Ecology Pre-Assessment

Which of the following explains why producers are always found at the beginning of a food chain?

• Producers are found in fewer numbers than consumers

• Producers convert light energy into chemical energy.

• Consumers are larger than producers.

• Consumers are eaten by a variety of producers.

The diagram shows a food web in a large park.

Each circle represents a different species in the food web. Which of the organisms in the food web could be referred to as primary consumers?

• 2, 3, and 4 only

• 2,5, and 7 only

• 7 only

• 5 and 6 only

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS2-3

Bacteria that are decomposers are essential to an ecosystem because they:

• slow the spread of disease

• absorb solar energy

• perform photosynthesis

• recycle organic matter

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS2-3

Which factor promotes competition between organisms in an ecosystem?

• limited resources

• decomposition of organic matter

• presence of parasites

• cycling of minerals

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS2-1

Spotted knapweed is a plant that was introduced to the United States from Europe or Asia. It spreads rapidly and is poisonous to other plants. It has become a problem in the pastures and rangeland of the Western United States. The spotted knapweed, in this scenario, is an example of:

• an invasive species

• a consumer

• an indicator

• a native species

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS2-2

Which group can BEST be described as a population?

• the life in Earth's atmosphere

• all the honeybees of one species

• all the organisms in a forest

• the living and nonliving factors in a lake

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS2-4

What is the most likely to happen to the lizards of a certain species when the food supply is limited?

• Lizards cooperate to find food and share what they find with the other lizards.

• The lizards learn to eat another food supply.

• Genetic changes that would allow lizards to eat new food sources are likely to be produced.

• Lizards unable to compete for food will die of starvation and fail to reproduce.

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS2-1

NGSS.MS-LS2-4

Use the food web to answer the question.

Which of these BEST describes the role of the blue crab in the food web?

• carnivore

• omnivore

• producer

• herbivore

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS2-2

Scientists recommend reducing carbon dioxide emissions. Less carbon dioxide in the atmosphere would be expected to_________.

• reduce the rate of global climate change

• increase damage caused by acid rain

• decrease the number of biotic factors in ecosystems

• reduce destruction of the ozone layer

Tags

NGSS.HS-ESS2-4

NGSS.HS-ESS3-5

NGSS.HS-LS2-5

The interaction of a community with its environment forms:

• a food pyramid

• a habitat

• an ecosystem

• a population

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS2-3

NGSS.MS-LS2-4