Name
Class
Date
Skills Worksheet
Concept Review
MATCHING
In the space provided, write the letter of the term or phrase that best matches the
description.
a. ecosystem
______ 1. an individual living thing
______ 2. a group of various species that live in the
same place and interact with each other
______ 3. living or once living part of an ecosystem
______ 4. unequal survival and reproduction that
results from the presence or absence of
particular traits
b. population
c. natural selection
d. organism
e. resistance
f. abiotic factor
g. evolution
h. species
______ 5. all the organisms living in an area and
their physical environment
i. community
j. biotic factor
______ 6. change in the genetic characteristics
of a population from one generation to
the next
______ 7. all the members of the same species that
live in the same place at the same time
______ 8. nonliving part of an ecosystem
______ 9. ability of one or more organisms to
tolerate a particular chemical designed
to kill it
______10. group of organisms that are closely
related and that can mate to produce
fertile offspring
MULTIPLE CHOICE
In the space provided, write the letter of the term or phrase that best completes
each statement or best answers each question.
______11. What kind of habitat does a red backed salamander need to survive?
a. damp forest floor
b. sunny top of a tree
c. dry forest floor
d. sunny desert rock
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Holt Environmental Science
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The Organization of Life
Name
Class
Date
Concept Review continued
______12. Which of the following kingdoms include organisms that
can make their own food?
a. protists and plants
b. plants and animals
c. fungi and plants
d. fungi and protists
______ 17. One way that bacteria and
fungi are important to the
environment is that they
a. produce oxygen.
b. use the sun’s energy to
make their own food.
c. are a major food source
in many ecosystems.
d. break down dead
organisms.
______13. The Chihuahua is a dog that
exists because of
a. natural selection.
b. artificial selection.
c. resistance.
d. abiotic factors.
______18. Phytoplankton are important
protists because they are the
initial source of
a. food in most land
ecosystems.
b. food in most ocean and
freshwater ecosystems.
c. oxygen in the atmosphere.
d. Both (a) and (b)
______14. Humans have promoted the
evolution of insects that are
resistant to insecticides by
a. trying to control pests
with chemicals.
b. using insecticides that are
outdated.
c. using the wrong
insecticide.
d. breeding more useful
insects.
______19. Many angiosperms depend
on
a. other animals in the
oceans.
b. gymnosperms for
reproducing.
c. plants for food.
d. animals to carry pollen
and disperse seeds.
______15. Which of the following is not
true of an adaptation?
a. It is an advantage to an
organism in certain
environments.
b. It increases an organism’s
chance of reproducing.
c. It increases an organism’s
chance of survival.
d. It decreases an organism’s chance of evolving.
______20. Which of the following characteristics is shared by bacteria, fungi, and plants?
a. They usually have cell
walls.
b. They have cell nuclei.
c. They are single celled.
d. They have the ability to
make their own food.
______16. Which of the following is
not one of the kingdoms of
living things?
a. archaebacteria
b. protobacteria
c. eubacteria
d. protists
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Holt Environmental Science
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The Organization of Life
TEACHER RESOURCE PAGE
Answer Key
Concept Review
of rabbits has proportionately more
organisms with advantageous traits.
MATCHING
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
d
i
j
c
a
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
AGREE OR DISAGREE
g
b
f
e
h
14. Disagree; although they have very dif-
ferent characteristics, both dog breeds
are a result of thousands of years of
artificial selection. Humans bred the
ancestors of today’s wolves to produce
the variety of dogs we have today.
Wolves and different kinds of dogs are
closely related.
15. Disagree; antibiotics may kill many
bacteria, but the bacteria that remain
are more resistant to the antibiotics.
This use of antibiotics promotes the
evolution of resistant populations of
bacteria. Over a period of time, diseases can’t be controlled as effectively
with the same antibiotics. This makes
diseases harder to treat and more people may get them.
16. Disagree; by definition, a population
is made up of all the members of the
same species that live in the same
place at the same time. A community
is made up of all the populations in
the same place at the same time. If
organisms are members of the same
species and live in the same community, they all are part of the same
population.
MULTIPLE CHOICE
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
a
a
b
a
d
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
b
d
b
d
a
Critical Thinking
ANALOGIES
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
a
c
b
a
d
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
c
b
d
c
b
INTERPRETING OBSERVATIONS
11. The hawks would see the dark gray
rabbits more easily than the white
rabbits when snow was on the ground
because the white rabbits would
blend in. Therefore, the hawks probably ate more gray rabbits than white
rabbits. More white rabbits lived to
reproduce.
12. During most months the remaining
dark gray rabbits would blend in with
the surroundings better than white
rabbits would. Hawks would eat
fewer dark rabbits than white rabbits.
The rabbit population would change
to include more gray rabbits because
they would more likely survive to
reproduce.
13. More rabbits are born than can survive. The rabbits in a population differ in the traits that they have. Some
of these traits give rabbits advantages
that help them survive. Rabbits can
then reproduce and pass these traits
on to their offspring. Each generation
REFINING CONCEPTS
17. Insects are difficult to control because
they are small and can get into a home
easily, they don’t need much food to
survive, they move quickly and can
hide in small spaces easily, they reproduce quickly, and they can become
resistant to insecticides.
18. No; all ecosystems are interconnected. Answers may vary. Sample
answer: Humans in the city rely on
resources, such as water and food,
from other ecosystems. Anything
that affects water, air, land, or living
things can affect the city’s food and
water supply. Also, air in the city
comes from other ecosystems. A
Copyright © by Holt, Rinehart and Winston. All rights reserved.
Holt Environmental Science
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The Organization of Life