MID-TERM EXAM STUDY GUIDE
NAME_______________________________
1. What is homeostasis? The process by which organisms maintain internal balance.
2. What are the levels of organization in a complex organism, from small to large? Organelles, cells,
tissues, organs, organ systems, and organisms.
3. What is asexual reproduction? When one parents produces an identical copy of itself.
4. Where can you find organelles? Inside of a cell
5. What is a heterotroph?An organism that relies on another for its energy, a consumer.
6. If an ecosystem has more consumers than producers, will it be stable or unstable?Explain. It will
be unstable, because the producers provide energy to the consumers, if there are not enough of
them then not all of the consumers will be able to survive.
7. Why are invasive species a threat to native ones? Because they have no natural predator or
parasites like they would in their home environments. It could lead to them out competing the
native species.
8. In a food chain, what organism can make its own food? An Autotroph (Producer)
9. What is ecological succession? A series of predictable changes that occur in a community over
time.
10. What is the biggest threat to biodiversity in the biosphere? Human activites
11. If an invasive species competes successfully in its new environment then its population will grow
Exponentially . (exponentially or logistically)
12. What are the steps for developing an experiment? Asking a question, Forming a hypothesis, and
setting up a controlled experiement involves choosing variables. The manipulated variable is the
one that is experimented on. The control variable/s is/are the one/s that is/are NOT
experimented on.
13. Is a conclusion made before or after the experiment? After the experiment you draw a
conclusion from your data.
14. In an energy pyramid, where can you find the most energy? At the bottom, where the producers
are, typically. Unless it is an unstable ecosystem.
15. What happens to energy in an ecosystem as it moves through trophic levels? It decreases as it
moves through trophic levels, this is known as the 10 % rule.
16. What is carrying capacity? The maximum number of individuals that an environment can support.
17. What are renewable resources and Why are they renewable? Resources that can regenerate
themselves in a reasonable amount of time.
MID-TERM EXAM STUDY GUIDE
NAME_______________________________
18. What is a nonrenewable resource? A resource that can not regenerate itself in a reasonable
amount of time.
19. What are limiting factors? Factors that cause a populations size to decrease.
20. How will a population grow if it does not have any limiting factors? It will grow exponentially.
21. What are the sequences of events for ecological succession? After the disturbance (fire or lava)
the pioneer species is first, then the climax community.
22. What is a pioneer species? It is the first species to populate an area.
23. What is a decomposer? An organism that obtains its energy from dead or decaying organic
matter.
24. Are there decomposers in aquatic ecosystems? EXPLAIN. Yes, all ecosystems have decomposers.
25. What does a food web show? It show the flow of energy through ecosystems.
26. What do ALL living things require? Energy
27. What is an observation? Thee process of gathering information about events or processes.
28. When given unlimited resources and no predators or disease how will a population grow?
Exponentially
29. When will a population’s growth stabilize? When the carrying capacity is reached.
30. Describe the carbon cycle. Carbon can be released into the atmosphere through respiration,
decomposition, human activity (burning fossil fuels) and volcanoes. Carbon can be taken out of the
atmosphere by photosynthesis.
31. What parts of the carbon cycle release carbon into the atmosphere? Carbon can be released into
the atmosphere through respiration, decomposition, human activity (burning fossil fuels) and
volcanoes.
32. What is mutualism? A type of symbiotic relationship in which both organisms benefit.
33. What defines a species niche? A combination of biotic and abiotic factors like, the food it eats,
the place it lives, and its reproductive mechanisms.
34. What is biodiversity? The sum total of the variety of organisms in the biosphere.
35. Describe the nitrogen cycle. Nitorgen can be found in the atmosphere and special plants called
LEGUMES, have BACTERIA is it’s roots the bacteria carries out NITROGEN FIXATION, to
takes nitrogen OUT of the AIR and into the soil. Then another type of BACTERIA carry out
DENITRIFICATION where it puts the nitrogen BACK into the AIR.
MID-TERM EXAM STUDY GUIDE
NAME_______________________________
36. What steps are most important for the nitrogen cycle to continue? The legume plants, the
bacteria in the soil and the nitrates that are made.
37. What is the difference between symbiosis and a predator-prey relationship? A symbiosis, involves
organisms using each other for something while the predator prey involves one organism
consuming the other.
38. What is always in the first trophic level? Producers / Autotrophs
39. What is immigration and emigration?Immigration will make a population larger, individuals move
IN to an area. Emigrtion will make a population smaller, individuals will EXIT an area.
40. What is the mortality rate? It is the death rate.
41. What is population density? The number of individuals per unit of area.
42. What is the difference between qualitative and quantitative data? Qualitative is written
descriptions of what was observed. Quantitative is the data that was measured (the numbers.)
43. In the nitrogen cycle, what converts free nitrogen into a usable form in the soil? Nitrogen
Fixation carried out by BACTERIA
44. If a predator is removed from an ecosystem, what will happen to the population of prey? The prey
population will increase but only to a point (its carrying capacity.)
45. Photosynthesis is a process that occurs in what level of a complex multicellular organism? It
occurs in the Plant CELLS
46. Compare and contrast primary and secondary succession Primary Succession involves land
surfaces where no soil exsists it occurs on bare rock. It could be area where a lava covered and
cooled or bare rock that was underneath a glacier that recently melted. Secondary succession
occurs on land in areas where soil already exists, it could be land that recently burned in a wil fire
or land that was farmed and abandoned. Both are type of ecological succession which means they
are predicable changes that occur within a community.
47. Compare and contrast sexual and asexual reproduction Asexual reproduction results in offspring
that are genetically identical to their parent this is because they are identical copies of their
parent, they have only 1 parent. Sexual reproduction occurs between 2 parents, they genetically
recombine their genes to form a whole brand new organism with completely unique DNA, that is
what makes sexual reproduction better than asexual reproduction. It allows a population to pass
on the best genes and drives evolution.
MID-TERM EXAM STUDY GUIDE
NAME_______________________________
48. State and explain 1 environmental problem caused by the burning of coal. Burning of coal can add
carbon dioxide to the atmosphere which could enhance the greenhouse effect resulting and a rise
of global temperatures.
49. What are the steps involved in designing a controlled experiment?
Identify ALL the variables, the experimental variable needs to be just one. Only one variable can
be tested at a time. Then identify all of the controlled variables (control group) all of the
variables that will NOT be tested (meaning they are kept the same between the 2 groups)