Worksheets7th Grade Unit 5 Dynamic Ecosystems Summative Assessment
Total questions: 25
Worksheet time: 13mins
Humans interact with organisms in different ways. What is the best classification of the relationship between humans and mosquitoes? (7.L.17.2)
mutualism
commensalism
parasitism
competition
The diagram shows a food web. The organisms in a food web can be classified based on
how they get the energy they need. Which organism in this food web gets its energy directly from
a producer? (7.L.17.1)
mouse
snake
fox
hawk
Compost piles are used to break down food and other trash from once living things. Why would a
gardener be happy to find mushrooms in her compost pile? (7.L.17.1)
Mushrooms take in energy from the Sun.
Mushrooms consume and break down dead, organic matter.
Mushrooms keep invasive plants from growing.
Mushrooms get rid of pests that may otherwise hurt the plants.
The organisms in ecosystems interact in many different ways. Mutualism is one type of interaction.
Which is the best description of mutualism? (7.L.17.2)
One organism hunts and eats a different organism.
Two organisms compete for the same resources.
One organism benefits and the other is harmed.
Two organisms both benefit from their interaction.
A panther is an example of an animal that has a territory that it defends. Panthers have behaviors
that keep other panthers from entering their territory. How does the panther benefit from having an
unshared territory? (7.L.17.2)
It reduces competition with other panthers.
It increases the number of predators that interact with the panthers.
It leads to mutualism between panthers.
It leads to commensalism between panthers and their prey.
The diagram shows a food web. Which of the following describes both the rabbit and the
mouse in this diagram? (7.L.17.1)
Both are primary consumers
Both are consumed by the fox
Both are producers
Both are decomposers
The Florida Everglades is habitat for many animals including deer, alligators, squirrels and
panthers and for various types of plants and trees. A large wildfire sweeps through the habitat and
kills most of the plants and trees. Which description is most likely a result after a wildfire?
(7.L.17.3)
Some plants will no longer need a water source.
Some animals will move to other locations to find food.
Some plants will give off more carbon dioxide into the air.
Some animals will become sick because more diseases are present.
Three types of relationships that occur between organisms are parasitism, mutualism, and
commensalism. Which best summarizes how parasitism differs from mutualism and
commensalism? (7.L.17.2)
Parasitism benefits both organisms, mutualism and commensalism do not.
Parasitism benefits one organism, neither mutualism nor commensalism benefit organisms.
Parasitism involves two organisms, mutualism and commensalism do not.
Parasitism involves harm to one of the organisms, mutualism and commensalism do not.
For a species of fish in a pond, food supply is the factor that limits the size of the population. All of
the other resources required for that population of fish are plentiful and could support a larger
population of fish. If the fish population’s food supply decreases, how will the interactions between
individual fish be affected? (7.L.17.3)
Competition between individual fish will decrease.
Competition between individual fish will no longer occur.
The amount of competition between individual fish will not change.
Competition between individual fish will increase.
Which of these statements about scientific knowledge is most accurate? (7.N.1.7)
Scientific knowledge is always being tested and analyzed to find out if previous conclusions are still supported.
Scientific knowledge is static and never changes.
Scientific knowledge, once validated, cannot be explored by others.
Scientific knowledge is published immediately upon discovery to prevent others from claiming the ideas as their own.
The diagram shows the relationships among organisms in a food web. Which of the
organisms in the food web can be classified as a secondary consumer? (7.L.17.1)
Rabbit
Deer
Grass
Hawk
Panthers used to live all over the United States, but they moved out of areas as humans
developed cities and infrastructure. Now, panthers are an endangered species that is found only
in Florida. Based on the provided evidence what limiting factor has most impacted the panther
population? (7.L.17.3)
Disease
Space
Predation
Parasitism
There are many different factors in an ecosystem that can limit population sizes. Which of the
following lists two limiting factors that are due to interactions between living things? (7.L.17.3)
Water supply, hours of daylight
Air temperature, food supply
Parasitism, predation
Size of habitat, climate
The graph shows how the numbers of two different organisms in a forest changed over
time. The changes in population sizes can be used to make inferences about the relationship
between wolves and rabbits in this forest. Based on the information in the graph, what is the most likely relationship between these
organisms? (7.L.17.2)
Wolves and rabbits have a mutualistic relationship.
