Question 1

The combined portions of Earth in which all living things exist is called the
A)biome.
B)community.
C)ecosystem.
D)biosphere.

Accepted Answer

The biosphere encompasses all portions of Earth where life exists, including land, water, and the atmosphere. It integrates all living beings and their relationships, including their interaction with the elements of the lithosphere (earth), hydrosphere (water), and atmosphere (air).

Question 2

Which of the following descriptions about the organization of an ecosystem is correct?
A)Communities make up species, which make up populations.
B)Populations make up species, which make up communities.
C)Species make up communities, which make up populations.
D)Species make up populations, which make up communities.

Accepted Answer

Species are groups of organisms that can interbreed to produce fertile offspring. Populations are groups of individuals of the same species living in a particular area. Communities are made up of different populations of species living together in a particular area. Therefore, species make up populations, and populations make up communities.

Question 3

The simplest grouping of more than one kind of organism in the biosphere is
A)a population.
B)a community.
C)an ecosystem.
D)a species.

Accepted Answer

A community is the simplest grouping of more than one kind of organism in the biosphere. It includes all the different species living in a particular area.

Question 4

Plants are
A)producers.
B)consumers.
C)herbivores.
D)omnivores.

Accepted Answer

Plants are producers because they produce their own food through the process of photosynthesis, using sunlight, carbon dioxide, and water.

Question 5

An organism that uses energy to produce its own food supply from inorganic compounds is called a(an)
A)heterotroph.
B)consumer.
C)detritivore.
D)autotroph.

Accepted Answer

Autotrophs are organisms that can produce their own food using light, water, carbon dioxide, or other chemicals. Since they produce their own food, they are sometimes called producers. This is in contrast to heterotrophs, which cannot synthesize their own food and rely on other organisms — both plants and animals — for nutrition.

Question 6

Organisms that obtain nutrients by breaking down dead and decaying plants and animals are called
A)decomposers.
B)omnivores.
C)autotrophs.
D)producers.

Accepted Answer

Decomposers are organisms that break down dead or decaying organisms, and in doing so, they carry out the natural process of decomposition. Unlike omnivores that consume both plants and animals, autotrophs that produce their own food through photosynthesis, or producers that are typically plants producing their own food, decomposers specifically break down dead material and waste, recycling nutrients back into the ecosystem.

Question 7

All the interconnected feeding relationships in an ecosystem make up a food
A)interaction.
B)chain.
C)network.
D)web.

Accepted Answer

A food web is the correct term for all the interconnected feeding relationships in an ecosystem, illustrating how different organisms are related through what they eat and are eaten by.

Question 8

The total amount of living tissue within a given trophic level is called the
A)organic mass.
B)trophic mass.
C)energy mass.
D)biomass.

Accepted Answer

Biomass refers to the total mass of all living organisms within a given trophic level or ecosystem. It is a measure of the amount of living or organic material present in an organism or a specific habitat, usually expressed in terms of weight per unit area.

Question 9

What is an ecological model of the relationships that form a network of complex interactions among organisms in a community from producers to decomposers?
A)food web
B)an ecosystem
C)food chain
D)a population

Accepted Answer

A food web accurately represents the complex network of interactions among organisms in a community, from producers to decomposers, by illustrating how different food chains are interconnected.

Question 10

What is the term for each step in the transfer of energy and matter within a food web?
A)energy path
B)food chain
C)trophic level
D)food pyramid

Accepted Answer

Trophic levels represent each step in the transfer of energy and matter within a food web, categorizing organisms based on their primary source of nutrition and energy.

Question 11

A bird stalks, kills, and then eats an insect. Based on its behavior, which ecological terms describe the bird?
A)herbivore, decomposer
B)producer, heterotroph
C)carnivore, consumer
D)autotroph, herbivore

Accepted Answer

The bird is a carnivore because it eats meat (insects), and it is a consumer because it consumes other organisms for energy, rather than producing its own energy through photosynthesis or chemosynthesis.

Question 12

A snake that eats a frog that has eaten an insect that fed on a plant is a
A)first-level producer.
B)first-level consumer.
C)second-level producer.
D)third-level consumer.

Accepted Answer

In this food chain, the plant is the producer, the insect is the first-level consumer (eating the plant), the frog is the second-level consumer (eating the insect), and the snake is the third-level consumer (eating the frog).

Question 13

The trophic levels in Figure 3-2 illustrate
A)the relative amount of energy at each level.
B)the amount of living organic matter at each level.
C)the relative number of individual organisms at each level.
D)that the producers outnumber first-level consumers.

