Godby Biology Midterm Review

Which process occurs at each link in a food chain?

• All the energy is stored in a newly made structure.

• Some energy is released into the environment as heat.

• Chemical energy is recycled.

• Atoms cycle among living organisms, producing energy

A corn field includes corn plants, mice, hawks, and various insects, fungi, and bacteria. Which nutritional role is correctly paired with organisms that carry out that role?

• heterotrophs – corn and bacteria

• producers – insects and fungi

• consumers – mice and insects

• decomposers – hawks and bacteria

A team of ecologists observed feeding patterns of several populations in the desert. The energy pyramid shown below depicts the feeding patterns the ecologists observed.

Which of the following best explains the difference in the amount of available energy in the trophic levels of the desert ecosystem?

• There is less energy available in the producers because their tissues are less dense than those at higher trophic levels.

• There is more energy available in the second trophic level because less energy is needed for hunting compared to the higher trophic levels.

• There is more available energy in the birds of prey because they have greater muscle mass for storing energy than organisms in lower trophic levels have.

• There is less available energy in the fourth trophic level because of the loss of energy through metabolism in each of the lower trophic levels.

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS2-3

Identify which group of organisms in this food web would contain the greatest amount of stored energy.

• Red Foxes

• Spiders

• Seeds

• Weasels

If the grass in the front yard of an abandoned house is not cut for several years, the yard may become overgrown with taller grasses, bushes, and shrubs. This is an example of the process of

• evolution

• homeostasis

• ecological succession

• direct harvesting

Recently, oil from a wrecked tanker resulted in a disaster in ecosystems containing many unique species. The potential loss of these species could result in

• an increase in the variety of genetic material available

• a decrease in organisms available for scientific research

• an increase in the stability of the affected ecosystems

• a decrease in pollution affecting the land and water

Mistletoe is a plant that lives on the branches of trees. The mistletoe plant sends its roots in through the bark of trees and takes away water and minerals that the tree needs. In this situation, the mistletoe plant is

• a parasite

• a predator

• a decomposer

• an autotroph

Two new wind turbines have recently been built within the Eiffel Tower in Paris. The power that these turbines generate will be enough to power the entire first floor of the tower, including the restaurants, shops, and exhibits. A benefit of using wind power as an alternative source of energy is that it

• is nonrenewable, so additional resources will be depleted by tower businesses

• is renewable, so it will decrease the environmental impact of the tower businesses

• increases the use of resources that cannot be renewed in the future

• decreases the amount of fossil fuels available for future generations

Tags

NGSS.HS-ESS3-4

NGSS.HS-ETS1-3

The Mississippi River Delta wetlands ecosystem is home to a large number of fish, birds, and other aquatic organisms. During the last century, this ecosystem has seen a decrease in wetland areas and species diversity due to land development, agriculture, and flooding. Conservation groups have been working to reconnect the Mississippi River with its flood plain and restore lost wetlands. One result of restoring wetland areas in this ecosystem would be

• an increase in abiotic factors that would cause organisms to develop new adaptations

• the development of an ecosystem that will prevent invasive species from settling there

• an increase in the carrying capacity of the ecosystem for wetland organisms

• to prevent the organisms that live in this ecosystem from competing for food and shelter

Which of the following characteristics of a population would cause a population to stabilize or in other words not change?

• Increase in mortality and increase in emigration

• Increase in natality and increase in immigration

• Decrease in mortality and increase in emigration

• Decrease in natality and increase in emigration