What is a food chain?

Food chains

Every animal and plant needs food to live, and they are all part of a food chain.

A food chain shows how animals obtain their food.

A food chain also shows the flow of energy, which starts off at the Sun and then moves along the chain to the final animal.

The arrow in the food chain shows this flow from one living thing to another and therefore always points from producer (plant) to consumer, and from primary consumer to secondary consumer. Food chains link together to form food webs.

For example

Grass is eaten by a snail, the snail is then eaten by the rat, and finally the rat is eaten by a snake.

The food chain for this would look like this:

Watch: What is a food chain?

Fascinating food chain facts

• The longest recorded food chain involves over thirty organisms found in the deep ocean.

• Human activities like deforestation, pollution, and overfishing can have huge impacts on food chains.

Producers and consumers

• A food chain always starts with a producer. A producer is an organism that makes its own food.

• Plants make food using energy from the sun using photosynthesis so they are producers.

• Most food chains start with a green plant.

• Animals are called consumers because they eat plants and other animals.

• Animals that eat other animals are called predators.

• The animals that are eaten are called prey. These are at the end of the food chain.

Did you know?

Some animals and insects, like a spider, are both predators and prey.

Spiders eat other animals like flies, and are in turn eaten by animals such as birds.

Important words

Food chain – A chain of animals and plants that eat each other.

Organisms – Any living thing, which includes insects, plants and animals, is an organism.

Producers – Plants make food using energy from the Sun using photosynthesis. They are called producers.

Consumers – Consumers eat plants and other animals.

Predators – Animals that eat other animals.

Prey – Animals that are eaten are called prey.

Activities

Activity 1 – Order a food chain

Activity 2 – Food chain quiz

Activity 3 – Sort the food chain