WHAT IS FOOD CHAIN? (CBSE 10TH)

• A food chain is a linear sequence of organisms through which energy and nutrients are transferred, starting from a producer and moving up to consumers.
• A food chain is a series of organisms in which each organism feeds on the one below it in the chain and is eaten by the one above it.

• Example of a Simple Food Chain:

• Grass – Producer (makes its own food through photosynthesis)

• Grasshopper – Primary consumer (herbivore)

• Frog – Secondary consumer (carnivore)

• Snake – Tertiary consumer

• Eagle – Top carnivore (apex predator)

• Energy flows in one direction: from producers → consumers → decomposers.
• At each step, energy is lost as heat, so fewer organisms exist at higher levels.
• Food chains are part of a bigger food web.