A sunflower in a garden grows taller every week, but it never eats another living thing. What role does the sunflower play in its ecosystem?

A cluster of mushrooms grows on a fallen log in a forest. Over time the log softens and crumbles into the forest soil. What role are the mushrooms playing in this ecosystem?

A rabbit in a meadow spends the morning eating clover and grass, and it does not eat other animals. Which kind of consumer is the rabbit?

A raccoon eats berries and nuts in the fall. It also eats insects, eggs, and small fish when it can find them. Which kind of consumer is the raccoon?

A barn owl hunts at night and eats mice and voles. It does not eat any plants. Which kind of consumer is the owl?

A student is drawing a food chain for a pond ecosystem. What kind of living thing belongs at the very beginning of every food chain?

A hawk eats a snake. Earlier that snake had eaten a mouse, and the mouse had eaten seeds from a plant. Where did the energy the hawk gets originally come from?

Earthworms and tiny bacteria live in the soil of a forest where dead leaves pile up each autumn. What do these living things do in this ecosystem?

A fox hunts and eats rabbits in a grassy field. What are the fox and the rabbit called in this relationship?

Tiny algae drift near the surface of the ocean where sunlight reaches them, and small animals eat the algae. What role do the algae play in this ecosystem?

In a prairie ecosystem, grass grows in the soil, grasshoppers chew on the grass, and meadowlarks catch and eat the grasshoppers. Which pair are both consumers?

An oak tree in a park never eats another living thing. It uses sunlight, water, and air to make the food it needs, so the oak tree is a consumer.

What is a producer in an ecosystem?

Which living thing is a producer?

What is a consumer in an ecosystem?

Which living thing is a consumer?

What is a decomposer?

Which is the best example of a decomposer?

True or False: Most plants are producers.

True or False: Consumers can make their own food from sunlight.

In the food chain grass → rabbit → fox, what role does the grass have?

In the food chain grass → rabbit → fox, what role does the rabbit have?

In the food chain grass → rabbit → fox, why is the fox a consumer?

This rabbit is eating grass, a producer. Which of these is another producer the rabbit could eat?

Why are producers important to consumers?

Decomposers break down dead leaves and add nutrients to the soil. How do these nutrients help plants?

True or False: Decomposers help recycle matter in ecosystems.

Which pair lists only consumers?

Which pair lists only producers?

A caterpillar eats leaves. What type of consumer is the caterpillar?

A hawk eats mice. What type of consumer is the hawk?

A bear eats berries and fish. What type of consumer is the bear?

True or False: A mushroom is a producer because it looks like a plant.

What would most likely happen if decomposers disappeared from an ecosystem?

Which statement correctly describes a food chain?

In a pond food chain algae → tiny fish → heron, why does the heron need the algae even though it never eats algae?

True or False: All living things need energy to survive.

Fungi grow on a dead log, and the log gets softer every year. How do the fungi get the food they need?

Which organism gets energy directly from a producer?

Which statement best compares producers and consumers?