This song is available on Kathleen Carroll's Science Songs and Stories for the Big Questions.
Listen to this song to find the secret of energy on this planet! How does this energy get used over and over?
Follow the food chain among plants and animals in the ocean and in a fast food restaurant. How might this transfer take place in a forest?
Refrain
Round and round the energy goes
Round and round in the food chain.
The sun is the source of the energy
That goes around in the food chain.
The sun is the source of the energy in you and me and everything we see.
And green plants store sun’s energy as food so living things can be.
(Spoken) The energy goes—
From the sun to the plants to the herbivores who pass their energy to the carnivores
So the carnivores die and their bodies decay. They give nutrients back to the plants that way.
Refrain
(Spoken) For instance,
The sun shines its energy to tiny plants called green algae.
Those tiny plants are quite tasty to little fish who need some energy.
The energy goes to a biggish fish cause to move and grow is a big fish wish.
So he swallows down that little fish who makes a very tasty dish.
A giant fish gets his energy from the biggish fish swimming in the sea.
Then the giant fish dies and passes nutrients to the green algae growing in the sea.
The green algae are quite tasty to little fish swimming in the sea
Every link of the chain, you see, is passing on sun’s energy.
Refrain
(Spoken) Wait a minute! I don’t get energy from the sun — I eat fast food on the run!
Well—hamburgers that have class come from cows who ate some grass.
The grass stored the energy from sun to cow to you and me.
The roll, of course was made from wheat, green plants that store sun’s heat.
The fries from the potato plant store energy from the sun, you’ll grant.
Catsup’s from a plant, its plain, and cokes have lots of sugar cane.
Chocolate’s from a plant, the same, and shakes go back to cows again.
The food chain is every where you see, just passing on sun’s energy.
In the woods, in a town or in the sea, life’s passing on sun’s energy.
Refrain
This song is available on Kathleen Carroll's Science Songs and Stories for the Big Questions.