Accepted Answer

The answer of The trophic levels in Figure 3-2 illustrate
A)the...

Question 14

Only 10 percent of the energy stored in an organism can be passed on to the next trophic level. Of the remaining energy, some is used for the organism's life processes, and the rest is
A)used in reproduction.
B)stored as body tissue.
C)stored as fat.
D)eliminated as heat.

Accepted Answer

The remaining energy, after what is passed on to the next trophic level and used for life processes, is primarily lost as heat due to metabolic processes and inefficiencies in energy transfer within ecosystems.

Question 15

Most of the energy available to a consumer trophic level is used by organisms for
A)transfer to the next trophic level.
B)respiration, movement, and reproduction.
C)producing inorganic chemical compounds.
D)performing photosynthesis.

Accepted Answer

Most of the energy available to a consumer trophic level is used by organisms for respiration, movement, and reproduction. These processes are essential for maintaining life and ensuring the continuation of species. Energy is lost at each trophic level mainly due to these biological functions, rather than being efficiently transferred to the next level.

Question 16

Which type of pyramid shows the amount of living tissue at each trophic level in an ecosystem?
A)a numbers pyramid
B)an energy pyramid
C)a biomass pyramid
D)a food pyramid

Accepted Answer

A biomass pyramid represents the amount of living tissue (biomass) at each trophic level in an ecosystem, showing the distribution of biomass from producers to apex predators.

Question 17

Matter can recycle through the biosphere because
A)matter is passed out of the body as waste.
B)matter is assembled into chemical compounds.
C)biological systems do not use up matter, they transform it.
D)biological systems use only carbon, oxygen, hydrogen, and nitrogen.

Accepted Answer

Biological systems do not use up matter; instead, they transform it from one form to another. This transformation allows matter to cycle through the biosphere, ensuring its continuous reuse in different biological processes.

Question 18

Carbon cycles through the biosphere in all of the following processes EXCEPT
A)photosynthesis.
B)transpiration.
C)burning of fossil fuels.
D)decomposition of plants and animals.

Accepted Answer

Transpiration is the process by which moisture is carried through plants from roots to small pores on the underside of leaves, where it changes to vapor and is released to the atmosphere. It does not directly involve the cycling of carbon, unlike photosynthesis, burning of fossil fuels, and decomposition, which all involve the exchange or release of carbon dioxide.

Question 19

How is carbon stored in the biosphere?
A)in the atmosphere as carbon dioxide
B)underground as fossil fuels and calcium carbonate rock
C)in the oceans as dissolved carbon dioxide
D)all of the above

Accepted Answer

Carbon is stored in the biosphere in various forms: as carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, underground as fossil fuels and calcium carbonate rock, and dissolved in the oceans.

Question 20

Which of the following has a direct role in the nitrogen cycle?
A)bacteria
B)legumes
C)decomposers
D)all of the above

Accepted Answer

All of the options listed play a direct role in the nitrogen cycle. Bacteria fix nitrogen, legumes host nitrogen-fixing bacteria in their root nodules, and decomposers break down organic matter, returning nitrogen to the soil.

Quiz 1: Ecology and Ecosystems: Understanding Interactions and Energy Flow

The combined portions of Earth in which all living things exist is called the

Which of the following descriptions about the organization of an ecosystem is correct?

The simplest grouping of more than one kind of organism in the biosphere is

Plants are

An organism that uses energy to produce its own food supply from inorganic compounds is called a(an)

Organisms that obtain nutrients by breaking down dead and decaying plants and animals are called

All the interconnected feeding relationships in an ecosystem make up a food

The total amount of living tissue within a given trophic level is called the

What is an ecological model of the relationships that form a network of complex interactions among organisms in a community from producers to decomposers?

What is the term for each step in the transfer of energy and matter within a food web?

A bird stalks, kills, and then eats an insect. Based on its behavior, which ecological terms describe the bird?

A snake that eats a frog that has eaten an insect that fed on a plant is a

The trophic levels in Figure 3-2 illustrate

Only 10 percent of the energy stored in an organism can be passed on to the next trophic level. Of the remaining energy, some is used for the organism's life processes, and the rest is

Most of the energy available to a consumer trophic level is used by organisms for

Which type of pyramid shows the amount of living tissue at each trophic level in an ecosystem?

Matter can recycle through the biosphere because

Carbon cycles through the biosphere in all of the following processes EXCEPT

How is carbon stored in the biosphere?

Which of the following has a direct role in the nitrogen cycle?