In scientific terms, a food chain is a chronological pathway or an order that shows the flow of energy from one organism to the other. In a community which has producers, consumers, and decomposers, the energy flows in a specific pathway. Energy is not created or destroyed. But it flows from one level to the other, through different organisms.

Many interconnected food chains make up a food web. When you look at the larger picture, a food web shows a realistic representation of the energy flow through different organisms in an ecosystem.