Science
What is a food chain?
Quick answer
A food chain shows who eats whom in nature, starting with a plant that makes its own food and following the energy as it passes from one living thing to the next.
In one sentence
A food chain is a line of living things where each one is food for the next, showing how energy moves through nature.
Explained
Every animal needs food for energy. But where does that energy come from in the first place? Almost always, it starts with the Sun. Plants capture sunlight and use it to make their own food through photosynthesis. That is why plants are called producers.
Animals cannot make their own food, so they are consumers. A rabbit eats grass, so it gets some of the energy the grass stored. A fox eats the rabbit, so the energy moves on again. We draw it like this:
grass → rabbit → fox
The arrows point the way the energy goes. A good way to read an arrow is "is eaten by".
Think of energy like a bucket of water being passed down a line of people, where some splashes out at every step. Each animal uses most of the energy it gets just to move, grow and keep warm, so only a small part is passed on. This is why there are always many more plants than rabbits, and more rabbits than foxes.
Examples
- Garden: lettuce → slug → thrush → cat
- Ocean: tiny algae → krill → whale
- Savanna: grass → zebra → lion
- Pond: pondweed → tadpole → fish → heron
Some useful words:
| Word | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Producer | Makes its own food | grass |
| Herbivore | Eats only plants | rabbit |
| Predator | Hunts other animals | fox |
| Prey | Is hunted | rabbit |
| Decomposer | Breaks down dead things | worm, fungi |
Common mistakes
- Drawing the arrows backwards. The arrow points to the eater: grass → rabbit, not rabbit → grass.
- Starting with an animal. Food chains begin with a producer, usually a green plant or algae.
- Thinking animals only eat one thing. Real animals eat many foods, so food chains link up into a bigger web called a food web.
- Forgetting decomposers. When living things die, worms, fungi and bacteria break them down and return nutrients to the soil.
Quick quiz
Food chains
Check what you know with 4 quick questions.
Question 1 of 4
What is at the start of almost every food chain?
Practise it
Try it
Pick a habitat such as a pond or a park and write a food chain with at least three links. Then print a science activity to go with it.
Print science activities for kids
For grown-ups
Related topics
Photosynthesis
Photosynthesis is how green plants make their own food. They use energy from sunlight to turn carbon dioxide from the air and water from the soil into sugar, giving out oxygen.
Habitats
A habitat is the natural home of a living thing, where it finds the food, water, shelter and space it needs to survive.
Living things
Living things are organisms that grow, feed, get rid of waste, sense the world and reproduce. Plants, animals, fungi and bacteria are all alive.
Electric circuits
An electric circuit is a complete loop that electricity flows around. A simple circuit has a battery, wires and a component like a bulb. If the loop is broken, the electricity stops.
Digestive system
The digestive system is the long tube and organs that break food down into tiny pieces your body can absorb for energy and growth, then get rid of what is left as waste.
Electricity
Electricity is the flow of tiny charged particles called electrons through a material. It powers lights, phones and machines, and it can come from batteries or the mains supply.