Chapter 7 of 8

All 8 chapters
  1. 1Living and non-living, readunderstood
  2. 2Grouping animals, readunderstood
  3. 3Habitats, readunderstood
  4. 4Exploring a small habitat, readunderstood
  5. 5Fit for the habitat, readunderstood
  6. 6Plant eaters, meat eaters and both, readunderstood
  7. 7Food chains, readunderstood
  8. 8Changes to habitats, readunderstood

S2.2.7 Chapter 7

Food chains

Who eats what in the grass?

Your guess

Pick one before you read on. It is fine to be wrong.

Your guess

  • You picked A. Read on. At the end, the chapter comes back to your guess.

  • You picked B. Read on. At the end, the chapter comes back to your guess.

  • You picked C. Read on. At the end, the chapter comes back to your guess.

By the end you can

  • Draw a food chain that starts with a green plant
  • Name the producer, prey and predator in a food chain

Living things need food. A food chain is a line of living things. It shows who eats what.

On land, a food chain starts with a green plant. A green plant makes its own food from sunlight. It is the producer.

Animals cannot make food. They must eat. A grasshopper eats grass. A frog eats the grasshopper.

A snake eats the frog. An eagle eats the snake.

Draw it first

Draw a food chain

  1. A food chain drawn in boxes joined by arrows. The boxes are grass, grasshopper, frog, snake and eagle, in that order. Each arrow points from the food to the one that eats it.grassgrasshopper

    1 Draw a box for grass. Draw an arrow to a box for grasshopper.

  2. A food chain drawn in boxes joined by arrows. The boxes are grass, grasshopper, frog, snake and eagle, in that order. Each arrow points from the food to the one that eats it.grassgrasshopperfrog

    2 Draw an arrow from grasshopper to a box for frog.

  3. A food chain drawn in boxes joined by arrows. The boxes are grass, grasshopper, frog, snake and eagle, in that order. Each arrow points from the food to the one that eats it.grassgrasshopperfrogsnakeeagle

    3 Add boxes for snake and eagle. Draw an arrow to each.

Look at the arrows. An arrow means "is eaten by". It points to the eater.

A tuft of grass, an arrow and a goat. The words eaten by are above the arrow. The arrow points from the grass to the goat. Labels: eaten by, grass, goat.eaten bygrassgoat
Grass is eaten by the goat. The arrow points to the goat.

It shows where the food goes. Follow the food. It goes from the grass into the grasshopper.

See it three ways

As a picture

Two boxes joined by an arrow. The box on the left is labelled grass. The box on the right is labelled goat. Above the arrow are the words eaten by. The arrow points to the goat.grassgoateaten by

In words

Grass is eaten by the goat. The arrow points to the goat. The food goes from the grass to the goat.

A predator is an animal that hunts and eats other animals. Its prey is the animal it eats.

The frog is the predator of the grasshopper. The grasshopper is its prey.

The frog is also the prey of the snake. One animal can be both.

A food chain of three boxes joined by arrows: grass, mouse and owl. The word producer is above grass. The word prey is above mouse. The word predator is above owl.grassmouseowlproducerpreypredator
The owl hunts the mouse. The mouse is its prey.
The Sun at the top left, labelled sun. An arrow labelled sunlight points down to the first box of a food chain. The boxes are grass, mouse and owl, joined by arrows labelled eaten by. Each arrow points to the one that eats. Labels: sun, sunlight, grass, mouse, owl, eaten by.sunsunlightgrassmouseowleaten byeaten by
The plant uses sunlight to make food. The chain starts with the plant.
A food chain in a pond. The boxes are pond weed, snail and fish, joined by arrows labelled eaten by. Each arrow points to the one that eats. Labels: pond weed, snail, fish, eaten by.pond weedsnailfisheaten byeaten by
A food chain in water starts with a water plant.

On land, almost every food chain starts with a green plant. Even an eagle's food chain starts with a green plant. In ponds, rivers and the sea, food chains start in the water. They start with water plants or seaweed. Or they start with tiny living things, too small to see. They make food from sunlight too.

Try it

Find a food chain

You need: paper, a pencil, a bush, a tree or a patch of grass.

Be safe: Do not touch insects, snakes or lizards. Some bite or sting. Wash your hands after touching plants or soil.

  1. Find a plant with holes in its leaves.
  2. Stand still and watch for a few minutes. Keep your hands off animals.
  3. Look for an insect on the plant.
  4. Watch for a bird or a lizard that hunts insects.
  5. Draw the plant, the insect and the hunter in boxes.
  6. Draw arrows. Point each arrow to the one that eats.

What you will see: The plant is the producer. The insect eats the plant. A bird or a lizard may eat the insect. Each arrow points to the eater. If you see no hunter, write what might eat the insect.

If you cannot try it, this is what happens.
A food chain of three boxes joined by arrows: leaf, insect and bird. Each arrow points from the food to the one that eats it.leafinsectbird

A wrong idea many people have

The arrow in a food chain points to the animal eaten.

Why it feels right: An arrow often points at what you aim for. So frog → grasshopper looks like a frog going after a grasshopper.

The test that breaks it: Read each arrow as "is eaten by". Does a frog get eaten by a grasshopper? No. Now try your own meal. Draw beans → you. The beans go into you. The food ends up in the eater. The arrow ends there too.

What is true: The arrow points to the eater. It shows where the food goes: grass → grasshopper.

Key words

food chain
a line of living things that shows who eats what.
producer
a living thing that makes its own food from sunlight. A green plant is one.
predator
an animal that hunts and eats other animals.
prey
an animal that a predator hunts and eats.

Back to your guess

The answer is C: An arrow points to the one that eats.

