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→Key Stage 3
==Key Stage 3==
===Meaning===
A '''food chain''' is a [[diagram ]] used to show which creatures rely on each other for food in a [[habitat]].
===About Food Chains===
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| style="height:20px; width:600px; text-align:center;" |In this '''food chain''' the grass is a [[producer]]. The grasshopper, pied flycatcher, skunk and vulture are all [[consumer]]s. The vulture is also a [[Top Carnivore|top carnivore]].
|}
==Key Stage 4==
===Meaning===
A '''food chain''' is a [[diagram]] used to show the feeding relationships between [[organism]]s in a [[community]].
===About Food Chains===
: A '''food chain''' is split into several [[Trophic Level|trophic levels]].
: The first [[Trophic Level|trophic level]] in '''food chains''' are [[producer]]s which make their own food by [[photosynthesis]].
: The last [[Trophic Level|trophic level]] in a '''food chain''' is usually an [[Apex Predator|apex predator]] which may be a [[Tertiary Consumer|tertiary consumer]] or a [[Quaternary Consumer|quaternary consumer]].
: The arrows in a '''food chain''' always point from the food to the [[animal]] that eats it.
: The [[producer]] in a '''food chain''' is always eaten by a [[consumer]].
: With each [[consumer]] the total [[energy]] passed to the next [[Trophic Level|trophic level]] is smaller.
: When the [[Primary Consumer|primary consumer]] eats the [[producer]] it does not get all the [[energy]] because the [[producer]] used some of that [[energy]] in [[respiration]]. The [[Primary Consumer|primary consumer]] also cannot [[digestion|digest]] all of the parts of the [[producer]] so some [[energy]] is wasted as [[faeces]].
: When the [[Secondary Consumer|secondary consumer]] eats the [[Primary Consumer|primary consumer]] it does not get all the [[energy]] because the [[Primary Consumer|primary consumer]] used that [[energy]] for movement, it lost some [[energy]] in [[respiration]] and parts of its body cannot be digested by the [[Secondary Consumer|secondary consumer]].
===Producers and Consumers===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
|[[File:FoodChain5.png|center|600px]]
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| style="height:20px; width:600px; text-align:center;" |In this '''food chain''' the [[tree]] is the first [[Trophic Level|trophic level]] (a [[producer]]), the [[giraffe]] is a [[Primary Consumer|primary consumer]] and the lion is the last [[Trophic Level|trophic level]] (a [[Secondary Consumer|secondary consumer]]) as well as an [[Apex Predator|apex predator]].
|-
|[[File:FoodChain6.png|center|600px]]
|-
| style="height:20px; width:600px; text-align:center;" |In this '''food chain''' the grass is the first [[Trophic Level|trophic level]] (a [[producer]]). The grasshopper, pied flycatcher, skunk and vulture are all [[consumer]]s. The vulture is also the last [[Trophic Level|trophic level]] and a [[Top Carnivore|top carnivore]]. It is not an [[Apex Predator|apex predator]] because it does not hunt for [[prey]], it is a [[scavenger]].
|}