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

Reading Food Web Diagrams

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

  1. In the same food web, which animal is the herbivore, the one that eats only plants?

    • Frog
    • Insect
    • Hawk

  2. In this food web, which animal is the producer?

    PlantInsectFrogHawk
    • Plant
    • Insect
    • Frog

  3. A carnivore is an animal that eats other animals.

    Circle one:   True   False

  4. This web has two chains: Plant to Insect to Frog to Hawk, and Plant to Insect to Hawk. Besides the plant, which animal is shared by both chains?

    • Insect
    • Frog
    • Hawk

  5. Follow the arrows in this chain. Which animal eats the frog?

    PlantInsectFrogHawk
    • Insect
    • Plant
    • Hawk

  6. If all the insects disappeared, what would most likely happen to the frogs?

    • They would have more food
    • They would have less food, so their numbers could drop
    • Nothing would change for them

  7. Mia says the arrow from insect to frog means 'the insect eats the frog.' What mistake did Mia make?

    • She read the arrow backwards; it means the frog eats the insect
    • Insects cannot be eaten by frogs
    • She made no mistake

  8. If the frogs disappeared from this food web, what would most likely happen to the hawk?

    • The hawk would starve right away, since it only eats frogs
    • The hawk would turn into a producer
    • The hawk could still eat insects, so it might be fine
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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 · The insect eats the plant and nothing else in this web, so it is the herbivore.
  2. Plant · The plant makes its own food, so it is the producer. It starts every chain in this web.
  3. True · The frog and the hawk both eat other animals, so both are carnivores.
  4. Insect · The insect shows up early in both chains: the frog eats it, and the hawk eats it too, directly.
  5. Hawk · The arrow from frog points to hawk, so the hawk eats the frog.
  6. They would have less food, so their numbers could drop · Frogs eat insects in this web, so losing that food source would hurt the frogs.
  7. She read the arrow backwards; it means the frog eats the insect · Arrows point from the food to the eater, so this arrow shows the frog eating the insect.
  8. The hawk could still eat insects, so it might be fine · Unlike a single chain, this hawk has another food source: it eats insects directly too.
Worksheet · LightMySky