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1 | |
A(n) ______________ is made up of all the populations in a given area. |
| | A) | biosphere |
| | B) | community |
| | C) | habitat |
| | D) | ecosystem |
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2 | |
The study of the interactions of organisms with each other and with their physical environment is ____________. |
| | A) | biology |
| | B) | science |
| | C) | ecology |
| | D) | environmental studies |
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3 | |
The role of an organism within the community is its ___________. |
| | A) | niche |
| | B) | habitat |
| | C) | food chain |
| | D) | trophic level |
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4 | |
____ are the producers of food from inorganic nutrients and an outside energy source. |
| | A) | Heterotrophs |
| | B) | Decomposers |
| | C) | Consumers |
| | D) | Autotrophs |
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5 | |
Within an ecosystem, green plants can be considered the ______________. |
| | A) | producers |
| | B) | autotrophic organisms |
| | C) | consumers |
| | D) | Both A and B are correct. |
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6 | |
Which heterotroph is NOT correctly matched to what it consumes? |
| | A) | Herbivores - feed on plants and algae |
| | B) | Carnivores - feed on other animals |
| | C) | Omnivores -- feed on carcasses of larger animals. |
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7 | |
Which of the following do NOT help recycle nutrients? |
| | A) | detritivores |
| | B) | decomposers |
| | C) | Omnivores |
| | D) | scavengers |
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8 | |
Energy can not cycle through an ecosystem because: |
| | A) | it starts with but can not return to the sun. |
| | B) | too much is lost as heat. |
| | C) | too much is needed to make food. |
| | D) | none of the above |
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9 | |
The remains of dead animals and plants following their death are called _____________. |
| | A) | detritus |
| | B) | decomposers |
| | C) | soil |
| | D) | fragments |
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10 | |
Choose the statement about energy flow and nutrient cycling that is incorrect. |
| | A) | Only about 55% of food made by producers is available to heterotrophs. |
| | B) | The laws of thermodynamics support the concept of energy flow through an ecosystem. |
| | C) | Energy flows through an ecosystem while nutrients cycle. |
| | D) | Elimination of feces represents nutrients lost from an ecosystem. |
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11 | |
Various interconnecting parts of energy flow are represented by a: |
| | A) | food web |
| | B) | food pyramid |
| | C) | food chain. |
| | D) | All of the above. |
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12 | |
Complete this grazing food chain: leaves - caterpillars - ____________ - hawks |
| | A) | grasshoppers |
| | B) | earthworms |
| | C) | tree birds |
| | D) | cattle |
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13 | |
All the organisms that feed at a particular link in a food chain are called a ____________. |
| | A) | trophic level |
| | B) | food web |
| | C) | pyramid of numbers |
| | D) | detrital food chain |
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14 | |
Why do most food chains consist of no more than four or at most five trophic levels? |
| | A) | Animals mostly graze plants and there are few actual carnivores in nature. |
| | B) | There is a significant loss of energy at each level. |
| | C) | It is difficult for ecologists to accurately determine feeding level. |
| | D) | All of these are correct. |
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15 | |
Following the rule of 10, eating what trophic level would support the highest human population size? |
| | A) | first trophic level |
| | B) | second trophic level |
| | C) | third trophic level |
| | D) | fourth trophic level |
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16 | |
Why can some pyramids of biomass be inverted? |
| | A) | they represent a community that is dying |
| | B) | after a major disturbance, like a fire, producers are killed |
| | C) | the producers photosynthesize rapidly and are consumed rapidly |
| | D) | None of these is correct. |
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17 | |
The two general categories of biogeochemical cycles are: |
| | A) | aquatic and gaseous |
| | B) | gaseous and sedimentary |
| | C) | sedimentary and aquatic |
| | D) | inorganic and organic |
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18 | |
What is not a component of a biogeochemical cycle? |
| | A) | an exchange pool |
