A food chain shows the path that energy travels from one living thing to another.
A food web on the other hand, is made up of all the food chain in a single ecosystem. Each living thing is part of multiple food chain that exist in an ecosystem.
A food chain usually includes a few organisms. They are:
A producer - plants (as they are able to make their own food)
A herbivore (plant-eater) - animals that eat plants only
A carnivore (animal-eater) - animals that eat other animals only
And/ or an omnivore (plant-and-animal eater) - animals that eat both plants and other animals.
A food chain starts off with a producer and ends with an animal-eater or an Apex animal (not eaten by any other animals). An arrow is used to show that the animal is eaten by.
A single food chain can include 3,4, 5 or even 6 organisms!
An example is as follow:
The flower is a producer as it is able to make its own food.
The flower (nectar) is eaten by the butterfly, which is a plant-eater.
The butterfly is then eaten by the lizard, an animal-eater.
A food web is made of many food chains, linked together in a single ecosystem. An example of a food web is shown below:
Credit: Google Photos
Have a go at creating as many food chains as you can through the games below.
You can choose to create food chains in the Woodland or in the Savannah or both!
Create food chains in the Woodland.
Credits: BBC
Create food chains in the Savannah.
Credits: BBC
Find out through the different games below!
1. Build your own food chain
In the following game, you will be guided to form food chains through different activities.
Credits: PBSLearning Media
2. Food Fight!
In the following game, try to create a balanced ecosystem that will help to keep your chosen organism alive. Watch what happens to your organism when you change the amount of resources in the ecosystem.
Note: This game is a multiplayer game. You can ask a friend or your parents/siblings to play with you!
Credits: BrainPop
