Distinguish producers from consumers.

• A. Producers obtain energy by eating other organisms.
• B. Producers require oxygen to grow.
• C. Consumers make their own food.
• D. Producers make their own food.

Answer: (D)

Producers are autotrophs that capture energy to synthesize their own organic food, usually through photosynthesis (and some bacteria do this chemiosynthesis). The defining trait is making their own food rather than needing to eat to obtain energy, which is why statements about producers making their own food describe them best. In contrast, obtaining energy by eating other organisms describes consumers, not producers. Requiring oxygen to grow isn’t a universal rule for producers, since not all require oxygen, and some can even thrive without it. Saying that consumers make their own food contradicts the basic distinction between these two groups.