Which part of the food web does this mushroom fit into?

1. Producer.

   No. A producer captures energy from sunlight, and stores it as food. To do that, the organism needs to contain chlorophyll. This mushroom cannot use the energy of sunlight to produce its own food.

2. Primary Consumer.

   No. Primary consumers eat producers. This mushroom does not eat living plants.

3. Secondary Consumer

   No. Secondary consumers eat other consumers. This mushroom does not eat living animals.

4. Decomposer

   Yes! Decomposers break down dead and decaying organisms. This mushroom gets its energy from decaying organisms in the soil.

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The brown spots on this fern contain spores. How are spores different from seeds?

1. Spores are much smaller, because they do not contain stored food for the young plant.

   That is part of the answer. Most seeds contain stored food for the developing plant. Orchid seeds are an exception..

2. Spores are a form of asexual reproduction.

   That is part of the answer. Spores contain only the genetic material from the parent plant.

3. Spores develop into a different kind of plant from the parent.

   This is part of the answer. Ferns have alternation of generations, which means that the spores grow into a plant called a prothallia. The prothallia produces male and female sex cells, which join, and grow into another fern plant.

4. All of the above.

   Yes! All three of the answers are correct.

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