5th Grade Science : Energy from Animals' Food

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for 5th Grade Science

varsity tutors app store varsity tutors android store

Example Questions

Example Question #1 : Model How Energy In Animals' Food Originated From The Sun

Which of the following best describes how a carnivore gets energy from the sun.

Possible Answers:

A shark prefers to hunt in warmer water where seals and sea lions go in winter to give birth to their young.

A plant uses photosynthesis to get its energy from the sun, and then a deer gets its energy by eating the plant. Then when a wolf eats the deer, it receives energy from the deer.

A grizzly bear sleeps all winter when it is mostly dark and cold outside, and then is active all summer when the weather is nicer.

Lions do much of their hunting at sunrise when nocturnal animals are ending their day and other animals are just getting their day started.

Correct answer:

A plant uses photosynthesis to get its energy from the sun, and then a deer gets its energy by eating the plant. Then when a wolf eats the deer, it receives energy from the deer.

Explanation:

Photosynthesis is the way in which plants convert the sun's energy into their own energy. And since animals get their energy from food, when an animal eats a plant it gets its plant-based energy indirectly from the sun, because that's how the plant itself got energy. Then when a carnivore eats a plant-eating animal, the carnivore gets energy from the herbivore, who got its energy from the plant, which got it from the sun. So even meat-eaters indirectly get their energy from the sun.

Example Question #2 : Model How Energy In Animals' Food Originated From The Sun

The leopard is a carnivore that eats impalas and other deer-like herbivores on the African savannah. Which of the following would be a potential consequence to leopards if a drought eliminated most of the plants in the leopard's habitat?

Possible Answers:

The leopard would be mostly fine, since it eats meat and not plants.

The herbivores that the leopard eats would die off from starvation, and the leopard would be left without a food source.

The leopard's teeth are sharp enough that it could survive by eating rocks and gravel until the drought was over.

Without plants to hide behind, impalas and other herbivores would be easier to catch and leopards would have an overabundance of food.

Correct answer:

The herbivores that the leopard eats would die off from starvation, and the leopard would be left without a food source.

Explanation:

The food chain is highly interdependent in any given habitat, so if the plant-eating impalas and deer that leopards eat were suddenly to lose their plant-based food sources, they would die out and the leopards wouldn't have much left to eat. All nutritional energy comes from the sun: plants use chlorophyll to photosynthesize the sun's energy into plant energy, and then animals either feed on plants for that energy or they feed on the animals that have eaten that plant energy. A loss in plants means that the solar energy that supplies even the most ferocious carnivores will be less plentiful.

Example Question #3 : Model How Energy In Animals' Food Originated From The Sun

Which of the following animals would lose its nutritional energy if its habitat were to no longer receive sunlight?

Possible Answers:

All of the answers are correct.

None of the answers are correct.

Vultures, who feast on deceased mice and hawks.

Hawks, who eat plant-eating mice.

Mice, who eat plants that get their energy through photosynthesis.

Correct answer:

All of the answers are correct.

Explanation:

The food chain begins with the sun: plants get their energy by photosynthesizing sunlight into energy, and then herbivores eat those plants to get their energy. Carnivores who then eat the herbivores are getting that sunlight passed along from sun to plant to herbivore to carnivore. So if the sun were to no longer shine in this habitat, plants would not convert sunlight to energy, so mice would die, meaning that the hawks would have nothing to eat, and the vultures wouldn't get to feast on the scraps.  

Example Question #3 : Model How Energy In Animals' Food Originated From The Sun

Nrcs142p2 049822

Where does the energy passed from organism to organism in this food web originate? 

Possible Answers:

autotrophs

the sun

heterotrophs

the highest trophic level

Correct answer:

the sun

Explanation:

Through the photosynthesis process, producers, such as grass, absorb the sun's light energy to produce food (stored sugar and starches). Consumers cannot make their own food, so they have to consume other organisms. The food of almost any kind of animal can be traced back to plants and the sun. Organisms are related in food webs in which some animals eat plants for food and other animals eat the animals that eat plants. Some organisms, such as fungi and bacteria, break down dead organisms (both plants or plant parts and animals) and therefore operate as “decomposers.” Decomposition eventually restores (recycles) some materials back to the soil. Organisms can survive only in environments in which their particular needs are met.

