Year 7 Science · Unit 1 · Lesson 13

Producers, Consumers, Decomposers

Foundation Worksheet

Name

Date

Class

Learning Goals

Identify producers, consumers and decomposers and explain how each gets energy.
Classify consumers as herbivores, carnivores, omnivores or detritivores.
Explain why decomposers are essential to nutrient cycling in ecosystems.

Warm Up

Match each term to its definition

Draw a line connecting each term on the left to its correct definition on the right. Or write the matching letter next to each term.

Term	Your answer	Definition
Autotroph		A. An organism — usually a fungus or bacterium — that breaks down dead matter and releases nutrients back into the soil.
Heterotroph		B. A consumer that eats both plants and animals.
Decomposer		C. A consumer that eats only animals.
Herbivore		D. An organism that makes its own food, usually through photosynthesis.
Carnivore		E. An organism that must get energy by eating other organisms.
Omnivore		F. A consumer that eats only plants.

Your Turn

True or False? Fix the false ones

Circle T or F for each statement. If the statement is false, rewrite it correctly on the line below.

Decomposers eat living organisms to get their energy.

Correct it:

Fungi are decomposers that break down dead matter and recycle nutrients into the soil.

Correct it:

All consumers must eat animals to survive.

Correct it:

Without decomposers, nutrients would stay locked inside dead organisms and producers would be unable to grow.

Correct it:

An earthworm is a producer because it aerates the soil and helps plants grow.

Correct it:

Show What You Know

1. Name one producer, one consumer and one decomposer found in an Australian ecosystem. For each, state how it gets its energy.

Recall 3 marks

2. A Tasmanian devil eats the carcass of a dead wallaby. Is a Tasmanian devil a decomposer? Explain why or why not, using the correct classification from this lesson.

Recall 2 marks

Wrap Up

In one sentence, what was the main idea of this lesson?