DO NOW TUESDAY
• What is carrying capacity?
DO NOW WEDNESDAY
• What is the relationship between
limiting factors and carrying capacity?
SC Indicator 7-4.2
Illustrate energy flow in food chains,
food webs, and energy pyramids.
Prior Knowledge
• In 3rd grade you learned about simple food
chains, including the roles of producers,
consumers, and decomposers.
• In 5th grade you identified the roles of
organisms as they interacted and depended
on one another through food chains and
food webs in an ecosystem.
• You learned a lot in 5th grade. Let’s review
what you learned.
In
th
5
Grade…
• You learned about producers and consumers
like herbivores, carnivores, and omnivores.
• You learned about decomposers like
microorganisms, termites, worms, and fungi.
• You learned about the roles of predators and
prey.
• You also learned about parasites and their
hosts.
• Wow! You really learned a lot in 5th grade.
Future Learning
• In high school biology you will learn how to
calculate the amount of energy
transferred from one level to another in
an energy pyramid.
• You will also learn the roles that
organisms play in the geochemical cycles
(such as the carbon cycle, nitrogen cycle,
and water cycle).
• You will learn more about predation,
competition, and symbiotic relationships as
well.
Essential Question
What does a food chain
show us?
Essential Question
How is a food web
different from a food
chain?
Essential Question
How does energy flow
through an ecosystem?
Essential Question
How does the amount of energy
change as it moves through an
energy pyramid?
Food Chains
• Food chains uses arrows to show the
flow of energy in an ecosystem.
• The arrows always point to the
organism that is doing the eating
Trophic Level
• The trophic level of an organism
indicates the position that the
organism occupies in the food chain.
• It shows what it eats and what eats
it.
Anything that can make
its own food to survive
is called a
producer.
Anything that cannot make its
own food must EAT to survive.
It is a consumer.
Trophic Levels in a Food Chain
• Tertiary consumers: eat the primary
consumers (carnivores or omnivores)

• Secondary consumers: eat the primary
consumers (carnivores-eat animals- or
omnivores- eat animals and plants)

• Primary Consumers: are herbivores (eat
the producers)

• Producers: make their own food
LEVEL 4: Tertiary Consumers
LEVEL 3: Secondary
Consumers
LEVEL 2: Primary
Consumers
LEVEL 1: Producers
Note: There’s
something wrong.
What is it?
Trophic Levels
Food Webs
• Food webs describe the organisms
found in interconnecting food chains
using pictures or words and arrows.
• In other words, food webs are a
bunch of food chains all together!
Energy Pyramids
• An energy pyramid shows the amount
of energy that moves from one
trophic level to another in a food
chain.
• The most energy is available at the
producer level of the pyramid.
• The availability of energy decreases
as it moves up the energy pyramid.
Another Cool Site
http://www.harcourtschool.com/activity/food/food_menu.html
After we look at the above web site, we’ll go on to
view the youTube video about FOOD WEBS.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MGODmyXkkPU
EXIT SLIP THURSDAY
 In this food chain, what is the
producer?
 What is the first level
(primary) consumer?
 What is the second level
(secondary) consumer?
 Which organism in this diagram
needs to eat the most to get
the energy to survive?
Explain.
DO NOW FRIDAY
1
Name the organism at each trophic
level of this food chain.
2
4
3
Pond Food Web Activity
• Now you will work in pairs to complete the
Pond Food Web Activity.
• Each pair/table will need a set of cards and a
handout for each person.
Use the cards in the bag to complete the four food chains on your handout.
Write the name of the organism from the card that you choose
in the boxes on your handout.
You may use some of the organisms in more than one of your food chains.
EXIT SLIP
Pick one organism in this food web and give its trophic level (s). Explain.
EXIT SLIP FRIDAY
Making a Model
 Let’s make a model of an energy pyramid.
 The model you will construct will be simple. It will show
pictures of the producers and consumers at each level,
the names in words, and the trophic levels.
 The good news is that this model really is perfect for
meeting our objectives relating to energy pyramids.
 Make sure you follow all instructions for proper
completion of the model.
Acknowledgements
• All pictures were obtained from various
sources on Google Images.
• None of the pictures/illustrations are mine.
• Credit is given to all artists/photographers
for their work.