Build a Food Chain Game

Goal: Build several different food chains

Before starting the game, check out the information below describing what a food chain is and how several food chains can make up a food web. Knowing a little bit about food chains and food webs may be helpful to you when you play the game. After that, you'll be given instructions on how to play the game.

What is a Food Chain?

All living things need food to survive. A food chain shows how each living thing gets food, and how nutrients and energy passes on from creature to creature, or from environment to creature. Below is a basic example of a food chain:

foodchain

The Elements of a Food Chain

The Sun is usually the beginning of most food chains.

Nearly all of the energy used by living things on earth to survive originally came from the sun.

Producers, which are plants, produce their own food from sun, water, air (carbon dioxide), and soil.

Consumers, which are usually animals, consume other plants and animals.

An herbivore only eats plants.
A carnivore only eats meat.
An omnivore eats both plants and animals.

Decomposers, which include fungi, bacteria, and worms, eat decaying plants and animals, and decompose them back into soil. The soil can then be used by plants to grow.

What is a Food Web?

Many food chains make up a food web. Below is an example of a food web. See how many different food chains can make up a food web?

How to Play:

Click on the “Next” button below.
The food chain starts with a picture of something.
Click on the picture of the thing you think comes next in the food chain.
Click the “Next” button at the bottom of the page to see if you were right.
When your food chain is complete, you can move on to a new food chain.

FoodChain1A

Now that you've learned more about food chains and how to play, it's time to begin the game. Good luck!

Food Chain 1:

This food chain starts with a fly.

Which of the following eats flies for food?

The correct answer is FROG.

Frogs eat lots of insects (like flies) for food.

Food Chain 1:

Which animal would make a meal out of a frog?

The correct answer is SNAKE.

Carnivores, like snakes, eat other animals. This Garter Snake eats small frogs for food.

Food Chain 1:

Which of the following would eat a snake for food?

The correct answer is HAWK.

A hawk is a carnivore and would make a nice meal out of a snake.

The frog eats the fly; the snake eats the frog; then, the snake is eaten by a hawk!

The first food chain is complete!

Food Chain 2:

Great job! You've reached level 2.

This food chain starts with the sun. Which of the following uses sunlight to grow?

The correct answer is GRASS.

Grass depends upon sun, soil, water, and air to survive.

Food Chain 2:

Which of the following animals would eat plant leaves?

The correct answer is DEER.

Deer are herbivores that eat plant leaves, bark, twigs, and nuts for food.

Food Chain 2:

Which animal would try to catch the deer for food?

The correct answer is MOUNTAIN LION.

Mountain lions are carnivores that eat meat, such as deer.

You’ve completed the second food chain!

The grass uses energy from the sun to grow; the deer eats the grass; then, the mountain lion eats the deer!

Food Chain 3:

You've reached Level 3!

This food chain starts with a squirrel. Which of the following would try to catch a squirrel for food?

The correct answer is BOBCAT.

Bobcats eat all sorts of small animals for food, such as squirrels.

Food Chain 3:

Let's say the poor bobcat got sick and died.

Which of the following would be able to make food out of the bobcat and turn it back into soil?

The correct answer is FUNGI.

Fungi are decomposers. All living things eventually die. Decomposers, like fungi and worms, can turn living things back into soil.

Food Chain 3:

Which of the following needs soil to survive?

The correct answer is TREES.

Pine trees need soil to grow big and tall. In case you are wondering, some fungus also need soil to grow, but some fungus can grow off of dying trees or other plants.

You’ve completed the third food chain!

The bobcat eats the squirrel; the bobcat dies and is turned into soil by fungi; then, pine trees are able to grow in the soil!

Food Chain 4:

Excellent! You've reached Level 4!

This food chain starts with berries from a chokecherry bush. Which animal would like to eat berries for food?

The correct answer is BEAR.

Bears are omnivores, which means they eat both animals and plants. A bear would love to eat chokecherries.

Food Chain 4:

Which animal could get food from a bear?

(Hint: the animal can get food from the bear without killing it)

The correct answer is MOSQUITO.

Mosquitoes suck blood from warm-blooded animals, such as bears. Have you ever been camping and had a mosquito try to bite you? They may be pesky, but some animals need them for food.

Food Chain 4:

Which animal eats mosquitoes?

The correct answer is SWALLOW.

Some birds, like swallows, eat mosquitoes for food. While they may be annoying to people, mosquitoes are a part of nature’s larger food web.

You’ve completed the last food chain. Great job!

The bear eats the berries; the mosquito sucks blood from the bear; then, a bird eats the mosquito!

Time's up