Wolves are predators of rabbits.
The relationship between wolves and rabbits is commensalism.
Rabbits and wolves rely on the same food source.
Why is it useful to have debate within the scientific community when a new theory supported by
empirical evidence is introduced? (7.N.1.7)
Debate on new theories limits the cost of change when new science often changes technology and disrupts the economy.
It is human nature that other scientists want to express their opinions before they are open to accepting new theories.
Debate allows other scientists to challenge or defend the logic of new theories in ways that the first scientists might not think of.
It is a way to slow down change that would result in disruptions in the way science is taught.
Mollusks are shellfish that sometimes discard their shells. Hermit crabs live in these discarded
shells. Which of the following relationships is most similar to the relationship between mollusks
and hermit crabs? (7.L.17.2)
A hawk hunts and eats a rabbit.
Two tigers hunt in the same area.
A honeybee gets food and pollinates a flower at the same time.
A remora eats a shark’s leftover food, but does not harm the shark.
Food webs contain different kinds of organisms. How are all of the decomposers in a food web
similar? (7.L.17.1)
They are all large animals.
They are all green plants.
They all get energy by breaking down the remains of organisms.
They all eat plants to get energy.
What must occur before new scientific knowledge is accepted by the scientific community?
(7.N.1.7)
The work must be unrepeatable by other scientists to demonstrate its originality.
The data must be presented to a single scientist who will determine if it is accepted or not.
The experiment must be completely unique and not build on the work of other scientists or current scientific knowledge.
The results must be debated, analyzed, and repeated by other scientists.
Mosquitoes rely on the blood of humans and other mammals for food. Which of the following
relationship comparisons is most similar to the relationship between a mosquito and the
organism it bites? (7.L.17.2)
A bear capturing and eating a fish.
A tapeworm lives inside an organism’s digestive tract, because it can’t digest its own food.
A hyena and a lion battle for the same gazelle carcass.
A sea anemone and a clownfish protect each other from various predators.
The diagram shows a food web. What does the arrow between the ferns and the insects
represent? (7.L.17.1)
ferns and insects requiring the same resources
energy in the fern being transferred to the insect
ferns moving into the insects’ ecosystem
nutrients in the insect flowing to the fern
In ecosystems, populations of living things interact. The diagram shows a food web, which
describes how populations of living things get the food they need to survive. Based on the relationships between organisms and limiting factors, which of the following
statements is NOT true? (7.L.17.3)
The populations of acorn oaks and blueberry bushes do not affect each other.
A disease within the turkey population would affect the acorn oak population.
Gypsy moth caterpillars indirectly affect the population of turkeys.
Blueberry bush populations affect the populations of chipmunks and foxes.
In reporting the results of investigations, scientists generally include both the methods used in
the investigation and the results. Which of these best explains why scientists document their
research methods as well as their results? (7.N.1.7)
Scientists include their research methods because other scientists need to repeat the tests and confirm their results.
Scientists include their research methods because other scientists are always looking for new ways to investigate nature.
Scientists include their research methods because other scientists don’t trust that an investigation was necessarily carried out correctly.
Scientists include their research methods because they need to demonstrate that they were completely and totally honest in conducting their tests.
Food supply can be a factor that limits the size of a population. How will the predator population
be affected by a decrease in the size of the prey population? (7.L.17.3)
The predator population will rapidly increase.
The predator population will decrease.
The predator population will be unaffected.
The predator population will immediately die out.
The table shows the classification of some of the organisms in a food web. If the
information in the table was used to make a food web diagram, which two organisms are most
likely to be connected directly by an arrow? (7.L.17.1)
Marsh grass and meadow grass
Marsh grass and garter snake
Meadow grass and snail
Meadow grass and frog
An important need for a bird is a safe place to build a nest. What would most likely result
from a bird NOT having a place to build a nest? (7.L.17.3)
The number of predators in the area would increase.
The number of food resources for the bird would decrease.
The number of offspring would decrease.
The number of new bird diseases in the area would increase.
