Chapter 3 Review and Practice

The repeated movement of water between Earth’s surface and the atmosphere is called ____.

• the water cycle

• evaporation

• precipitation

• the condensation cycle

What is at the base of all ecological pyramids?

• producers

• consumers

• scavengers

• decomposers

A bird stalks, kills, and then eats an insect. Based on its behavior, which pair of ecological terms describes the bird?

• autotroph, herbivore

• producer, heterotroph

• carnivore, consumer

• herbivore, decomposer

Which of the following organisms does NOT require sunlight to live?

• chemosynthetic bacteria

• photosynthetic bacteria

• trees

• algae

A model of the complex feeding interactions among organisms in a community from producers to decomposers is called a ____.

• food chain

• population

• food web

• ecosystem

Because of biogeochemical cycling,  ____.

• nutrients are circulated throughout the biosphere

• many nutrients do not reach toxic concentrations in the biosphere

• living organisms are not limited by any one nutrient

• human activity has no effect on elements, chemical compounds, and other forms of matter

Animals get the most of the nitrogen they need ____.

• by consuming plants or other animals

• directly from bacteria in the soil

• by breathing in atmospheric nitrogen

• from the process of denitrification

How do most primary producers make their own food?

• by breaking down remains to make carbon dioxide

• by changing water into carbon dioxide

• by using light energy to make carbohydrates

• by using chemical energy to make carbohydrates

Which of the following is a food chain in the food web shown in Figure 3–4?

• tree, deer, mountain lion, fox

• grass, grasshopper, snake, hawk

• grass, caterpillar, robin, hawk

• tree, rabbit, hawk, snake

Which of the following descriptions about the organization of an ecosystem is correct?

• Populations make up species, which make up communities.

• Species make up populations, which make up communities.

• Communities make up species, which make up populations.

• Species make up communities, which make up populations.