Question

A food chain consists of
A. Producers
B. Consumers
C. Decomposers
D. Producers and consumers

Answer 1

Hint: A food chain is a linear network with links which shows how food flows in an ecosystem. A food chain shows the flow of matter and energy, that is food in an ecosystem consisting of plants,animals and all other living organisms.

Complete answer:
The food chain also represents how the organisms are related based on the food they eat. A food chain is different from a food web as it lacks the interconnectedness of the food web. It is a direct pathway starting from the producers and ending with consumers. Mostly the producers are green plants which produce food with the help of sunlight. And these plants are consumed by primary consumers, which in-turn are consumed by secondary consumers and followed by tertiary consumers and so on. For example a plant is consumed by a snail,the snail will be then consumed by a frog which in-turn is consumed by a snake . snake upon death, the dead body is consumed by vultures. The dead bodies of animals and plants are organic compounds they decomposed by a section of organisms called decomposers. Maintaining the food chain is very important as removal(extinction) of only organisms can lead to the extinction of all the organisms that follow it in the food chain. Now that we know about the food chain let's analyze the option to find the right answer.
Option A) Producers are an integral part of the food chain. Food chains begin with producers. But that is not the only level present in the food chain. Therefore this is an incorrect option
Option B) Consumers are also an integral part of the food chain. Producers are followed by consumers. But that is not the only level present in the food chain. Therefore this is an incorrect option
Option C) Decomposers are also a type of consumer that is present in the food chain. But that is not the only level present in the food chain. Therefore this is an incorrect option
Option D) Food chain begins with producers and is followed by different levels of consumers such as primary , secondary ,tertiary consumers and so on. Therefore this is the correct option.

Hence, the correct answer is option (D).

Note: Decomposers are also a type of consumers but unlike in normal consumers, decomposers use their energy to break down the dead organisms rather than consuming energy. Food chains can be of different length and usually end with predator species or detritivores or decomposers. The two types of food chain that are found in the ecosystem are grazing food chain, starting with green plants and detritus food chain, starting with dead organic matter.