8th Grade Science STAAR Review
Category 4: Organisms and Environment
The student will demonstrate an understanding of the structures and functions of living organisms and
their interdependence on each other and on their environment.
TEKS 8.11A describe producer/consumer, predator/prey, and parasite/host relationships as they occur in
food webs within marine, freshwater, and terrestrial ecosystems Readiness Standard
Tick
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
Flea
What is the source of energy for the food web above? __________________________________
How is the energy flow shown in the food web? _______________________________________
What does the direction of the arrows indicate? _______________________________________
Name the producers in the food web. _______________________________________________
What is the name of the process in which producers make their own food? _________________
List one producer/consumer relationship. ____________________________________________
List one predator/prey relationship. _________________________________________________
List one parasite/host relationship. _________________________________________________
What is the role of the mushrooms in the food web? ___________________________________
Niche
Trophic Level
Label the following on the diagram above:
heterotroph
primary consumer
10% energy transfer
autotroph
tertiary consumer
energy source
producer
secondary consumer
heterotroph
heterotroph
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8th Grade Science STAAR Review
Category 4: Organisms and Environment
TEKS 8.10B investigate how organisms and populations in an ecosystem depend on and may
compete for biotic and abiotic factors such as quantity of light, water, range of temperatures, or soil
composition Readiness Standard
1. Which 3 organisms are in competition for carnivorous zooplankton?
______________________________________________________________________________
2. How will the leopard seal population be affected if the penguin population declined?
______________________________________________________________________________
3. Which would be more affected by a decrease in the krill population – “other seals” or “other
birds”? Why? __________________________________________________________________
4. Name 3 abiotic factors that the organisms in the food web above would compete for.
______________________________________________________________________________
TEKS 8.10C explore how short- and long-term environmental changes affect organisms and traits in
subsequent populations Readiness Standard
In this diagram, a
hawk is hunting
for mice in a
field. Some mice
are white while
others are dark.
1. An organism with ________________ traits will survive and _______________, passing those
traits to the next ____________________.
2. Which population of mice is naturally selected to survive? _______________________________
3. What will happen to the white mice population? ______________________________________
4. What will happen to the dark mice population? _______________________________________
5. If a drought occurred and made the environment above lighter in color due to less vegetation,
what would happen to both populations of mice?
______________________________________________________________________________
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8th Grade Science STAAR Review
Category 4: Organisms and Environment
Adaptation– a characteristic that helps an organism survive and reproduce.
List adaptations that would help Plants and Animals survive the following:
Drop in Global Temperature
Animal
Increase in Global Temperature
Plant
Animal
Plant
1.
1.
1.
1.
2.
2.
2.
2.
3.
3.
3.
3.
Thick Fur
Grow near ground
Darker color leaves
Large ears
Lighter color fur
Thin leaves
Thicker stems
Migration
Smaller leaves
Nocturnal
Lighter color
Hibernate
TEKS 8.10D recognize human dependence on ocean systems and explain how human activities such as
runoff, artificial reefs, or use of resources have modified these systems Supporting Standard
Brain storm 3 survival needs that humans obtained from the ocean:
1. __________________ 2. ____________________ 3. ____________________
Use the bank below to help fill in the chart:
Impact on Oceans:
Cause
Impact
Solution
Run-off
Depleting Resources
Habitat Destruction
(Coral reefs & sea
grass beds)
Pollution / Farming
Loss of species
Create Artificial Reefs
Pollution / Boating
Kills organisms/ Fertilizer
causes algae bloom
Penalties/use organics
Overfishing
Damage areas/disrupts species
Regulate harvest of species
3
8th Grade Science STAAR Review
Category 4: Organisms and Environment
TEKS 7.10B describe how biodiversity contributes to the sustainability of an ecosystem Supporting
Standard
Read the following passage and complete the items below (no word bank)
The sheer variety of species on Earth—from microscopic bacteria to blue whales the length of a
city block—is pretty impressive on its own. But biodiversity isn’t limited to the numbers and
kinds of organisms.
Biodiversity also includes Earth’s ecosystems: its savannas, rain forests, oceans, marshes,
deserts, and all the other environments where species evolve and live.
And it includes genetic diversity, which refers to the variety of genes within a species. All three
are critical to understanding the interconnections that support all life on the planet.
Biodiversity - the variety of ___________________________ on Earth
Factors Critical to Biodiversity –
1.
2.
3.
How does biodiversity help sustain an ecosystem? ____________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
TEKS 7.10 observe, record, and describe the role of ecological succession such as in a microhabitat of a
garden with weeds Supporting Standard
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Which picture above, left or right represents primary succession? _________________________
How can you tell? _______________________________________________________________
Which picture above, left or right represents secondary succession? _______________________
How can you tell? _______________________________________________________________
As ecological succession progresses, what happens to the biodiversity of the ecosystem?
______________________________________________________________________________
6. A pioneer species is the first species to begin the regrowth of an ecosystem. Will the pioneer
species most likely be a producer or consumer? _______________________________________
7. Will the pioneer species most likely be grasses and weeds, bushes and shrubs, or large trees?
______________________________________________________________________________
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8th Grade Science STAAR Review
Category 4: Organisms and Environment
Practice succession by placing the numbers 1-6 in the order that succession would occur.
_______
______
_____
_______
_____
____
TEKS 7.11A examine organisms or their structures such as insects or leaves and use dichotomous keys for
identification Supporting Standard
Representative Birds:
Certhidea
Geospiza
Camarhynchus
Platyspiza
Use the dichotomous key above to identify the species of bird.
