Plants
are
called
producers
because
they
produce
their
own
food. They
do
this
by
converting
energy
from
the
sun,
carbon
dioxide
 from
the
the
air,
and
water,
usually
from
the
soil,
into
sugar.
 This
process
is
called
photosynthesis. Through
the
process
 of
photosynthesis,
 oxygen
is
produced
 and
released
into
 the
atmosphere.
We
 breath
oxygen
in
 and
carbon
dioxide
 out.
We
need
plants
 to
breathe
-
to
 exist.

Producers

Created
by
Jen
Gallays
2013

Giant
California
redwood
trees
may
be
our
best
defense
against
 global
climate
change.

Plants
purify
the
air.
Its
a
good
 idea
to
have
them
in
your
house
 and
classroom.
NASA
has
come
 up
with
a
list
of
the
top
plants
 they
recommend
for
homes.

Created
by
Jen
Gallays
2013

Organisms
that
get
their
energy
by
consuming
producers
 (plants)
are
called
primary
consumers.
We
call
these
organisms
 herbivores.

Primary
Consumers

Out
of
the
100%
of
the
energy
that
plants
get
through
 photosynthesis
-
only
10%
of
that
energy
is
passed
onto
 the
primary
consumer.

Created
by
Jen
Gallays
2013

Organisms
that
get
their
energy
by
consuming
primary
 consumers
(herbivores)
are
called
secondary
consumers.
We
call
 these
organisms
carnivores.

Secondary
Consumers

Our
of
the
100%
of
the
energy
that
plants
get
through
 photosynthesis
-
only
10%
of
that
energy
is
passed
onto
 the
primary
consumer.
Out
of
that
10%
-
only
10%
of
that
 energy
is
passed
onto
a
secondary
consumer.
(Basically,
 that
means
that
carnivores
get
1%
of
the
original
plant
 energy
that
was
created
through
photosynthesis.

Created
by
Jen
Gallays
2013

Omnivores
can
be
considered
primary
and
secondary
consumers.
 These
organisms
consume
both
plants
and
animals.

Primary
and
Secondary
Consumers

Created
by
Jen
Gallays
2013

detritivore

Detritivores
 aid
in
 decomposition
by
 eating
organic
 matter
and
 returning
 nutrients
to
the
 soil
more
quickly.

Created
by
Jen
Gallays
2013

Energy
moves
through
a
food
web.
It
starts
with
plant
 photosynthesis.
As
organisms
eat
plants,
there
is
energy
 transferred
from
plant
to
organism.
In
this
web,
the
energy
 moves
from
grass
to
grasshopper
to
mouse
to
snake
to
hawk.
 Dead
and
decaying
matter
is
consumed
by
decomposers
and
the
 energy
is
put
back
into
the
soil
to
be
used
by
plants
again.
This
 creates
an
energy
cycle
that
continues
on
forever.

Food
Web

Created
by
Jen
Gallays
2013
Photos taken from Google images. Cartoon diagrams taken from Shepard Software and were created by Jasmine Chapgar.