Key Concept: Food chains show who eats whom. Producers (plants) make food, herbivores eat plants, carnivores eat animals, and omnivores eat both.
Section A: Matching Animals to Their Diet
Food Word Bank:
grass (hierba)leaves (hojas)seeds (semillas)berries (bayas)insects (insectos)worms (lombrices)small fish (peces pequeños)frogs (ranas)snails (caracoles)nectar (néctar)grain (grano)algae (algas)
1 Complete the table by choosing the most suitable foods from the word bank. [8]
| Animal |
What it commonly eats |
| Deer (ciervo) | ________________________________________ |
| Cow (vaca) | ________________________________________ |
| Rabbit (conejo) | ________________________________________ |
| Frog (rana) | ________________________________________ |
| Fly (mosca) | ________________________________________ |
| Hen (chicken) (gallina) | ________________________________________ |
| Snail (caracol) | ________________________________________ |
| Small pond fish (pez de estanque pequeño) | ________________________________________ |
2 Classify each animal as a herbivore, carnivore, or omnivore. [6]
Deer, cow, rabbit, frog, fly, hen
Section B: Who Eats Them?
3 Write two predators for each animal below (use local or familiar examples). [8]
Mouse (ratón), frog, rabbit, small fish
4 Circle the most likely predator of each animal and explain why. [4]
(a) Frog: owl (búho) / heron (garza) / cow
(b) Rabbit: fox (zorro) / deer / snail
(c) Fly: frog / cow / oak tree (roble)
(d) Small fish: heron / rabbit / grasshopper (saltamontes)
Section C: Building Food Chains
5 Create four food chains using the organisms below. [8]
Organism list: grass, leaves, algae, cow, deer, rabbit, grasshopper, fly, frog, snake (serpiente), fox, owl, heron
6 For one of your food chains, label each organism as producer, primary consumer, secondary consumer, or tertiary consumer. [4]
Section D: Mini Food Web
7 Draw a food web for a meadow and pond edge using the organisms below. Use arrows to show energy flow (from food to eater). [8]
Producers: grass, wildflowers (flores silvestres), algae
Primary consumers: deer, rabbit, snail, fly larvae (larvas de mosca), grasshopper
Secondary consumers: frog, small fish, spider (araña)
Top consumers: heron, owl, fox, snake
8 Explain what might happen if the fly larvae population suddenly decreased. [4]
Total: 50 marks
Mark Scheme
1. Any suitable matches from the word bank. Example answers: Deer → leaves/grass; Cow → grass; Rabbit → grass/leaves; Frog → insects; Fly → nectar; Hen → grain/insects; Snail → algae/leaves; Small pond fish → small fish/insects/larvae. [8]
2. Deer herbivore; Cow herbivore; Rabbit herbivore; Frog carnivore (insectivore); Fly omnivore/feeds on nectar and decaying matter; Hen omnivore. [6]
3. Any sensible predators (2 each). Example answers: Mouse → owl, fox; Frog → heron, snake; Rabbit → fox, owl; Small fish → heron, larger fish. [8]
4. (a) Heron [1] (b) Fox [1] (c) Frog [1] (d) Heron [1]
5. Any four valid food chains using the given list, e.g. grass → cow → fox; leaves → rabbit → owl; algae → small pond fish → heron; grass → grasshopper → frog → snake. [8]
6. Correct trophic labels for one chain (producer, primary, secondary, tertiary). [4]
7. Food web should show correct arrows from producers to primary consumers and from prey to predators; credit for accurate links and clear energy flow. [8]
8. Any valid ecosystem effect: fewer secondary consumers that rely on larvae (frog/small fish/spider) may decrease; larvae food sources (algae/decaying plant matter) may increase; knock-on effects on top consumers. [4]