Pyramids of biomass
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can create and interpret pyramids of biomass.
Key learning points
- Food chains show feeding relationships between organisms and how food moves from one organism to another in a habitat.
- Biomass is the mass of living material in one or more organisms, and may be estimated.
- Pyramids of biomass show the biomass of organisms at each stage in a food chain.
- Pyramids of biomass use scaled bars to represent the total mass of organisms within a habitat.
- Pyramids of biomass have the producer at the bottom.
Keywords
Biomass - Biomass is the mass of living material in one or more organisms.
Pyramid of biomass - A pyramid of biomass is a diagram which shows the biological mass (biomass) of organisms at each trophic level in a food chain diagram.
Pyramid of numbers - A pyramid of numbers is a diagram which shows the total number of organisms at each trophic level in a food chain diagram.
Common misconception
A common misconception is that the biomass increases as you move to the next trophic level, presumably because pupils incorrectly assume that biomass refers to individuals rather than populations.
The lesson gets pupils to estimate the biomass of populations at each trophic level to demonstrate that biomass decreases at each trophic level.
Teacher tip
There are lots of opportunities for teachers to get pupils to work out pyramids of biomass for themselves. Pupils can research the typical biomass of different organisms on the internet.
Equipment
calculator
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Look at the food web diagram below. Which of the organisms is a herbivore?
Q2.Look at the food web diagram below. Which of the organisms is a carnivore?
Q3.Look at the food web diagram below. Which of the organisms is an omnivore?
Q4.Producers make their food from which two of the following?
Q5.Look at the food chain diagram and match the organism to the correct description.
Q6.Look at the pyramid of numbers diagram. How many producers are there in the population?
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.What is meant by the term 'trophic level' when we talk about food chain diagrams?
Q2.The dry mass of organisms at each trophic level is called ...
Q3.Pyramids of numbers are not as good as pyramids of biomass because...
Q4.The following diagram is a pyramid of biomass. The population of which organism has the largest biomass?
Q5.Look at the food chain diagram and its pyramid of biomass. Put the organisms in the order of biomass (largest first).
Q6.What is the biomass of the oak tree in this pyramid of biomass?
To help you plan your 8 science lesson on: Pyramids of biomass, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 8 science lesson on: Pyramids of biomass, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom. Plus, you can set it as homework or revision for pupils and keep their learning on track by sharing an online pupil version of this lesson.
Explore more key stage 3 science lessons from the Biodiversity unit, dive into the full secondary science curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.