Energy Flow and Biogeochemical Cycles in Ecosystems

Energy in the ecosystem flows from the sun to plants, then to animals, and finally to other organisms. Which of the following best describes this flow of energy?

• Energy flows from the sun to plants, then to animals, and finally to other organisms.

• Energy flows from animals to plants, then to the sun, and finally to other organisms.

• Energy flows from other organisms to animals, then to plants, and finally to the sun.

• Energy flows from the sun directly to animals, then to plants, and finally to other organisms.

The important stages and processes in the cycling of essential nutrients between organisms and the environment include which of the following? Also, what is the role of decomposers in the food web?

• Nutrient uptake, assimilation, decomposition, and recycling; decomposers break down dead matter and return nutrients to the environment.

• Only photosynthesis and respiration; decomposers produce energy for plants.

• Evaporation and condensation; decomposers create new nutrients from sunlight.

• Transpiration and precipitation; decomposers store nutrients in living organisms.

What is a food chain?

• A food chain is the process of repeated eating and being eaten, where energy flows from one organism to another.

• A food chain is a group of animals living together in one place.

• A food chain is a type of plant that grows in water.

• A food chain is a method of cooking food using fire.

Which of the following best describes a food web?

• A single chain of organisms eating and being eaten

• A set of interconnected food chains by which energy and materials circulate within an ecosystem

• Only the transfer of energy from plants to herbivores

• The process of photosynthesis

Fill in the blank: Green plants, the primary producers of food in most terrestrial food webs, belong to the ______ trophic level.

• first

• second

• third

• fourth

Carnivores, which feed on herbivores, belong to the second trophic level.

• True

• False

According to the passage, what happens to the energy that is not used for respiration or growth in organisms?

• Some is stored in the form of fat for future utilization and some is not used at all.

• All of it is immediately converted to heat and lost.

• It is entirely excreted as waste products.

• It is used only for movement and not for any other function.

What are biogeochemical cycles?

• The flow of energy in an ecosystem

• The cycling of nutrients through living and non-living components of the ecosystem

• The process of photosynthesis

• The transfer of heat in the atmosphere

Fill in the blank: The reservoir for the gaseous type of biogeochemical cycle is in the ________ or hydrosphere.

• atmosphere

• lithosphere

• biosphere

• cryosphere

Which of the following cycles are considered gaseous types of biogeochemical cycles?

• Carbon, oxygen, and nitrogen cycles

• Phosphorus cycle

• Water cycle only

• Sulfur cycle only