Science 10 Quiz
Ch 1-2 Sustainability of Ecosystems
Name:_______________________
Part A Circle the letter of the correct response. (15 points)
1.
How many trophic levels are shown in the food chain on the right?
a. 7
b. 6
c. 5
d. 4
2.
Which trophic level would you expect to have the most biomass in the food
chain on the right?
a. green plants
b. insects
c. fish
d. eagle
3.
Which food chain is most likely to have an inverted pyramid of numbers?
a. algae →snail → shore bird → eagle
b. phytoplankton→ zoo plankton → shrimp → cod → seal
c. spruce tree → beetle → sparrow → hawk
d. kelp → sea urchin → sea otter → killer whale
4.
Which of the following is not a factor that determines carrying capacity of an
organism?
a. a limited amount of nutrients and energy
b. the trophic level of the organism
c. the number of producers in the ecosystem
d. the density or number of organisms in a limited space
5.
Which of the following is an example of intraspecies competition?
a. Male wolves compete for territory.
b. Owls and hawks both eat small rodents.
c. Sea otters affect many different food chains within the ecosystem.
d. A forest fire can greatly reduce the population of spruce beetles.
6.
Which of the following is NOT a factor that has increased the population of humans on
Earth?
a. medical knowledge and health care
b. overcrowding in cities
c. agriculture (increased food supply)
d. sanitation (sewer systems)
7.
In Biosphere II, what are scientists trying to learn?
a. a better understanding of food webs pyramid of numbers
b. a better understanding of pyramids of biomass
c. a better understanding of competition
d. a better understanding of nutrient cycles
8.
Carbohydrates are made up of the elements
a. carbon dioxide, and hydrogen
b. carbon, hydrogen, and nitrogen
c. carbon, hydrogen, oxygen
d. carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen
9.
Which of the following is not a location where large amounts of carbon are stored?
a. dissolved in the oceans
b. trapped in sediments on the ocean floor
c. as organic matter (litter) in grassland soils d. deposits of coal and oil
10.
Which of the following processes removes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere?
a. nitrogen fixation
b. photosynthesis
c. cellular respiration
d. decomposition
11.
Which of the following is a product of photosynthesis?
a. hydrogen
b. carbohydrates
c. nitrates
d. carbon dioxide
12.
Which of the following processes are all involved in the nitrogen cycle?
a. Photosynthesis, fixation, decomposition
b. Photosynthesis, cellular respiration, decomposition
c. Cellular respiration, decomposition, fixation
d. fixation, nitrification, denitrification
13.
Which of the following processes in NOT involved in the carbon cycle?
a. fixation
b. cellular respiration
c. decomposition
d. photosynthesis
14.
Which of the following lives in the root nodules of legume plants?
a. nitrogen fixing bacteria
b. nitrifying bacteria
c. detritivores
d. denitrifying bacteria
15.
Which of the following is given off by nitrogen fixing bacteria?
a. ammonia
b. nitrates
c. nitrogen
d. oxygen
Part B Fill in the blanks (16 points)
1. Match the term on the left with the corresponding definition or description (write the letter in
the space provided).
A. abiotic
___a system where no matter enters or leaves
B. biomass
___a system of farming that produces a single variety of crop
C. biotic
___an activity that can be continued without harming an ecosystem
D. closed system
___ the dry mass of living things
E. input
___ the amount of plant matter produced in an ecosystem each year
F. keystone species
___chemical elements needed by living things
G. monoculture
___the movement of nutrients through an environment in a loop
H. Nutrients
___nutrients that enter a living thing
I.
nutrient cycles
___nutrients used in growth and life processes
J.
output
___waste and unused nutrients are returned to the ecosystem
K. productivity
___an organism that affects all food chains in an ecosystem
L. throughput
___NON-living parts of an ecosystem
M. sustainable
___living parts of an ecosystem
2. Match the change on the left with the corresponding process on the right (write the letter in
the space provided). (3 points)
Nitrogen gas (from air) to nitrates
A. Nitrogen fixation
Nitrates (in soil) to nitrogen gas
B. Denitrification
Ammonia (from waste) to nitrates
C. Nitrification
Part C Answer each question in full sentences. (23 points)
1. If you have a limited amount of land, is it more efficient to grow grain as food for yourself, or
feed the grain to cattle, and eat the cattle? Explain why. (2 points)
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2. Explain the difference between a pyramid of numbers and a pyramid of biomass. (1 point)
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3. Describe one difference between the scientific and traditional management of resources,
such as sea otters or another species in their ecosystem. (2 points)
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4. Why would a productive ecosystem likely have more biodiversity? (2 points)
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5. Explain two reasons why productive ecosystems like tropical forests cannot always be used
as productive farmland. (2 points)
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6. Explain why we describe cellular respiration as “burning” calories”. (1 point)
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7. Describe two human activities that increase the level of nitrogen in ecosystems. (2 points)
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8. What human health problem is related to nitrates in drinking water? (2 points)
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9. Explain how acid precipitation is formed. (2 points)
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10. Summarize the stages of eutrophication. (5 points)
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11. Which nutrient cycle (carbon or nitrogen) depends most on bacteria? Explain your answer.
(2 points)
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