Ecosystems and Energy
Flow Task Cards
Includes the following:
-Producers, Consumers, Decomposers
-Herbivores, Omnivores, Carnivores
-Food Chains, Webs, and Energy Pyramids
-Primary and Secondary Succession
-Abiotic and Biotic Factors
-Ecosystems Vocabulary
-And More!!!
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Ecosystems and
Energy Flow1
Ecosystems and
Energy Flow3
Ecosystems and
Energy Flow2
Ecosystems and
Energy Flow4
The picture below shows an
example of a producer. What is a PRODUCER?
The picture below shows an
example of a consumer. What is a CONSUMER?
The picture below shows an
example of a decomposer. What is a DECOMPOSER?
The picture below shows an
example of a scavenger. What is a SCAVENGER?
© Scott and Natalie Platteter 2014
© Scott and Natalie Platteter 2014
© Scott and Natalie Platteter 2014
© Scott and Natalie Platteter 2014
Ecosystems and
Energy Flow5
Ecosystems and
Energy Flow7
Ecosystems and
Energy Flow6
Ecosystems and
Energy Flow8
What term is used to describe
a consumer that feeds on plants only?
What term is used to describe
a consumer that feeds on animals only?
What term is used to describe
a consumer that feeds on plants AND animals?
What term is used to describe
a series of events in which one
organism eats another in order to obtain energy?
© Scott and Natalie Platteter 2014
© Scott and Natalie Platteter 2014
© Scott and Natalie Platteter 2014
© Scott and Natalie Platteter 2014
Ecosystems and
Energy Flow9
Ecosystems and
Energy Flow11
Ecosystems and
Energy Flow10
Ecosystems and
Energy Flow12
Where does all of the energy within an ecosystem originate?
In the food chain below, which
organism would be a primary consumer?
In the food chain below,
which organism would be a secondary consumer?
What term is used to describe many overlapping food chains?
© Scott and Natalie Platteter 2014
© Scott and Natalie Platteter 2014
© Scott and Natalie Platteter 2014
© Scott and Natalie Platteter 2014
Ecosystems and
Energy Flow13
Ecosystems and
Energy Flow15
Ecosystems and
Energy Flow14
Ecosystems and
Energy Flow16
In the food web below, which
organism feeds on the largest variety organisms?
List one food chain from the food web below?
What is the term used to describe
a diagram that shows the
amount of energy that moves
from one feeding level to another in a food web?
Where is the most energy found in an energy pyramid?
Hawks
Mice
Grass
© Scott and Natalie Platteter 2014
© Scott and Natalie Platteter 2014
© Scott and Natalie Platteter 2014
© Scott and Natalie Platteter 2014
Ecosystems and
Energy Flow17
Ecosystems and
Energy Flow19
Ecosystems and
Energy Flow18
Ecosystems and
Energy Flow20
If birds eat insects that feed on corn,
which pyramid level would birds occupy?
Which level in the energy pyramid
below would represent a third level (tertiary) consumer?
What is the process shown in the diagram below?
What is the term used to describe
all of the members of one species in a particular area?
A
B
C
D
ABC
D
Energy (sunlight)+
Water+
Carbon Dioxide
Taken in Given off
Food+
Oxygen
© Scott and Natalie Platteter 2014
© Scott and Natalie Platteter 2014
© Scott and Natalie Platteter 2014
© Scott and Natalie Platteter 2014
Ecosystems and
Energy Flow21
Ecosystems and
Energy Flow23
Ecosystems and
Energy Flow22
Ecosystems and
Energy Flow24
What is the term used to describe
all of the different populations that live together in an area?
What is the term used to describe
all of the living and nonliving things that interact in an area?
What type of factor is a living part of an ecosystem?
What type of factor is a nonliving part of an ecosystem?
© Scott and Natalie Platteter 2014
© Scott and Natalie Platteter 2014
© Scott and Natalie Platteter 2014
© Scott and Natalie Platteter 2014
Ecosystems and
Energy Flow25
Ecosystems and
Energy Flow27
Ecosystems and
Energy Flow26
Ecosystems and
Energy Flow28
What is the place an organism
lives that provides the things that it needs to survive?
A series of predictable changes
that occur in a community over time is known as _______________.
Explain primary succession in your own words.
Explain secondary succession in your own words.
1 2 3 4 5 © Scott and Natalie Platteter 2014
© Scott and Natalie Platteter 2014
© Scott and Natalie Platteter 2014
© Scott and Natalie Platteter 2014
Ecosystems and
Energy Flow29
Ecosystems and
Energy Flow31
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Energy Flow30
Ecosystems and
Energy Flow32
Is the following an example of primary or secondary succession?
An undersea volcano forming a
new island ecosystem over many
years.
Which type of succession occurs more rapidly?
Primary
or
Secondary
What do the arrows in a food web/chain represent?
Is the following an example of primary or secondary succession?
A large flood destroying a portion
of an ecosystem and the
ecosystem regrows after many
years.© Scott and Natalie Platteter 2014
© Scott and Natalie Platteter 2014
© Scott and Natalie Platteter 2014
© Scott and Natalie Platteter 2014
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SCOTT AND NATALIE PLATTETER, ECOSYSTEMS AND ENERGY FLOW TASK CARDS © 2014
Name: _________________ Date: _________
Ecosystems and Energy Flow:
Task Card Answer Sheet 1. 9. 17. 25.
2. 10. 18. 26.
3. 11. 19. 27.
4. 12. 20. 28.
5. 13. 21. 29.
6. 14. 22. 30.
7. 15. 23. 31.
8. 16. 24. 32.
SCOTT AND NATALIE PLATTETER, ECOSYSTEMS AND ENERGY FLOW TASK CARDS © 2014
Ecosystems and Energy Flow Task Cards:
Answer Key 1. An organism that
can make its own
food by carrying out
photosynthesis.
9. The Sun 17. C 25. Habitat
2. An organism that
obtains energy by
feeding on other
organisms.
10. Grasshopper 18. D 26. Succession
3. An organism that
breaks down waste
and dead organisms
and returns the raw
materials back to
the environment.
11. Whale 19. Photosynthesis 27. A series of
predictable changes
that occur over time
in an area where no
ecosystem previously
existed.
4. A carnivore that
feeds on the bodies
of dead animals.
12. Food Web 20. Population 28. A series of events
that occur after a
disturbance in an
existing ecosystem.
5. Herbivore 13. Hawks 21. Community 29. Primary
succession
6. Carnivore 14. Answers may
vary (ex. grass,
grasshopper, frog,
fox)
22. Ecosystem 30. Secondary
succession
7. Omnivore 15. Energy Pyramid 23. Biotic factor 31. Secondary
succession
8. Food Chain 16. Producer level,
bottom, grass
24. Abiotic factor 32. The direction of
the flow of energy
from one organism
to another.