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What is a food chain?

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Quick answer

A food chain shows how energy and nutrients pass from one living thing to another as they eat and are eaten. It starts with producers (like plants), moves to consumers (animals), and ends with decomposers that recycle everything. Producers (plants) make energy from sunlight.

Key things to understand

  1. Producers (plants) make energy from sunlight.
  2. Consumers eat producers or other consumers.
  3. Decomposers break down dead matter and return nutrients.
  4. Energy decreases at each step, so chains are usually short.

People also ask

What's the difference between a food chain and a food web?
A food chain is a single path of who-eats-whom; a food web is many interlinked chains in an ecosystem.
What are producers and consumers?
Producers (plants) make their own food; consumers eat other organisms.
Why does energy decrease up a food chain?
Most energy is lost as heat and life processes at each level, so less is passed on.

Part of the guide: Nature & Earth: Living Things and Rocks →