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WHAT IS A FOOD CHAIN?
- A food chain is the path by which energy passes from one living thing to another.

PRODUCERS
- ex: plants
- The bottom of the food chain
- Make their own food
- Green plants use energy from the sun to make food in a process called photosynthesis
CONSUMERS
- Hunt, gather, and store food because they cannot make their own
- 4 types:
  - Herbivores - only eat plants (ex: pandas, deer, rabbits, grasshoppers, squirrels)
  - Carnivores - only eat other animals (ex: tigers, lions, wolves, hawks, owls)
  - Omnivores - eat both plants and animals (ex: humans, bears, pigs)
  - Scavengers - eat the remains of dead plants and animals (ex: vultures, raccoons, crows)
DECOMPOSERS
- Organisms that break down everything that is left in the food chain
- Given enough time, decomposers can break down anything on Earth!
- As they break down material, they release nutrients into the soil and water that are vital to all other organisms
- ex: bacteria, fungus, worms

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Food Chains