EnvSys Unit 3 Test Review

Recent climate data suggests a global warming trend. Disruption of which natural cycle most likely contributes to this temperature increase?

• Phosphorus cycle

• Nitrogen cycle

• Potassium cycle

• Carbon cycle

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Fluctuations in the hydrologic (water) cycle could negatively affect a desert biome in all these ways except ―

• change in seasonal cycles causes animal populations to migrate or hibernate

• animals breed at a time when there are limited resources available

• fluctuation causes species loss

• formation of a new ecosystem

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Which of the biogeochemical cycles have the greatest interaction with the phosphorus cycle to bring inorganic phosphate to plants?

• Nitrogen Cycle

• Carbon Cycle

• Hydrologic (water) cycle

• Sulfur Cycle

Farmers decide to stop growing legume crops. This reduces the number of nitrogen-fixing soil bacteria.

How would this affect the nitrogen cycle?

• Precipitation would increase, causing lightning to fix more nitrogen in the atmosphere.

• After a few years, plant production would decrease and farmers would have to add more synthetic fertilizers to get the same crop yields.

• The amount of atmospheric nitrogen would decrease.

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In a biome, elements such as nitrogen, phosphorous, and carbon move between living things and their environment. These transfers of matter are part of —

• ecological succession

• energy pyramids

• biogeochemical cycles

• symbiotic relationships

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A student made a model of the Earth and its atmosphere by covering a box with plastic wrap and placing thermometers inside and outside of the box. A heat lamp was shined on the box. The temperature inside the box increased at a faster rate than the outside temperature.

This model best represents —

• the role of carbon dioxide in trapping heat from radiation in the greenhouse effect

• the effects of acid rain on temperature inversions

• the role of convection creating the Coriolis Effect in the ocean

• ozone depletion and its effect on global temperatures

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Deep water ocean currents, sometimes called “conveyer belt currents,” flow as warm waters from the Gulfstream lose thermal energy, decrease in density, and sink in the Northern Atlantic. The waters then flow southward and eventually into the Pacific where they are heated again and rise.

Energy flows through this system due to —

• conduction

• convection

• radiation

• deposition

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Scientists have observed that ecosystems rarely contain more than a few trophic levels. What is the most likely explanation for this observation, based on the second law of thermodynamics?

• Energy transfer efficiency is high because heat is stored at each trophic level.

• Energy amounts remain constant when transferred between levels.

• Energy cannot be transferred through trophic levels.

• Energy transfer efficiency is low because heat is released at each trophic level.

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The 10% rule in ecosystems states that a consumer only receives approximately 10% of the energy from the organism consumed. How does the 10% rule adhere to the laws of thermodynamics?

• According to the 1st law of thermodynamics, energy cannot be converted to food energy by prey.

• According to the 1st law of thermodynamics, energy cannot be created, but it can be destroyed when it is used by the producer.

• According to the 2nd law of thermodynamics, energy is lost as heat each time it is converted to a new form.

• According to the 2nd law of thermodynamics, the total energy of prey is always less than the total energy of predators.

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Food waste in a compost bin gives off heat as it decomposes. What is the best explanation of this phenomenon?

• As worms move through the soil, they generate heat due to friction.

• Water in the compost pile heats as it evaporates.

• As communities of decomposers break down waste, their cellular respiration gives off thermal energy.

• Solar radiation causes the compost pile to heat faster than the surrounding area.

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