Exploring Ecosystems and Food Webs

What is a food chain?

• A list of all the animals in an ecosystem

• A sequence showing how energy passes from one organism to another through feeding

• A diagram showing the weather patterns in an ecosystem

• A map of where organisms live in a habitat

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS2-3

Which of the following is an example of an abiotic factor?

• A deer grazing in a meadow

• Bacteria decomposing leaves

• Sunlight reaching the forest floor

• A bird building a nest

What term describes all the living organisms in an ecosystem?

• Abiotic factors

• Biotic factors

• Climate factors

• Physical factors

Which of the following best describes a producer in a food chain?

• An organism that eats only animals

• An organism that breaks down dead matter

• An organism that makes its own food through photosynthesis

• An organism that eats both plants and animals

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS2-3

NGSS.MS-LS1-6

What is the term for an organism that eats only plants?

• Carnivore

• Omnivore

• Decomposer

• Herbivore

Which of the following is an example of a biotic factor in a pond ecosystem?

• Water temperature

• The amount of dissolved oxygen

• Algae growing on rocks

• The depth of the pond

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS2-2

NGSS.MS-LS2-4

What type of ecological relationship benefits one organism while the other is neither helped nor harmed?

• Mutualism

• Parasitism

• Commensalism

• Predation

Which of the following is an example of a human impact on an ecosystem?

• A beaver building a dam

• Seasonal flooding of a river

• Deforestation to build a shopping center

• A wildfire started by lightning

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS2-4

NGSS.MS-ESS3-4

What is primary succession?

• The gradual change in an ecosystem after a disturbance that leaves soil intact

• The process by which ecosystems recover after a flood

• The establishment of a community in an area where no soil or life previously existed

• The seasonal migration of animals to new habitats

What are pioneer species?

• The last organisms to colonize an area during succession

• The first organisms to colonize a barren or disturbed environment

• Animals that migrate to new ecosystems each season

• Organisms that only survive in tropical climates