Ecology Unit Exam Review
1. Define Ecology
2. What is the difference between an abiotic and biotic factor?
3. What is the difference between weather and climate?
4. What is the greenhouse effect?
5. Put in order from smallest to largest and describe each term
Biosphere, species, population, ecosystem, biome, community
7. What is the ultimate energy source for all organisms?
8. What is the difference between a chemosynthetic and photosynthetic organism? Give an
example of each.
9. What is the difference between a food chain and web?
10. Is energy recycled?
11. How much energy is transferred through each trophic level?
12. Label the following organism is the food chain as to what level producer/consumer
13. Organisms that maker their own food are called ________ or ________
Ex: plants, algae, bacteria
14. Organisms that eat other organisms are called _________ or ________
Ex: deer, rabbits, cats, bears
15. What organisms return nutrients to the soil? ______________________
16. Herbivores eat
17. Omnivores eat
18. Carnivores eat
19. Scavengers eat
20. Write whether the following are a chemical, physical, biological or geological process. And the
check the cycles that each process is found in (some may have more than one check)
Process
Chemical/Physical/Biological
/Geological/human Process
Nitrogen
Cycle
Carbon
Cycle
Water
Cycle
Combustion (Fossil Fuels)
Respiration
Photosynthesis
Nitrification
Denitrification
Decomposition
Evaporation
Transpiration
21. Most water on earth is found in the ___________________
22. Is matter recycled?
23. Describe an organisms niche AND why no two organisms cannot occupy the same niche
24. Describe the 3 different types of symbiosis
25. Describe the difference between primary and secondary succession
26. What is a biome?
27. Explain emigration vs. immigration and how they affect population size
28. What is the difference between density and distribution of populations?
29. What is the difference between logistic and exponential growth? What do each of the graphs
look like? Which one shows the long term population growth?
30. Define carrying capacity. Is it on a logistic or exponential growth graph? What happens to a
population if it exceeds the carrying capacity?
31. What is the difference between a density dependent and independent factor. Give 2 examples
of each.
32. What is biomagnification?
Short Answer
33. What is meant be a constraint in the engineering design process?
Be able to read a scenario and come up with two constraints other than cost and explain why they
are constraints.