An arrow in a food chain shows where the food goes. It points to the eater.

Check yourself

Try each one before you look. A wrong answer tells you where to go next.

  1. Look at the picture. Which one is the producer?

    A food chain of boxes joined by arrows: grass, grasshopper, frog, snake and eagle. Each arrow points from the food to the one that eats it.grassgrasshopperfrogsnakeeagle
    Tap your answer.

    1. Not this one. The grasshopper eats grass. It cannot make its own food. Try another.

    2. Yes, that is right. Grass is a green plant. It makes its own food from sunlight.

    3. Not this one. The eagle eats other animals. A producer makes its own food from sunlight. Try another.

    See the answer

    Grass

    Grass is a green plant. It makes its own food from sunlight.

    • If you chose A: The grasshopper eats grass. It cannot make its own food.
    • If you chose C: The eagle eats other animals. A producer makes its own food from sunlight.

  2. In the same picture, which one is the predator of the frog?

    A food chain of boxes joined by arrows: grass, grasshopper, frog, snake and eagle. Each arrow points from the food to the one that eats it.grassgrasshopperfrogsnakeeagle
    Tap your answer.

    1. Not this one. The frog eats the grasshopper. The grasshopper is the frog's prey. Try another.

    2. Not this one. Grass is a plant. It does not hunt. Try another.

    3. Not this one. The eagle eats the snake, not the frog. Look at the arrow after the frog. Try another.

    4. Yes, that is right. The arrow from frog points to snake. The snake eats the frog.

    See the answer

    Snake

    The arrow from frog points to snake. The snake eats the frog.

    • If you chose A: The frog eats the grasshopper. The grasshopper is the frog's prey.
    • If you chose B: Grass is a plant. It does not hunt.
    • If you chose C: The eagle eats the snake, not the frog. Look at the arrow after the frog.

  3. Which food chain is drawn the right way?

    Tap your answer.

    1. Yes, that is right. Grass starts the chain. The goat eats it. The lion eats the goat.

    2. Not this one. Arrows point to the eater. Here they point to the food. Try another.

    3. Not this one. A chain starts with a green plant. A goat eats grass, not the other way round. Try another.

    See the answer

    grass → goat → lion

    Grass starts the chain. The goat eats it. The lion eats the goat.

    • If you chose B: Arrows point to the eater. Here they point to the food.
    • If you chose C: A chain starts with a green plant. A goat eats grass, not the other way round.

  4. Tariq sees an eagle catch a snake. What is the snake?

    Tap your answer.

    1. Not this one. The eagle hunts the snake. The eagle is the predator. Try another.

    2. Not this one. A producer makes its own food from sunlight. A snake eats other animals. Try another.

    3. Yes, that is right. The snake is the animal that is hunted. That makes it prey.

    See the answer

    Prey

    The snake is the animal that is hunted. That makes it prey.

    • If you chose A: The eagle hunts the snake. The eagle is the predator.
    • If you chose B: A producer makes its own food from sunlight. A snake eats other animals.

  5. From an earlier chapter

    A food chain has only living things. Which of these cannot be in it?

    Tap your answer.

    1. Not this one. A frog eats, grows and moves. It is living. Go to S2.2.1. Try another.

    2. Not this one. Grass grows. It is living. Go to S2.2.1. Try another.

    3. Yes, that is right. A stone was never alive. It does not eat or grow.

    See the answer

    A stone

    A stone was never alive. It does not eat or grow.

    • If you chose A: A frog eats, grows and moves. It is living. Go to S2.2.1.
    • If you chose B: Grass grows. It is living. Go to S2.2.1.

  6. Draw a food chain with grass, a mouse and an owl. Put the arrows the right way.

    See the answer

    grass → mouse → owl. Each arrow points to the eater.

    The mouse eats the grass. The owl eats the mouse. Arrows go from the food to the eater.

  7. Where does a green plant get its food?

    Tap your answer.

    1. Not this one. The soil gives water. A plant makes its own food in its leaves, using sunlight. Try another.

    2. Yes, that is right. A green plant makes its own food from sunlight. That is why a food chain on land starts with a plant.

    3. Not this one. Rain gives water, not food. The plant makes its food from sunlight. Try another.

    See the answer

    It makes its own food, using sunlight.

    A green plant makes its own food from sunlight. That is why a food chain on land starts with a plant.

    • If you chose A: The soil gives water. A plant makes its own food in its leaves, using sunlight.
    • If you chose C: Rain gives water, not food. The plant makes its food from sunlight.

  8. In grass → mouse → owl, what does the arrow after the mouse mean?

    Tap your answer.

    1. Not this one. An arrow means "is eaten by". It points to the one that eats, the owl. Try another.

    2. Not this one. The arrow shows where the food goes. It does not show size. Try another.

    3. Not this one. The arrow does not show who chases whom. It shows where the food goes. Try another.

    4. Yes, that is right. An arrow in a food chain means "is eaten by". It points to the eater.

    See the answer

    The mouse is eaten by the owl.

    An arrow in a food chain means "is eaten by". It points to the eater.

    • If you chose A: An arrow means "is eaten by". It points to the one that eats, the owl.
    • If you chose B: The arrow shows where the food goes. It does not show size.
    • If you chose C: The arrow does not show who chases whom. It shows where the food goes.

Keep it

Copy this into your exercise book.

On land, a food chain starts with a green plant, the producer. Arrows point to the eater, the way the food goes. A predator hunts. Its prey is hunted.

Draw: Grass, grasshopper and frog in boxes. Arrows point to the eater.

Reading with a child? A short page for the adult: what this chapter teaches and three questions to ask.

No internet tomorrow? Save the whole book as one file (856 KB). It opens on any phone.