Food Chains

Grade 2 · Science · Study Guide

Learn how energy moves from plants to animals through a food chain.

All living things need energy to live and grow. A food chain shows how energy passes from one living thing to another through eating.

Every food chain starts with a plant. Plants make their own food using sunlight, water, and air. This is called photosynthesis. Because plants make their own food, they are called producers.

Animals cannot make their own food. They have to eat other living things. Animals that eat plants are called herbivores. A rabbit that eats grass is an herbivore. Animals that eat other animals are called carnivores. A hawk that eats a rabbit is a carnivore. Animals that eat both plants and animals are called omnivores.

In a food chain, the animals are called consumers because they consume, or eat, their food.

A simple food chain might look like this: grass is eaten by a grasshopper, the grasshopper is eaten by a frog, and the frog is eaten by a snake.

Food chains always start with a producer and move through several consumers. The arrows in a food chain show the direction energy moves. An arrow pointing from grass to a rabbit means the rabbit eats the grass and gets energy from it.

When animals die, decomposers like worms and mushrooms break down the remains and return nutrients to the soil for plants to use again.

Key terms

food chain: The path that shows how energy moves from plants to animals through eating
producer: A plant that makes its own food using sunlight, water, and air
consumer: An animal that eats other living things for energy
herbivore: An animal that only eats plants
carnivore: An animal that only eats other animals
decomposer: A living thing like a worm or mushroom that breaks down dead plants and animals

Flashcards

food chain: Shows how energy passes from one living thing to another through eating
producer: A plant that uses sunlight to make its own food
consumer: An animal that eats other living things for energy
herbivore: An animal that only eats plants
carnivore: An animal that only eats other animals
omnivore: An animal that eats both plants and animals
decomposer: A living thing that breaks down dead plants and animals
energy: The power living things need to grow and move; passed through food chains by eating

Questions

What is always at the beginning of a food chain?
1. A large animal
2. A plant
3. A bird
4. A fish
Show answer
Answer: A plant
Food chains always start with a plant (producer) because plants make their own food using energy from the sun.
A rabbit that eats only grass is a herbivore.
Show answer
Answer: True
A herbivore is an animal that only eats plants. Since a rabbit eats grass, it is a herbivore.
An animal that only eats other animals is called a ________.
Show answer
Answer: carnivore
A carnivore is an animal that gets its energy by eating other animals.
What do arrows in a food chain show?
1. Where animals live
2. The direction energy moves from one living thing to another
3. How big an animal is
4. What color an animal is
Show answer
Answer: The direction energy moves from one living thing to another
Arrows in a food chain point from the food to the eater, showing the direction that energy flows through the chain.
Decomposers eat living animals to get energy.
Show answer
Answer: False
Decomposers break down dead plants and animals, not living ones. They return nutrients to the soil for plants to use.

Get a personalized course on Food Chains built around your child.