EOC Domain 5: Ecology

​EOC Domain 5: Ecology

By Derek Hathaway

Multiple Choice

What is the difference between a producer and a consumer?

• Producers create their own food; consumers eat producers or other consumers.
• Producers eat other producers; consumers create their own food.
• Producers consume food from other producers; consumers create their own food.
• Producers and consumers both create food in different environments.

Multiple Choice

What percentage of energy is typically transferred from one trophic level to the next?

• 20%
• 5%
• 50%
• 10%

Multiple Choice

How does the amount of biomass change as you move up a terrestrial energy pyramid?

• Biomass increases

• Biomass decreases

• Biomass remains unchanged

• Biomass fluctuates

Multiple Choice

In a food web, if a persistent toxin (like mercury) enters the water, which trophic level will have the highest concentration of that toxin in their bodies, and why?

• The highest trophic level (top predators) will have the highest concentration of the toxin.
• The second trophic level (herbivores) will have the highest concentration of the toxin.
• The first trophic level (producers) will have the highest concentration of the toxin.

Multiple Choice

How is the cycling of matter different than the flow of energy?

• Matter flows continuously while energy cycles back and forth.
• Energy is recycled in a loop, but matter flows in one direction.
• The flow of energy is a closed system, whereas matter is lost over time.
• The cycling of matter is a loop where it is reused, while the flow of energy is a one-way transfer that cannot be reused.

Multiple Choice

Explain how a carbon atom moves from the atmosphere, into a glucose molecule, and then back into the atmosphere. What specific cell processes are involved?

• A carbon atom is absorbed by plants, converted to oxygen during respiration, and released back as CO2.
• A carbon atom is fixed in the ocean, becomes part of a protein, and is expelled as nitrogen gas into the air.
• A carbon atom moves from the atmosphere as CO2, enters a glucose molecule during photosynthesis, and returns to the atmosphere through cellular respiration.

Multiple Choice

What is the relationship between limiting factors and carrying capacity?

• Limiting factors influence carrying capacity by restricting resources necessary for population sustainability.

• Carrying capacity is solely based on the reproductive rate of a species.
• Limiting factors are irrelevant to the concept of carrying capacity.

Multiple Choice

What type of symbiotic relationship exists between a shark (unaffected) and a remora (benefits)?

• Commensalism
• Predation
• Parasitism
• Mutualism

Multiple Choice

What term describes a species that has a large effect on its ecosystem and helps sustain biodiversity?

• keystone species
• endemic species
• community species

• dominant species

Multiple Choice

What ecological process describes the gradual change in species composition after a disturbance?

• Species migration
• Habitat fragmentation
• Biodiversity loss
• Ecological succession

Multiple Choice

How have humans impacted their environment?

• Humans have significantly altered their environment through deforestation, pollution, urbanization, and climate change.
• Humans have only improved their environment through conservation efforts and renewable energy.

• Humans have maintained a stable environment with minimal changes over time.
• Humans have only affected their environment through natural disasters and weather patterns.

Multiple Choice

Why do scientists believe that the current rate of global warming and climate change is due to humans?

• Humans have released a significant amount of greenhouse gases, which trap heat

• There are 8 billion humans and they are all breathing, which releases methane

• Humans have been doing more reforestation than deforestation

• Humans are reducing the space that they use for agriculture

​Something to think about:
The earth is 4.6 billion years old. Let's scale that to 46 years. Humans have been here for 4 hours. Our industrial revolution began 1 minute ago. In that time, we have destroyed more than 50% of the world's forests.

This isn't sustainable.