G4 – Energy Flow in the Environment FK 4.7 500 – 600L_02
It’s a lazy summer afternoon on the farm and you and your sister are out picking wild blueberries. You both love to put them on your morning cereal and hurry to fill the bag you brought with you. It’s almost time for dinner and you do not want to be late. You feel like you are starving.
The horses are not waiting and have been grazing on grass since you came out. You notice a hawk flying high above you. He too knows it is time for dinner as he circles the pasture. He is looking for his next meal, probably a field mouse. The chickens are strutting around looking for bugs. One field over, the sunflowers have been tracking the Sun’s motion. By using the Sun’s energy is how they get their energy to make food.
All living things need energy to grow and to have offspring. The simple fact is it takes energy to stay alive. Remember that energy can’t be created or destroyed. It can only change form. Earth gets almost all of its energy from the Sun. Plants use this energy to make their own food. They are then able to grow and have offspring. Plants are called producers as they turn the Sun’s solar energy into chemical energy.
Plants are also food for other animals. They eat, or consume, the plants to get energy and are called consumers. They are called consumers because they consume energy. They are not producing it like a plant. Instead, energy is passed from plant to animal. Some animals eat other animals. Energy flows from one living thing to another. A food chain is a way of describing this flow of energy.