Example Question #4 : Model How Energy In Animals' Food Originated From The Sun

Which of the following shows the movement of energy through a food chain in the correct order?

Possible Answers:

all of these

the sun -> autotrophs -> heterotrophs

the sun -> producers -> consumers

the sun -> plants ->animals

none of these

Correct answer:

all of these

Explanation:

Through the photosynthesis process, producers, such as grass, absorb the sun's light energy to produce food (stored sugar and starches). Consumers cannot make their own food, so they have to consume other organisms. The food of almost any kind of animal can be traced back to plants and the sun. Organisms are related in food webs in which some animals eat plants for food and other animals eat the animals that eat plants. Some organisms, such as fungi and bacteria, break down dead organisms (both plants or plant parts and animals) and therefore operate as “decomposers.” Decomposition eventually restores (recycles) some materials back to the soil. Organisms can survive only in environments in which their particular needs are met.

Example Question #1 : Energy From Animals' Food

Which statement about the flow of energy in an ecosystem is correct?

Possible Answers:

Energy flows from the Sun to consumers.

Energy flows from the Sun to producers.

Energy flows from the Sun to decomposers.

Energy does not flow from the Sun.

Correct answer:

Energy flows from the Sun to producers.

Explanation:

All nutritional energy comes from the Sun: plants use chlorophyll to photosynthesize the Sun's energy into plant energy, and then animals either feed on plants for that energy or they feed on the animals that have eaten that plant energy. The food chain begins with the Sun and then the energy flows to producers.

Example Question #2 : Model How Energy In Animals' Food Originated From The Sun

Which object in the food chain would have an arrow coming from it, but no arrow going to it?

Possible Answers:

The Sun

A lake

A plant

A grasshopper

Correct answer:

The Sun

Explanation:

All nutritional energy comes from the Sun: plants use chlorophyll to photosynthesize the Sun's energy into plant energy. Then animals either feed on plants for that energy, or they feed on the animals that have eaten that plant energy. An arrow would be facing outwards, displaying energy leaving the Sun and being consumed by a producer, but no arrow facing towards it because the Sun does not consume energy in the food chain.

Example Question #3 : Model How Energy In Animals' Food Originated From The Sun

Plants make up most of Earth's organic material. What would happen to plants if there were no Sun?

Possible Answers:

They would die because they would have no source of energy.

They would just use photosynthesis to keep making their food.

They would begin to eat consumers to get nutrients.

They would get their energy from the water they absorb.

Correct answer:

They would die because they would have no source of energy.

Explanation:

Producers rely on the Sun to make the food needed to survive. Through photosynthesis, plants convert sunlight and carbon dioxide into oxygen, sugar, and carbohydrates. Without the Sun, plants would be missing an essential "ingredient" to create their nutrients and would not survive.

Example Question #41 : Physical Science

For plants to live and grow, they need an energy source.  Which best describes how plants get the energy they need to live and grow?

Possible Answers:

They get energy by breaking down organisms.

They get energy from consuming the soil.

They get energy from absorbing solar energy.

They get energy from consuming water.

Correct answer:

They get energy from absorbing solar energy.

Explanation:

Plants' nutritional energy comes from the Sun. Plants use chlorophyll to photosynthesize the Sun's energy into plant energy. Through the photosynthesis process, producers, such as grass, absorb the Sun's light energy to produce food (stored sugar and starches). Photosynthesis is how plants convert the Sun's energy into their energy.

Example Question #1 : Energy From Animals' Food

A meadow is an ecosystem where snakes and rabbits live. In which order does energy flow through this meadow ecosystem?

Possible Answers:

Grass → Rabbit → Snake → Sun

Sun → Grass → Rabbit → Snake

Sun → Grass → Snake → Rabbit

Grass → Snake → Rabbit → Sun

Correct answer:

Sun → Grass → Rabbit → Snake

Explanation:

The energy in the meadow starts with the Sun. The Sun then provides energy to the grass through the process of photosynthesis. The rabbit eats the grass, and the rabbit absorbs its energy. Finally, the snake eats the rabbit, and it absorbs the rabbit's energy. Energy travels from the Sun and moves through the ecosystem with each consumer along the chain.

Learning Tools by Varsity Tutors