Full Name: _______________________________
Section/day: ___________
Homework A
Briefly answer these questions and type them up. You may work in groups but everyone must answer each
question in their own words. These questions are intended as review material for the exams.
1. Name seven properties that allow one to distinguish living things from nonliving things (or
what are 7 properties that living things have).
2. Biologist group all living things into various categories from large groups to smaller groups.
Name these categories in the correct order from Superkingdoms to species.
3. Name the three domains and the six kingdoms (we’ll use 6 but they can be from 3-15+).
Make sure you specify what is a domain and what is a kingdom.
4. Name an organism from each kingdom that you or others have eaten (common names are
fine). You can skip 2 kingdoms if you can’t think of anything but you should be able to come
up with at least 4. (1pt, extra credit for an archae)
5. What characteristics does each organism have that lead you to put it in its kingdom?
6. Organisms can be classified as either autotrophs or heterotrophs, depending on how they get
the energy and carbon molecules they need. Autotrophs can be either phototrophs or
chemotrophs depending on how they get their energy. Define each of these terms (autotrophs,
heterotrophs, phototrophs, chemotrophs).
7. Give two examples of different organisms that could be classified as each type listed in “6”.
8. Pick one natural region in Oregon you have visited or want to visit (such as national parks,
wildlife refuges, famous tourist attractions) and answer the following questions:
A) What region did you choose?
B) Name 4 interesting organisms that you could find in this region with no more than 2 from
any one kingdom.
C) For each organism listed in “B”, describe its role in the ecosystem (is it a producer, a
consumer…).
D) Each different region or biome has different abiotic factors. Name at least two important
abiotic factors in your region. Now write a hypothesis about how these factors affect the
organisms living in your area – just guess using what you know about climate.
E) Find two articles about ways that humans in your region may harm or interfere with the
local environment. (You may broadly define "harm" or "your region".) For each article
you need to include the author, title, where the article is from (you may copy and paste),
and a 3-5 sentence summary of the article.
9. Both the climate and the weather are driven mostly by one thing, what is it?
10. The biomes on land are defined by and dominated by what life forms?
11. All the biomes on Earth are dependent on the sun for energy except one. Which biome does
not depend on the sun and where does it get its energy?
12. My brother raises and breeds pigeons, feeding them corn. They are occasionally preyed upon
by peregrine falcons. Explain how energy is transferred from the sun to the peregrine falcon,
listing each step.
13. My sister has cats, feeding them mostly beef cat food, but they supplement their diet by
hunting down spiders in their house and eating them. Explain the flow of nutrients from the
soil to the cats.
14. Once the nutrients reach the cats, how do the nutrients renter the ecosystem? (Trust me, a lot
does!)
15. One of my sister’s kitties enjoys fresh water in a dixie cup. List each step how this water got
from the air to inside the kitty.