Ecology Test

In an ecosystem, what happens to the atoms of certain chemical elements such as carbon, oxygen, and nitrogen?

• They move into living systems and remain there.
• They are never found in living systems.
• They move out of living systems and never return.
• They move into and out of living systems.

Which of these statements is true about the carbon cycle? 

• Dead organisms and waste products do not play any role within the carbon cycle.
• Both plants and animals release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
• Factories do not emit any amount of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
• The atmosphere is the only reservoir on Earth that can store carbon.

A biogeochemical cycle is

• a cycle that cells use to produce energy. 
• a cycle that describes the formation of minerals beneath the Earth's crust. 
• a cycle that moves material through biotic and abiotic parts of the environment. 
• a cycle that shows how animals cause erosion. 

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS2-3

NGSS.MS-ESS2-1

NGSS.MS-LS1-6

One additional biotic factor needed to make a stable ecosystem is the presence of

• Water
• Oxygen
• Decomposers
• Soil

In the energy pyramid, the greatest amount of energy is transferred:

• from level 1 to level 2.
• from level 2 to level 3
• from level 3 to level 4
• from level 4 to level 5

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS2-3

Organisms that eat cows obtain less energy from the cows than the cows obtain from the plants they eat because the cows

• convert solar energy for food.
• store all of their energy in milk.
• use energy for their own metabolism.
• pass most of their energy to their offspring. 

How is a new predator most likely to affect the ecosystem?

• Seed-bearing plants will become more abundant.
• Primary consumer populations will decrease.
• Secondary consumer populations will decrease.
• The new predator populations will decrease.

One biotic factor that limits the number of organisms a habitat can sustain is the

• availability of water.
• level of atmospheric oxygen.
• activity of decomposers.
• amount of soil erosion.

When an environment has reached its carrying capacity for a certain population, which of the following is true?

• Growth and immigration rate is equal to death and emigration rate.
• Growth and emigration rate is equal to death and immigration rate.
• Growth and immigration rate is less than death and emigration rate
• Growth rate is exponential.

For a particular species, the carrying capacity is the maximum number of individual organisms 

• are in their post-reproductive years
• could be supported by any environment over a period of one year
• could be supported by a given environment
• the species could reach in a given time period if all the offspring survive and reproduce

Tags

NGSS.HS-LS2-1