Grade 3 Ecosystems & Food Chains worksheet
from Gradelings · Name: ______________________
How to explain it
- Energy starts with the sun. Producers (plants) use it to make food.
- Consumers eat plants or other animals. Herbivores eat plants, carnivores eat animals, omnivores eat both.
- Decomposers break down dead things.
Example: Put in order, starting with the producer: hawk, leaves, caterpillar, songbird. Leaves make their own food, so they go first. The caterpillar eats leaves. The songbird eats the caterpillar. The hawk eats the songbird. Answer: leaves → caterpillar → songbird → hawk
Question 1
Put the food chain in order. Start with the one that makes its own food.
- 🍃leaves
- 🦅hawk
- 🐦songbird
- 🐛caterpillar
leaves → caterpillar → songbird → hawk
Hint: Energy starts with the sun. Plants use sunlight to make food. Then each animal eats the one before it.
Question 2
What does it eat? Tap an item, then tap its basket.
Sort into: 🌿 plants (herbivore) · 🍖 animals (carnivore) · 🍽️ both (omnivore)
- 🐻bear
- 🦉owl
- 🐛caterpillar
- 🦅eagle
- 🐔chicken
- 🐇rabbit
🌿 plants (herbivore): caterpillar, rabbit · 🍖 animals (carnivore): owl, eagle · 🍽️ both (omnivore): bear, chicken
Hint: Herbivores eat plants. Carnivores eat other animals. Omnivores eat both plants and animals.
Question 3
Which living thing is a decomposer?
- 🌻sunflower
- 🍄mushroom
- 🦌deer
🍄 mushroom
Hint: Decomposers, like mushrooms and worms, break down dead plants and animals.
Question 4
In the food chain grass → rabbit → fox, what do the arrows show?
➡️- which animal is the biggest
- which way the wind blows
- the way energy moves, from food to eater
the way energy moves, from food to eater
Hint: Each arrow points to the eater. Energy moves from the grass to the rabbit, then to the fox.
Question 5
Plants are called producers because they…
🌱- make their own food using sunlight
- don't need any energy
- get food by eating animals
make their own food using sunlight
Hint: Plants produce (make) their own food in their leaves using sunlight, air and water.
Question 6
An animal that eats both plants and animals is called an…
🦝- omnivore
- carnivore
- herbivore
omnivore
Hint: “Omni” means all. Omnivores, like raccoons and people, eat plants and animals.
Question 7
A rabbit eats grass. A fox eats the rabbit. Where did the fox's energy first come from?
- ☀️the sun
- 🌧️the rain
- 🕳️the fox's den
☀️ the sun
Hint: Follow the energy backward: fox ← rabbit ← grass ← sun. The grass used sunlight to make food.
Question 8
What is an ecosystem?
🏞️- one kind of animal
- a type of rock
- living and non-living things working together in one place
living and non-living things working together in one place
Hint: An ecosystem includes the plants, animals, water, soil, air and sunlight in a place, and how they affect each other.
Question 9
Is it a living or non-living part of an ecosystem?
Sort into: 🌱 living · 🪨 non-living
- 🌬️air
- 🪲beetle
- 💧water
- 🌳tree
🌱 living: beetle, tree · 🪨 non-living: air, water
Hint: Living things grow, need food and make more of their kind. Sunlight, water, rocks and air are not alive, but living things need them.
Question 10
How do bees help flowers?
🐝- they eat all the leaves
- they keep the flowers warm at night
- they carry pollen, so new seeds can form
they carry pollen, so new seeds can form
Hint: Bees move pollen from flower to flower while they collect nectar. This helps plants make seeds.
Answer key
- 1. leaves → caterpillar → songbird → hawk
- 2. 🌿 plants (herbivore): caterpillar, rabbit · 🍖 animals (carnivore): owl, eagle · 🍽️ both (omnivore): bear, chicken
- 3. 🍄 mushroom
- 4. the way energy moves, from food to eater
- 5. make their own food using sunlight
- 6. omnivore
- 7. ☀️ the sun
- 8. living and non-living things working together in one place
- 9. 🌱 living: beetle, tree · 🪨 non-living: air, water
- 10. they carry pollen, so new seeds can form
Want more than 10 questions?
In Gradelings the questions change every time and adjust to your child, with hints and kind feedback.