ScienceFreePrintable

Ecosystem Models Worksheet

A free science worksheet ready for your classroom. Open in Kuraplan to grab the print-ready PDF, customize it for your students, or generate a fresh version in seconds.

Ecosystem Models Worksheet worksheet preview
Name:Date:

Ecosystem Models Worksheet

A robotics club is building a model of a New Zealand rocky shore ecosystem. Use the evidence below to work out how its living and non-living parts connect. Arrows in a food chain point from the food to the organism that eats it.

Evidence from the rocky shore

Seaweed uses sunlight to make its own food. Limpets scrape algae from rocks. Mussels filter tiny food particles from seawater. Crabs eat small animals, including mussels. Seabirds may eat crabs. Fungi and bacteria break down dead organisms and wastes, returning nutrients to the environment. Sunlight, seawater, air, rocks and nutrients are non-living parts of this ecosystem.

1.The club’s model includes seaweed, a limpet, a crab and bacteria. Which organism is a producer?
  • Seaweed
  • Limpet
  • Crab
  • Bacteria
2.Match each organism to its main ecosystem role.
  • Seaweed
  • Limpet
  • Bacteria
  • Consumer
  • Decomposer
  • Producer
3.Select the correct food chain using the organisms described in the evidence.
  • Seaweed → limpet → crab → seabird
  • Crab → limpet → seaweed → seabird
  • Seabird → crab → limpet → seaweed
4.In the chain seaweed → limpet → crab, what does the arrow from limpet to crab mean?
5.Which two items are non-living parts of this ecosystem? Choose two.
  • Seawater
  • Rock
  • Mussel
  • Seaweed
6.A low tide leaves some limpets exposed. Explain one way a non-living factor could affect the limpets.
7.Suppose crab numbers decrease. Predict one likely effect on mussels and explain why.
8.True or false: Decomposers help return nutrients from dead organisms to the environment.
TrueFalse
9.The club wants to show energy moving through a food chain. Draw and label a three-organism chain from this ecosystem, with arrows pointing in the correct direction.
10.The club removes decomposers from its model. Explain one important ecosystem process that would be reduced and why that matters.

2 printable pages

  • Ecosystem Models Worksheet, page 1 of 2: Evidence from the rocky shore

    Page 1

  • Ecosystem Models Worksheet, page 2 of 2: 6. A low tide leaves some limpets exposed. Explain one way a non-living factor could…

    Page 2

About This Worksheet

Free in Kuraplan

Sign up free, grab the PDF, and customize it for your class.

Print-Ready

Formatted for standard paper. Clean layout, easy to read.

AI-Generated

Created with Kuraplan's AI, designed for real classroom use.

For Teachers & Parents

Use in classrooms, for homework, tutoring, or homeschool.

Need a custom version of this worksheet?

Kuraplan's AI generates custom worksheets in seconds — differentiated for every learner, aligned to your curriculum.

Generate Custom Worksheets — Free
No credit card Curriculum-aligned Under 60 seconds