| | B) | a biotic community |
| | C) | a reservoir |
| | D) | All of the above are components |
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19 | |
What activity moves water from surface supplies to the atmosphere in the hydrologic cycle? |
| | A) | precipitation |
| | B) | gravity |
| | C) | condensation |
| | D) | Evaporation |
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20 | |
Part of the reason that water pollution is such a serious problem is because _________. |
| | A) | fresh water, used for drinking, makes up only 3% of the world's water supply |
| | B) | polluted water cannot enter the hydrologic cycle |
| | C) | plants cannot make use of polluted water |
| | D) | All of these are correct. |
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21 | |
The phosphorus cycle is a _____________ biogeochemical cycle. |
| | A) | gaseous |
| | B) | sedimentary |
| | C) | aquatic |
| | D) | inorganic |
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22 | |
What process is needed to make phosphorus available to the biotic community? |
| | A) | evaporation from the oceans. |
| | B) | weathering of rock |
| | C) | trapping in sediment |
| | D) | none of the above |
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23 | |
Humans can increase the transfer rate in the phosphate cycle by mining ores and using it for: |
| | A) | fertilizers |
| | B) | animal feed supplements |
| | C) | detergents |
| | D) | All of the above |
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24 | |
The action of bacteria is particularly important in the ___________ cycle. |
| | A) | carbon |
| | B) | hydrologic |
| | C) | nitrogen |
| | D) | phosphorus |
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25 | |
Bacteria that convert atmospheric nitrogen into a form plants can use are called ___________. |
| | A) | nitrogen-fixing bacteria |
| | B) | denitrifing bacteria |
| | C) | nitrite-producing bacteria |
| | D) | nitrate-producing bacteria |
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26 | |
The process of nitrification can occur: |
| | A) | in the atmosphere as high energy converts nitrogen gas to nitrate. |
| | B) | in the atmosphere as bacteria convert nitrogen gas to nitrate. |
| | C) | in the soil as bacteria convert ammonium ions to nitrite ions, then to nitrate. |
| | D) | Both A and C are correct. |
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27 | |
What process incorporates carbon into nutrients? |
| | A) | combustion |
| | B) | Photosynthesis |
| | C) | respiration |
| | D) | diffusion |
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28 | |
Which of the following is NOT a reservoir for carbon? |
| | A) | oceans |
| | B) | forests |
| | C) | atmosphere |
| | D) | dead organisms |
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29 | |
Global warming, caused by a buildup of greenhouse gases, will likely have what effect in the future? |
| | A) | greater occurrence of droughts |
| | B) | reduced agricultural yields |
| | C) | glacier melt and rising sea levels |
| | D) | All of these are correct. |
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30 | |
Which of the following is a global ecosystem? |
| | A) | terrestrial |
| | B) | aquatic |
| | C) | atmospheric |
| | D) | Both A and B |
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31 | |
Choose the best definition of succession. |
| | A) | changes that occur in the physical environment due to geological forces |
| | B) | factors of the environment determine what species lives where |
| | C) | progession of different plant species up a mountain slope |
| | D) | sequential change in the relative dominance of species within a community |
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32 | |
During the process of primary succession, which stage is likely to occur first? |
| | A) | grasses |
| | B) | shrubs |
| | C) | lichens |
| | D) | trees |
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33 | |
Which of the following is NOT a forest ecosystem? |
| | A) | savanna forest |
| | B) | tropical rain forest. |
| | C) | Taiga forest |
| | D) | temporate deciduous forest |
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34 | |
____ is the rate at which the producers in an ecosystem capture and store energy within organic nutrients over a specified period of time. |
| | A) | Secondary succession |
| | B) | Biogeochemical cycle |
| | C) | Primary productivity |
| | D) | Primary succession |
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35 | |
High primary productivity may be found in all of the following biomes EXCEPT: |
| | A) | swamps and marshes |
| | B) | open oceans |
| | C) | coral reefs |
| | D) | tropical rain forest |
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