Habitats and Ecosystems — Answer Key
Part A: Fix the Sentence
Each sentence has an error. Rewrite it correctly on the line.
1. Fix the sentence:
An eagle is a decomposer because it eats rabbits.
Corrected: An eagle is a consumer because it eats rabbits.
Eagles hunt and eat live prey like rabbits, which makes them consumers; decomposers such as fungi only break down things that are already dead.
2. Fix the sentence:
A rattlesnake keeps warm in the cold, wet rainforest.
Corrected: A rattlesnake keeps warm in the hot, dry desert.
Rattlesnakes are reptiles with cold blood, so they need the strong sun and warm rocks of a desert to heat their bodies — a chilly rainforest cannot do that.
3. Fix the sentence:
Coral reefs are found in the middle of grasslands.
Corrected: Coral reefs are found in warm, shallow ocean water.
Coral is a tiny ocean animal that needs sunlight and warm saltwater to grow, so reefs only form in shallow tropical seas — never on dry grassland.
Part B: Fill in the Blank
Write the missing word or number on each line.
1. In a food chain, the arrows show which way energy flows.
Each arrow in a food chain points from the thing being eaten to the thing eating it, showing how energy moves up from the sun to plants and on to animals.
2. A predator is an animal that hunts other animals for food.
Predators are hunters at the top of the food chain — animals like wolves, hawks, and sharks chase, catch, and eat other animals to survive.
3. Trees, grass, and flowers are all examples of producers.
Trees, grass, and flowers all use sunlight, water, and air to make their own food through photosynthesis, so scientists call them producers.
4. Bears sleep through winter in a deep rest called hibernation.
Hibernation is a special winter sleep where a bear's heartbeat slows down so it can survive on stored body fat when food is hard to find.
Part C: True or False?
Read each statement. Circle True or False.
1. A food chain always begins with a producer like a plant.
True False
Every food chain starts with a producer because only plants and algae can capture sunlight to make food; everything else gets energy by eating them.
2. Decomposers eat only living animals.
True False
Decomposers like mushrooms, bacteria, and earthworms feed on dead plants and animals, breaking them down so the nutrients can return to the soil.
3. Some animals migrate to warmer habitats when winter comes.
True False
Many birds, butterflies, and whales travel long distances south each fall to find warmer weather and more food, then return home in the spring.