In this lesson, students will use a simulation to explore the transfer of matter and energy among producers, consumers, and decomposers in an ecosystem.

• Students will explore a model to understand how matter and energy are transferred among producers, consumers, and decomposers in an ecosystem. 
• Students will explore how the number of organisms in different trophic levels affects the stability of an ecosystem.

• producer
• consumer
• secondary consumer
• tertiary consumer
• population
• community
• trophic level
• ecosystem
• predator
• prey

In this lesson, students will use a simulation to explore the transfer of matter and energy among producers, consumers, and decomposers in an ecosystem.

As a result, students will:

• Describe how energy is transferred through an ecosystem.
• Explain how organisms depend on one another to create a balanced ecosystem.