Notebook Instructions
• Start a new page in your notebook.
• Title: Flow
of Energy
Flow of Energy
This is what
your page
should look
like
• Ecosystem - a system formed by the interrelationships
(connections) of organisms within their environment.
• Interrelationships – a connection between two
or more organisms in an environment
• Energy Pyramid- Shows how the energy flows
through a food chain
• Trophic levels- levels of an energy pyramid
that show how the energy moves in an
ecosystem
Producers
• Autotrophs –> Produce (make) their own food
Write down 2 example of an organism that
produces their own food
On land- Any Green plant
In water- Phytoplankton- Algae
Producers
2 categories
– Chemosynthetic Organisms –
• Use Chemicals from Chemical Compounds in their
surroundings to produce energy
Example – Bacteria
– Photosynthetic organisms –
• Use Radiant Energy from the sun
• Use RE to produce their own energy (MOST
Producers)
Photosynthetic organisms
• Organisms that use photosynthesis to make
their own food
• Use radiant energy and convert it to sugar
(chemical energy)
• Typically green plants
• Algae
Consumers
• Heterotrophs - Can NOT make its own food
• Consume (Eat)
• Feed on other organisms in a food chain/web
list the different types of consumers?
(Hint – There are 5 different kinds ….. Herbivores)
Consumers (Heterotrophs)
• Herbivores
– Eat only plants and fungi
• Omnivores
– Eat both plants/fungi and animals
• Carnivores
– Eat ONLY animals
• Detrivores
– Eat dead organic matter
• Decomposers
– Break down organic matter into simpler
compounds
Notes
• You will ONLY write down the words that are
underlined
• Keep your notes neat and organized
Cornell Notes
Drawings Notes
Or
Questions
Make sure to
draw in
diagrams or
write down
questions to
help you study
Food Chains, Food Webs, Energy
Pyramids
• What do these 3 items have in common.
Hint (What is being transferred through all 3 of these?)
Hint 2 (What is the title of your notes?)
http://techalive.mtu.edu/meec/module10/EnergyFlow2.html
Flow of Energy
• Transfer of energy through an ecosystem
• Usually diagramed in a food chain, food web or
energy pyramid
• Arrows represent the direction of energy flow
• ONLY 10% of the total energy is transferred
Draw the diagram in your notebook
What type of Energy is transferred?
Radiant Energy
What do plants use the Energy for?
Photosynthesis = Glucose + Oxygen
Grow And Reproduce
90%
How much Energy is used?
What happens with the rest of the Energy?
Plant stores it
How Much Energy is stored?
10%
What happens to the Energy when a
rabbit eats the flower?
It is transferred
Does the Rabbit eat the Used
Energy or the Stored Energy from
the plant?
Stored!!!
What percent of the energy is
transferred?
Always 10%
Food Chain
• Series that show one
organism eating another to
obtain energy
• Arrows show the direction
the energy is flowing
• Starts with a producer
• Ends with a top consumer
• Straight line
Diagram
• A mouse eats seeds. Later, a snake eats the
mouse. Diagram the flow of energy through
the food chain
• Label the producer, primary consumer, and
secondary consumer
• Make sure you draw arrows to diagram the
flow of energy.
• How much energy is transferred through the
chain?
Producer
Primary
Consumer
10 %
Secondary
Consumer
Food Web
1. What is the first obvious
difference between a food
chain and a food web?
2. Why does the food web have
many different animals?
3. How much energy is
transferred through the web
4. Use the animals on the
board to create your own
food chain. Be ready to
share!
5. What would
happen to the snake
if the mouse
population died
out?
6. Would the owl be
affected? Why or
why not?
7. Is the Arrow
drawn between the
rabbit and the grass
correct? Why or
Why not? What
does it represent?
Energy Pyramid
• Demonstrates the
flow of energy
• Each level is called a
trophic level
• The larger the section
the more energy is
available
1. In this energy pyramid, how does the available energy
change as you go upward from one level to a higher level?
2. Where does the rest of the energy go?
3. Who has more energy available Phytoplankton or Tuna?
4. Explain why, in an energy pyramid, second-level
consumers have less energy available to them than firstlevel consumers do.
p://app.discoveryeducation.com/player/?assetGuid=84304B16-566D-4022-AB89C3BAA34CAF&fromMyDe=0&isPrinterFriendly=0&provider=&isLessonFromHealth=0&productcode=US&isAssigned=false&includeHeader=YES&homeworkGuid=
Exit Questions
1. Name two types of producers (Land, water)
2. Where does Radiant (solar) energy come from?
3. Use the animals on the board to design your
own food web and energy pyramid
-You need to draw Arrows, label producers,
consumers, and decomposers/ detrivores and
label trophic levels
4. How much energy is transferred through a food
chain? What happens to the rest of the energy?