Who Eats What? Inside a Food Chain

Lexile: 830 | Grade: 5

Passage

In nature, every living thing needs energy to survive. But where does that energy come from? The answer lies in something called a **food chain**.

A food chain shows how energy moves through an ecosystem. It starts with the **producers**—usually green plants. They use sunlight, water, and air to make their own food through a process called photosynthesis.

Next are the **consumers**—animals that eat plants or other animals. A rabbit eating grass is a consumer. A fox eating the rabbit is also a consumer. And sometimes, a larger animal like a hawk might eat the fox. That’s how energy keeps moving.

At the end of the food chain are **decomposers**—like mushrooms and worms. They break down dead plants and animals into tiny pieces. These tiny pieces go into the soil and help new plants grow.

Food chains can be short or long, but they are always connected. In fact, when many food chains are linked together, they form something bigger: a **food web**.

If one part of a food chain changes—like if a certain animal disappears—it can affect the whole system. That’s why keeping ecosystems balanced is so important. Every living thing plays a role in nature’s circle of life.

Questions

Q1: What is the main idea of the passage?

  • A. All animals eat the same kind of food.
  • B. Food chains show how energy moves in nature.
  • C. Decomposers are not part of the food chain.
  • D. Rabbits and foxes do not belong in the same ecosystem.

Q2: What is a producer in a food chain?

  • A. An animal that eats other animals
  • B. A plant that makes its own food using sunlight
  • C. A person who grows vegetables
  • D. A mushroom that breaks down dead things

Q3: What would most likely happen if all the decomposers disappeared?

  • A. There would be too many producers.
  • B. Animals would stop eating each other.
  • C. Dead plants and animals would pile up and soil would lose nutrients.
  • D. Food chains would become shorter.

Q4: What is the difference between a food chain and a food web?

  • A. A food chain is for land animals, and a food web is for sea animals.
  • B. A food web shows many connected food chains.
  • C. A food chain includes humans, and a food web does not.
  • D. A food web only shows plants and fungi.

Q5: Why is it important to keep ecosystems balanced?

  • A. So all the animals can sleep more
  • B. So decomposers don’t become consumers
  • C. So every living thing can play its role and survive
  • D. So producers don’t need sunlight

Printable Comprehension Practice

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Answers & Reasoning

Q1: What is the main idea of the passage?

✅ Correct Answer: B

💡 Reasoning: The passage explains how food chains work and how energy moves through producers, consumers, and decomposers.

Q2: What is a producer in a food chain?

✅ Correct Answer: B

💡 Reasoning: The passage says producers are green plants that make their own food through photosynthesis.

Q3: What would most likely happen if all the decomposers disappeared?

✅ Correct Answer: C

💡 Reasoning: The passage explains that decomposers help break down dead matter and return nutrients to the soil.

Q4: What is the difference between a food chain and a food web?

✅ Correct Answer: B

💡 Reasoning: The passage explains that when food chains link together, they form a food web.

Q5: Why is it important to keep ecosystems balanced?

✅ Correct Answer: C

💡 Reasoning: The passage explains that if one part of the chain changes, it can affect the whole system.