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As you move up the levels of an energy pyramid, how does the energy available to each level compare?

• There is much more energy available at higher levels.

• There is the same amount of energy available for each level.

• There is a little less energy available at lower levels.

• There is much less energy available at higher levels.

What might most likely happen if an ecosystem lost all its decomposers?

• Consumers would not be able to obtain food and their populations would quickly decrease.

• Nutrients would remain in waste products and remains of dead organisms, and would not be recycled.

• The food web would gain nutrients because there would be no organisms breaking them down or consuming them.

• Producers would multiply until they reached the carrying capacity of the habitat.

Think of all the components that contribute to the flow of energy and matter in a food web. Which of the following groups forms the base of the food web?

• consumers

• decomposers

• producers

• scavengers

Why are there so few third-level consumers and how does this fit with the energy pyramid?

• because there is less energy available at the bottom of the pyramid

• because of the energy and heat loss at each level of the pyramid

• because they use the most energy competing for food in the pyramid

• because they have the fewest sources of food for energy in the pyramid

This food chain shows some of the plants and animals that could be observed in a meadow ecosystem. What is the source of energy for the snake?

• the toad

• the owl

• the beetle

• green plants

All organisms take energy from their environment. Every organism needs this energy in order to grow and reproduce. How do producers get energy?

• They obtain energy by eating plants, bacteria, and algae.

• They extract chemical energy from decaying organic matter.

• They extract energy from the chemicals in soil, air, and water.

• They capture energy from sunlight and manufacture their own food.

Green plants use energy from the sun to produce food during the process of photosynthesis. This food provides energy to an entire food chain. What starting materials do the plants use to make this food?

• soil and water

• water and oxygen

• carbon dioxide and water

• water, phosphorus, and nitrogen

Each organism has its own role in an ecosystem. Organisms can be producers, consumers, or decomposers. Which of these organisms can be classified as a decomposer?

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Ecosystems have producers, decomposers, and consumers. Carnivores and scavengers are both types of consumers in an ecosystem. Which of the following is a characteristic of scavengers that makes them different from carnivores?

• Scavengers eat only plant materials.

• Scavengers are omnivores that always eat live animals

• Scavengers are omnivores that eat dead plants and animals.

• Scavengers are able to produce their own food when no other food is available.

A healthy ecosystem must have producers, consumers, and decomposers. Most decomposers are either fungi or bacteria. Why are decomposers an essential part of a healthy ecosystem?

• Decomposers are a necessary part of the diet of most consumers.

• Decomposers convert plant material into a form that primary consumers can use.

• Decomposers make resources available to producers by breaking down waste materials.

• Decomposers extract energy from sunlight as they break down plant materials, adding energy to the system.