WorksheetsEnvironmental change & Cycles IP
Total questions: 15
Worksheet time: 15mins
In the dry desert areas, poor drainage can lead to a buildup of salt in water supplies. A student performed an investigation to study the effects of salinity on the germination rates of seeds. The student placed seeds in several solutions containing 0% to 3% salt. The length of the radicle, which is the root of the germinating seed, ranged from 49 mm in the 0% salt solution to 0 mm in the 3% salt solution. The data from this investigation suggest that increased salinity in more areas may lead to a decrease in which of the following?
Air pollution
Food Production
Oceanic Evaporation
Nonrenewable Resources
Food webs such as the one shown were first used in 1927 by the animal ecologist Charles Elton. The food web below represents the feeding relationships among organisms in an Alaskan ecosystem.
An environmental change that removed which of these organisms from the ecosystem would cause the most instability in the ecosystem?
Auklets
Foxes
Salmon
Zooplankton
How has this dam most likely affected the Mediterranean Sea ecosystem?
In the mid-1980s an aggressive strain of algae known as Caulerpa was accidentally introduced into the Mediterranean Sea when a seaside aquarium cleaned out its tanks. The algae contains a toxin that prevents native herbivores from consuming it. Caulerpa quickly spread over the sea floor, crowding out many species including sponges, corals, sea fans, and lobsters. Which statement explains the most likely impact Caulerpa has had on the biodiversity in the Mediterranean Sea?
The presence of Caulerpa within an ecosystem is an indicator of the ecosystem’s health.
The spread of Caulerpa improved the habitat for many species of sea grasses, and increased the biodiversity.
Caulerpa interbred with native species with the same adaptations within the ecosystem.
Caulerpa became dominant within the ecosystem and reduced the biodiversity.
Scientists have observed many types of tropical fish moving beyond their traditional ocean ranges into waters that have historically been more temperate. These fish compete for food with native fish, consuming much from the kelp forests and beds of sea grass. The expansion of the ranges of tropical fish was most likely caused by —
agricultural runoff that contributes to dead zones in the ocean
global droughts that raise the salt concentration of ocean waters
the rising temperatures of ocean waters
acid rain pollution that lowers the pH of ocean waters
On March 24, 1989, an oil tanker ran aground on Bligh Reef in Prince William Sound, Alaska, and spilled millions of liters of crude oil. The graph shows pink salmon populations in Prince William Sound from 1970 to 1999.
What do these data suggest about the effect the oil spill had on pink salmon?
Pink salmon were nearly eliminated after the oil spill
Pink salmon populations steadily declined in the 10 years following the spill
Pink salmon populations declined and never fully recovered
Pink salmon populations seemed to be minimally affected
The diagram below represents the nitrogen cycle in a student’s aquarium. Ammonia, nitrites, and, to a less degree, nitrates can be harmful to fish. The student wants to keep the nitrogen in this aquarium cycling normally without having to continually change the water. Which of the following should be the student add more of to help remove nitrates an improve the natural cycling of nitrogen in this aquarium?
fish
plants
nitrobacter
water
Which statement accurately describes the energy needs for photosynthesis and cellular respiration?
Solar energy is needed for cellular respiration but not for photosynthesis.
Chemical energy in the form of glucose is needed for both cellular respiration and photosynthesis.
Chemical energy in the form of glucose is needed for photosynthesis, and solar energy is needed for cellular respiration.
Solar energy is needed for photosynthesis, and chemical energy in the form of glucose is needed for cellular respiration.
As part of the nitrogen cycle, animals acquire some amino acids by doing which of the following?
Breathing air
Eating plants
Drinking water
Producing waste
The diagram shows the flow of organic molecules through an ecosystem. One process that occurs in this ecosystem is labeled X, and another process that occurs is labeled Y. Which two processes are identified by the labels X and Y?
X: Respiration
Y: Predation
X: Adaptation
Y: Decomposition
X: Fermentation
Y: Nitrogen fixation
X: Decomposition
Y: Respiration
Atmospheric nitrogen has to be combined with other elements, or fixed, in order to be used by plants. Lightning is one way that nitrogen is fixed. When lightning occurs, the extreme heat breaks the bonds in nitrogen molecules, allowing nitrogen to combine with oxygen and form nitrogen oxides. In what way is most of the nitrogen fixed by lightning made available for use by plants?
It is moved by the wind toward dry areas.
It is incorporated into the exoskeletons of flying insects that eat plants.
It is inhaled and exhaled by birds roosting in trees during rainstorms.
It is carried by rain to the soil.
What would be the most likely effect of a wildfire that burned a large area of a forest?
More sugars and starches would be available for animals in the area
The availability of fossil fuels for use by industries in the area would be reduced.
Less carbon dioxide would be removed from the atmosphere in the area by plants.
An increase in animal respiration would increase the release of carbon dioxide in the area.
Which statement is an example of how carbon moves through a food chain as part of the carbon cycle?
Producers release carbon dioxide, and consumers take it in.
Producers take in carbon dioxide, and consumers release it.
Producers take in carbon dioxide from the soil, and they release it when they decompose.
Producers release carbon dioxide into the soil, and consumers take it in from the soil.