Bird W = ____________________________
Bird X = ____________________________
Bird Y = ____________________________
Bird Z = ____________________________
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8th Grade Science STAAR Review
Category 4: Organisms and Environment
TEKS 7.11C identify some changes in genetic traits that have occurred over several generations through
natural selection and selective breeding such as the Galapagos Medium Ground Finch (Geospiza fortis) or
domestic animals Supporting Standard
A
E
F
B
D
C
1. Which bird represents the species from which all other species evolved from? _______________
2. According to the diagram which genetic trait changed in the finches? ______________________
3. What is a likely explanation for the change in trait?
______________________________________________________________________________
4. A dairy farmer wants to breed cows that produce a large quantity of milk. Which selective
breeding process will produce cows that yield large quantities of milk?
a. Breeding a bull whose mother produced a large amount of milk with a cow who does
not produce a lot of milk.
b. Breeding a bull whose mother did not produce a large amount of milk with a cow who
does not produce a lot of milk.
c. Breeding a bull whose mother did not produce a large amount of milk with a cow who
does produce a lot of milk.
d. Breeding a bull whose mother produced a large amount of milk with a cow who does
produce a lot of milk.
5. How would a breeder of race horses use selective breeding to produce the fastest possible
horse? ________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
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8th Grade Science STAAR Review
Category 4: Organisms and Environment
TEKS 7.12B identify the main functions of the systems of the human organism, including the circulatory,
respiratory, skeletal, muscular, digestive, excretory, reproductive, integumentary, nervous, and
endocrine systems Supporting Standard
Digestive
Nervous
Excretory
Respiratory
Skeletal
Circulatory
Endocrine
Reproductive
Muscular
Integumentary
Immune
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8th Grade Science STAAR Review
Category 4: Organisms and Environment
Name the:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
2 systems that deliver nutrients _________________________________________________
2 systems that deliver oxygen __________________________________________________
2 systems that protect your body from foreign invaders ______________________________
3 systems that move your leg ___________________________________________________
4 systems that help rid your body of waste ________________________________________
2 systems that alert the body of change __________________________________________
TEKS 7.12D differentiate between structure and function in plant and animal cell organelles, including
cell membrane, cell wall, nucleus, cytoplasm, mitochondrion, chloroplast, and vacuole Supporting
Standard
Chloroplast
Cell membrane
Vacuole
Nucleus
Mitochondria
DNA
Cytoplasm
Ribosomes
Cell wall
1. What are the structures that are only found in a plant cell? ______________________________
2. Examine the plant and animal cells. What do you notice about the vacuoles in a plant cell
compared to the animal cell? ______________________________________________________
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8th Grade Science STAAR Review
Category 4: Organisms and Environment
TEKS 7.12F recognize that according to cell theory all organisms are composed of cells and cells carry on
similar functions such as extracting energy from food to sustain life Supporting Standard
Cell Theory states:
All living organisms are composed of __________.
They may be _______________ or __________________.
The cell is the basic unit of __________.
Cells arise from pre-existing __________.
Cells extract energy from __________ to sustain life.
_____________information (DNA) is passed on from cell to cell.
All cells have the same basic ______________ composition.
hereditary
cells (2)
chemical
multicellular
food
life
unicellular
TEKS 7.14B compare the results of uniform or diverse offspring from sexual reproduction or asexual
reproduction Supporting Standard
C
What type of reproduction is illustrated above?
A. ______________________
B. ____________________
C. ____________________
I.
__________________________
II. ________________________
III.
__________________________
IV. _______________________
1. Which type of reproduction produces uniform (identical) offspring? _______________________
2. Which type of reproduction produces diverse (different) offspring? _______________________
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8th Grade Science STAAR Review
Category 4: Organisms and Environment
TEKS 7.14C recognize that inherited traits of individuals are governed in the genetic material found in the
genes within chromosomes in the nucleus Supporting Standard
B
E
D
C
A
1. Which letter correctly identifies:
a. The cell? _____
b. The DNA? _____
c. A gene? _____
d. The nucleus? _____
e. A chromosome? _____
2. List the 5 structures pictured above from largest to smallest. ____________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
3. Which of the 5 structures determines a single trait, such as eye color, in a species? ___________
10
8th Grade Science STAAR Review
Category 4: Organisms and Environment
TEKS 6.12D identify the basic characteristics of organisms, including prokaryotic or eukaryotic,
unicellular or multicellular, autotrophic or heterotrophic, and mode of reproduction, that further classify
them in the currently recognized Kingdoms Supporting Standard
Label the pictures above using the word bank below:
Unicellular
Prokaryotic
Multicellular
Cell
Eukaryotic
Organelles
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8th Grade Science STAAR Review
Category 4: Organisms and Environment
5 Kingdoms of Organisms
Kingdom:
Kingdom:
1.prokaryotic/eukaryotic
1.prokaryotic/eukaryotic
2.unicellular/multicellular
2.unicellular/multicellular
3.photosynthesis/ingestion
3.photosynthesis/ingestion
4. no locomotion/ locomotion
4. no locomotion/ locomotion
Example:_________________
_
Example:__________________
Kingdom:
Kingdom:
1.prokaryotic/eukaryotic
1.prokaryotic/eukaryotic
2.unicellular/multicellular
2.unicellular/multicellular
Kingdom:
3.photosynthesis/ingestion
3.photosynthesis/ingestion
4. no locomotion/ locomotion
1.prokaryotic/eukaryotic
Example:__________________
2.unicellular/multicellular
4. no locomotion/ locomotion
Example:_________________
_
3.photosynthesis/ingestion
4. no locomotion/ locomotion
Example:__________________
Name the Kingdoms and give examples of each in the boxes above using the word bank below. In each
box, cross out the word that does not fit for each number.
Plantae
Monera
Protista
Fungi
Animalia
mushroom
monkey
pine tree
bacteria
euglena
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