The document describes an activity where students build an energy pyramid together to demonstrate how energy is transferred between trophic levels in a food chain. The teacher acts as the producer and provides energy to primary consumers. As the activity progresses down each trophic level, the amount of available energy is cut in half, supporting fewer organisms at each subsequent level. This shows how pyramids depict less available energy and fewer organisms at higher trophic levels due to energy being lost as heat at each transfer between levels.

1. Warmup Questions What does an energy pyramid represent? Why is it the pyramid shape? Where does the energy of a food chain come from? What happens to energy as it gets passed down a food chain? ?

2. Prickly Pear Cactus Producer Woodrat First-level Consumer Weasel Second-level Consumer Bobcat Third-level Consumer

3. Energy Pyramids An energy pyramid is a diagram that shows how much energy is at each step of the food chain. A 3d food chain. Shows how many organisms at each step of food chain Where are there more organisms?Why?

4. Model Energy pyramid We will make an energy pyramid as a class. Each row is another level of the pyramid.

5. Producers. I have 8 producers. Each one of you makes food holding 2 Units of energy. Where do you get the energy to make the food? What chemical do you make that stores the energy? What will the producers do with that energy? Use it to grow, Use it to live. It will burn off in these processes

6. 1 st level or Primary Consumers Each primary consumer also needs 2 units of energy to survive. How much energy does our ecosystem have left? 8 units/ Half of the original 16. How many 1 st level consumers can our ecosystem hold? 4 Half the energy half the organisms. Why is there less energy?

7. 2 nd level consumers Each primary consumer also needs 2 units of energy to survive. How much energy does our ecosystem have left? 4units/ Half of the original 8 How many 2nd level consumers can our ecosystem hold? 2 Half the energy half the organisms. Why is there less energy? Where did it go?

8. 3 rd level Each 3 rd level consumer also needs 2 units of energy to survive. How much energy does our ecosystem have left? 2 units/ Half of the previous 4. How many 3rd level consumers can our ecosystem hold? 1 Half the energy half the organisms. Why is there less energy?

10. What is happening to energy?

11. How big can the pyramid get? Why is the third level consumer usually the top of the food chain? Do you think its common to have 4 th level consumers? Why is it unlikely to have 4 th level consumers? Why is it even more unlikely to have a 5 th and 6 th level?

12. Summary Questions What does an energy pyramid represent? Why is it the pyramid shape? Where does the energy of a food chain come from? What happens to energy as it gets passed down a food chain? Why can there only be around 4 levels in an energy pyramid? What is one organism that’s important to a food chain that’s not shown on an energy pyramid? Answer on a sheet of paper.

13. Summary Draw an energy Pyramid First make a food chain. Turn your food chain into an energy pyramid. Show how many organisms would be at each level. Explain what is happening to the energy at each level. Show how nutrients can go from the third level consumers back to the producers.

14. Summary Questions

15. Activity Energy Pyramids Producer I am a ___Algae_______ I am the___Producer____ My energy role is a_______Producer_______ . I get my energy from the___SUN__________ I use energy to_function_________ I use nutrients for___Building Cells________ I get eaten by the___Plankton_________ I give it ___Energy_______ and __Nutrients____ Consumer I am a _____1_______ I am the____First level___2__________ My energy role is a__Consumer/Herbivore____________ . I get my energy from the_____________ I use energy to____________ I use nutrients for___________ I get eaten by the____________ I give it __________ and ______________

16. Summarizing Write “The Story of Energy” You are energy what is your life like in the food chain?