STAAR Science Category 4

How would a reduction in the snail population effect this ecosystem?

• It would cause decreased competition between spiders and owls.

• It would cause decreased competition between spiders and wood mice.

• It would cause increased competition between grasshoppers and beetles.

• It would cause increased competition between wood mice and shrews.

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What is the primary source of energy for most ecosystems?

• Wind

• Thermal vents

• The Sun

• Decomposition

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In a food chain, which type of organism receives energy directly from the sun?

• Carnivores

• Herbivores

• Producers

• Decomposers

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Which of the following best describes the role of decomposers in an ecosystem?

• They produce their own food through photosynthesis.

• They consume living plants and animals.

• They break down dead organisms and recycle nutrients back into the soil.

• They are the primary consumers of producers.

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In terms of energy flow in an ecosystem, what is typically true about energy as it moves up the food chain?

• It increases at each trophic level.

• It remains constant throughout the food chain.

• It decreases at each trophic level.

• It is recycled back to the producers at each trophic level.

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What role do plants play in the water cycle within an ecosystem?

• They store water in their roots, preventing it from entering the water cycle.

• They release water vapor into the atmosphere through transpiration.

• They absorb water vapor directly from the atmosphere, bypassing the soil.

• They have no significant role in the water cycle.

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A cell is...

• the basic unit of structure and function in living organism

• an organism

• a basic part of everything that we see

• found only in animals, not plants

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Which of the following, found ONLY in plant cells, provides structure?

• cell wall

• chloroplast

• mitochondria

• vacuole

Check mark all that apply. How can you tell the difference between a Plant Cell and an Animal Cell? (Hint there's more than one right answer)

• Plants Cells have Mitochondria and Animal Cells do not

• Plant cells have a Cell Wall and Animals cells do not

• Animal cells have many, small Vacuoles. Plant cells have one large Vacuole.

• Animal cells do not have Chloroplast, but Plant cells do.

• Plant cells have a square shape and Animal cells have a circle shape.

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What is ecological succession?

• A slow change in an environment

• A change that takes days in an environment

• No change

• Abiotic change

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