Reading Food Web Diagrams · seed 1 · A4, ink-friendly. The answer key prints on its own page for grown-ups.
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Reading Food Web Diagrams

Science · Ecosystems & Habitats · ages 8-9
Name ______________________   Date ____________

  1. In a model, an insect eats only plants. An adult frog eats only insects, and a hawk eats only insects and frogs. Which animal is the herbivore?

    • Frog
    • Insect
    • Hawk

  2. A plant makes food using sunlight. An insect eats the plant, and a frog eats the insect. Which living thing is the producer?

    Plant → InsectInsect → Frog
    • Plant
    • Insect
    • Frog

  3. An animal that eats only other animals is a carnivore.

    Circle one:   True   False

  4. Each box shows one feeding link in a model web. Which answer gives two chains that follow the arrows and names all organisms shared by those chains?

    Grass → RabbitGrass → MouseRabbit → FoxMouse → Fox
    • Grass → Rabbit → Fox; Grass → Mouse → Fox. Shared: grass and fox.
    • Grass → Rabbit → Fox; Grass → Mouse → Fox. Shared: rabbit and mouse.
    • Grass → Rabbit → Fox; Grass → Fox → Mouse. Shared: grass and fox.

  5. Lettuce makes food using sunlight. Fungi break down dead leaves. Each box shows a separate feeding link in one model web. Which set of roles fits?

    Lettuce → SlugSlug → ThrushDead leaves → Fungi
    • Lettuce: primary consumer; slug: producer; thrush: secondary consumer; fungi: decomposer
    • Lettuce: producer; slug: primary consumer; thrush: decomposer; fungi: secondary consumer
    • Lettuce: producer; slug: primary consumer; thrush: secondary consumer; fungi: decomposer

  6. In a model food web, frogs eat only insects. If insects disappear and no new food replaces them, what could happen to frogs?

    • Their numbers could rise as their food supply grows
    • Their numbers could fall as their food supply disappears
    • Their numbers must stay fixed despite losing their food

  7. Mia reads Insect → Frog as 'the insect eats the frog.' Which reading follows the food-web convention?

    Insect→Frog
    • The frog eats the insect; energy passes toward the frog
    • The insect eats the frog; energy passes toward the insect
    • Neither animal eats the other; energy cannot pass between them

  8. A model owl eats mice and beetles. If mice disappear, what can you conclude about its remaining food?

    Mouse → OwlBeetle → Owl
    • Mice remain available, so its food supply cannot change
    • No food remains, so the owl must die immediately
    • Beetles remain available, but we do not know how many
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Answer key

For grown-ups. Fold this page away before handing over the rest.

Reading Food Web Diagrams W1-mt_uVaS12lN1i-s1

  1. Insect · Only the insect eats plants without eating animals in this model.
  2. Plant · The plant makes its own food, so it is the producer.
  3. True · That animal-only diet matches the meaning of carnivore.
  4. Grass → Rabbit → Fox; Grass → Mouse → Fox. Shared: grass and fox. · The arrows give grass → rabbit → fox and grass → mouse → fox. Grass and fox occur in both chains.
  5. Lettuce: producer; slug: primary consumer; thrush: secondary consumer; fungi: decomposer · Lettuce makes food. The slug eats lettuce, the thrush eats the slug, and fungi break down dead leaves.
  6. Their numbers could fall as their food supply disappears · The frogs lose their only food in this model, so their numbers could fall.
  7. The frog eats the insect; energy passes toward the frog · The arrow points from food to eater. Food energy passes from insect to frog.
  8. Beetles remain available, but we do not know how many · The beetle link remains after mice disappear. The model does not tell us how many beetles there are.
Worksheet · LightMySky