Name ___KEY__________________
Environmental Science
Study Guide
Chapter 4
1. Which of the following is not an ecosystem? utility pole, oak forest, vacant lot
Utility Pole
2. The energy in most ecosystems comes from what?
The Sun
3. Describe what is the same about organisms in the same species.
They are all the same type of organism (such as people at a football game)
4. Describe what a habitat is.
An organism’s habitat is the place where it lives.
A habitat has specific characteristics that an organism needs in order to live there.
Organisms cannot survive naturally if they are removed from their habitat.
5. The community of a pond is made up of all the what?
Living organisms in the pond
6. Why are some organisms are more likely to survive?
Because they engage in certain behaviors and lack certain physical traits.
7. Why would an organism be resistant to a chemical?
Because it has a gene that protects it from the chemical.
8. The process of two species changing genetically in response to long-term interactions with each
other is what? Coevolution
9. In order for evolution to occur in a population, individuals with a trait that is “naturally selected
for” must do what? Reproduce
10. Most scientists classify organisms into __6__ kingdoms. (How many?)
11. Name an animal that is successful because it moves quickly, reproduces rapidly, and has a
waterproof external skeleton? An ant
12. What converts nitrogen in the air into a form plants can use? Bacteria
13. Most land animals depend on angiosperms for what? Food
14. Which of the following describes soil and temperature in an ecosystem: biotic or abiotic?
Abiotic
15. Humans have inadvertently promoted the evolution of insects that are resistant to insecticides
by doing what? Trying to control pests with chemicals
16. Describe a population. Members of the same species living in the same place at the same time
17. One way that bacteria and fungi are important to the environment is that they do what?
Break down dead organisms
18. Define biotic. Living parts of an ecosystem
19. Single-celled organisms with cell walls but no nuclei are in what kingdom? Bacteria
20. Which two kingdoms contain organisms that can use energy from the sun to make food?
Protists and plants
21. Many angiosperms depend on animals to do what? To carry pollen and disperse seeds
22. Which characteristic is usually shared by bacteria, fungi, and plants?
They usually have cell walls
23. What is a gymnosperm? A Plant
24. Which of the kingdoms in the six-kingdom system of classification was once grouped with
plants? Fungi
25. The domain that corresponds to the kingdom Eubacteria is what? Bacteria
26. The domain that contains unicellular organisms that live in extreme environments is what?
Archea
27. Organisms in the kingdoms Eubacteria and Archaebacteria were previously grouped in a
kingdom called what? Monera
28. A person who comes down with malaria can infer that he or she contracted it from what?
The bite of the Anopheles mosquito
29. How do fungus-like protists get nutrients? Absorbing them from dead or decaying matter
30. Which 2 kingdoms include organisms that can make their own food? protists and plants
31. List the 6 kingdoms of living things. Archaebacteria, Eubacteria, Protists, Fungi, Plantea,
Animalia
32. Phytoplankton are important protists because they are the initial source of what? Food in most
ocean and freshwater ecosystems
33. Which characteristic is shared by bacteria, fungi and plants? They usually have cell walls
34. Define ecosystem. Communities of organisms and their abiotic environment
35. The damp soil within a forest in which a mushroom grows is an example of what? Habitat
36. Which scientist observed organisms in a population and found that they differ from one another
in form, function, and behavior. Charles Darwin
37. What were the first vertebrates? Fish
38. What are the characteristics of mammals? Hair (fur) on the body; feed their young milk
39. Define niche. The “job” an organism has
40. Which organisms have cellulose in their cell walls? Plants
41. How does an adaptation benefit an organism? 1) It is an advantage to an organism in certain
environments 2) It increases an organism’s chance of survival 3) It increases an organism’s
chance of reproducing
42. One way that bacteria and fungi are important to the environment is that they do what?
Break down dead organisms
43. Define habitat, population, community and ecosystem.
Habitat- the place where an organism lives
Population- organisms of the same species that live in the same area at the same time.
Community- groups of different species that live in the same habitat and interact with each
other.
Ecosystem- communities of organisms and their abiotic environment.
44. List the 6 kingdoms and 1 example of each.
Kingdom Archaebacteria –ancient bacteria
Kingdom Eubacteria –e-coli (these make us sick)
Kingdom Protista –protozoans and algae
Kingdom Fungi –mushrooms, no chlorophyll
Kingdom Plantae –have chlorophyll-- angiosperms and gymnosperms
Kingdom Animalia –ingest food and have no cell wall