performing all kinds of chemical
reactions that we need to survive. Where do
we get the energy needed for these
processes?
• Organisms are constantly performing chemical
reactions to change the things they have
(reactants) into things they need (products).
• Remember a chemical reaction is when a
molecule is broken down and reassembled
into other smaller molecules or atoms OR
atoms are assembled into a larger molecule.
Somehow atoms must be rearranged.
• Our cells perform chemical reactions with the
molecules in the food we eat in order to
release energy for us to live!
• Producers are unique because they carry
out a process called photosynthesis
• Photosynthesis is the process of making
glucose (food) with the sun’s energy
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How It Works
• Plants take in sunlight energy using chlorophyll in the
chloroplasts of their leaves.
• Plants take carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere
into their leaves.
• Plants take in water (H2O) through their roots (it comes
in from the soil)
• Plants release oxygen (O2) into the atmosphere. (and it
is then used by consumers for cellular respiration)
• Glucose is formed (C6H12O6) and is used by producers
and consumers for fuel.
6H2O +
6CO2
---------->
water + carbon dioxide
yields
C6H12O6
glucose
+
+
6O2
oxygen
• Plants must obey the Law of Conservation of
Mass. They cannot create or destroy matter
or energy. The amount of energy IN to the
reaction must equal the energy out, and same
with the amount of mass.
• It takes a lot of energy to build a glucose
molecule, and plants are able to harness the
sun’s energy to help them with that.
• Plants make glucose (sugar) because they
need food to live, like humans.
• Plants store excess sugar as starches and can
be used to make carbohydrates (bread, pasta,
etc.)
• Everything we eat either came directly from a
plant, or depended on plants to grow.
• Producers supply all life on Earth with the
energy they need to live which comes from
the sun.
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uixA8ZXx
0KU
Food Chains and Food Webs
• Food Chain: A food chain shows one path of
how energy moves through an ecosystem
(who-eats-who)
• Food Web: A food web shows many paths of
how energy moves through an ecosystem
(who-eats-who). It is made up of many
different food chains.
• All organisms (living things) can be divided
into two groups:
• Producers: organisms that can make their own
food
• Consumers: organisms that cannot make their
own food
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Parts of the Food Chain
• Producers
• Consumers
– Herbivores: eat strictly plant material
– Carnivores: eat strictly animal material
– Omnivores: eat both plant and animal
material
– Decomposers: break down dead
organisms
The arrows show the direction of the
energy transfer.
• Trophic Levels-position an organism occupies
on the food chain
• Producers are at the 1st trophic level
• Primary Consumers are the 2nd trophic level
• Secondary Consumers are the 3rd trophic level
Food Web
• Most organisms eat more than just one
organism
• When more organisms are involved it is
known as a food web.
• Food webs are more complex and involve a lot
of organisms
• Draw your own food web with the following
organisms. Don’t forget to include arrows and
remember that arrows show where the
energy is moving.
– Mouse
– Fox
– Owl
– Snake
– Berries
---Rabbit
---Squirrel
---Leaves
---Grasshopper
---Frog
Energy Pyramid
• An energy pyramid is a diagram that shows
how energy flows in an ecosystem.
• Each level above only gets 10% of the energy
from below.
• For example, if grass has 10,000 J of the
energy:
Grass-10,000 J
Rabbit-1,000 J
Fox-100 J
Mountain lion-??