Classify living organisms based on how they obtain their food (Autotrophs vs. Heterotrophs).
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Plants vs Animals
Plants are nature's ultimate chefs! They literally pull carbon dioxide out of the air and combine it with water and sunlight to create their own food. Animals, on the other hand, have to steal their meals.
Explanation of autotrophs
Every living object interacts with its surroundings to survive. In our environment, plants play the most critical role—they make their own food! Because they produce food for themselves (and indirectly for the rest of us), they are called producers.
Diagram showing plants using sunlight to make food.
To cook up this food, plants use a green pigment called chlorophyll to trap sunlight. They combine this energy with carbon dioxide from the air and water from the soil in a process called photosynthesis.
Here is the exact biological recipe:
Explanation of heterotrophs, herbivores, carnivores, and omnivores.
Unlike plants, animals cannot prepare their own food. Because they must consume other organisms to survive, they are called consumers or heterotrophs (hetero = other; troph = food).
Based on what they eat, consumers are divided into three main categories.
Visual comparison of Herbivore, Carnivore, and Omnivore.
Consumers are classified into herbivores, carnivores, and omnivores based on their diet.
Match animals to their consumer category.
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