Name:
Unit 1 Lesson 3
Date:
Lesson Quiz
Quiz: Matter and Energy In Ecosystems
Read each question. Circle the letter of the correct answer.
1. The image shows one type of decomposer.
3. What is the primary role of decomposers in a
food web?
A. to control the population of producers and
consumers
B. to compete with producers for energy and
other resources
C. to provide a source of energy for the
producers in the ecosystem
D. to recycle energy and materials from dead
producers and consumers
4. Different grasses are observed in a
microhabitat in a schoolyard. Why is grass an
essential part of a healthy ecosystem?
Which statement describes the role of
decomposers in a food web?
A. Decomposers are not necessary in a food
web.
A. It is a producer that is a necessary part of the
diet of most consumers.
B. Decomposers break down matter so plants
can use it.
B. It is a consumer that feeds off other
organisms living in the area.
C. Decomposers create energy by producing
their own food.
C. It is a decomposer that converts matter into a
form that other organisms can use.
D. Decomposers store matter and energy until it
is needed in an ecosystem.
D. It makes up the last level of a food web,
helping recycle carbon in the habitat.
5. A student is identifying food chains in a
diagram of a food web. Which of these
organisms might be a consumer?
2. Producers and consumers are both pictured in a
diagram of a food web. Which statement best
describes how they differ from one another?
A. Consumers produce all the energy they need.
A. frog
B. Consumers eat only animals, and producers
eat only plants.
B. water lily
C. Producers eat living organisms, and
consumers eat organisms that have died.
D. athlete’s foot fungus
C. redwood tree
D. Consumers obtain energy by eating food,
and producers obtain energy from sunlight.
Lesson Quiz
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Module C • Assessment Guide
Name:
Unit 1 Lesson 3
Date:
Lesson Quiz
6. A mangrove swamp contains many organisms living among the large roots of the mangrove trees. The
food web shows some of the relationships in that ecosystem.
According to the food web, which organism is a producer in the mangrove swamp?
A. mold
B. prawn
C. pelican
D. phytoplankton
7. The figure shows a food chain that might exist in a meadow.
If there was a decrease in the beetle population, how might the food chain be affected?
A. The owl population would decrease.
B. The population of green plants would decrease.
C. The toad and snake populations would increase.
D. The green plants and toad populations would decrease.
Lesson Quiz
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company
2
Module C • Assessment Guide
Name:
Date:
Unit 1 Lesson 3
Lesson Quiz
Read each statement. Write your answer on the lines.
8. A biologist uses the terrarium shown to model the interactions of
plants and animals in a forest ecosystem.
Identify one benefit of using this model to study organism
interactions.
Identify one limitation of using this model to study organism
interactions.
9. Summarize the carbon cycle.
Based on the carbon cycle, hypothesize how the combustion of fossil fuels affects the amount of carbon
dioxide in the ocean. Justify this hypothesis.
Explain how this hypothesis could be tested.
10. A slug, frog, heron bird, and grass plant are all part of the same food chain.
Through which process does energy get into the food chain?
Which organisms are consumers in this food chain?
Why would there be fewer herons in the ecosystem than slugs?
Fungi are decomposers in this ecosystem. Where do they fit into the food chain? Explain.
Lesson Quiz
© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company
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Module C • Assessment Guide