Name:_________________ Period:_________Date:__________
Ecology Test 1 Review
Directions: Match the definition with the term.
____1. Tiny organisms that break down and absorb nutrients
From dead organisms.
A. autotroph
____2. Obtains energy by feeding on other organisms
B. commensalisms
____3. Step in the passage of energy and matter through an
Ecosystem.
C. decomposer
____4. Place where an organism lives out its life.
D. food chain
____5. Relationship between species in which one species
Benefits at the expense of another.
E. food web
____6. Manufactures nutrients using energy from the sun
or from chemical compounds.
F. heterotroph
____7. Collection of interacting populations.
G. parasitism
____8. Simple model for showing how matter and energy move
Through an ecosystem.
H. scavenger
____9. Eats dead organisms.
I. Trophic level
____10. Portion of Earth that supports life.
J. habitat
____11. Relationship between species in which one species
Benefits and the other is neither harmed nor benefited.
K. community
____12. Network of interconnected food chains.
L. biosphere
____13. Relationship between species in which both species
Benefit.
M. ecology
____14. Study of interactions among organisms and their
Environment.
N. mutualism
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Directions: In the space at the left, write the word or phrase in parentheses that
correctly completes the statement.
_____________________ 15. Wind, humidity, and (mosses, rocks) would be considered
Abiotic factors in a terrestrial ecosystem.
______________________16. The size of a population does not directly depend on the
Availability of (food, decomposers).
______________________17. To show how the weight of living material at each trophic
Level of a food chain changes, you could use a pyramid of
(numbers, biomass).
_____________________18. In the nitrogen cycle, bacteria and (lightning, decomposers)
Convert atmospheric nitrogen into nitrogen compounds
Usable by plants.
_____________________19. Some energy that passes through a food chain is lost to the
Environment as (heat, matter).
_____________________20. Carbon and nitrogen are released back into the atmosphere
During (symbiosis, decomposition).
_____________________21. Carbon and nitrogen are released back into the atmosphere
During (symbiosis, decomposition).
_____________________22. Both the alga and the fungus of a lichen benefit from their
Relationship. This relationship is one of (mutualism,
commensalisms).
Directions: In the space at the left, write the word or phrase that includes all the
rest.
____________________23. Trophic level, food web, food chain
____________________24. parasitism, commensalisms, mutualism, symbiosis
____________________25. organism, ecosystem, population, community
____________________26. ecosystems, biotic factors, biosphere, abiotic factors
____________________27. omnivores, consumers, carnivores, herbivores, scavengers,
decomposers
____________________28. evaporation, precipitation, water cycle, condensation,
urination
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Directions: Questions 28-32 refer to the food chain pictured below. In the space at
the left, write the letter of the word or phrase that best completes the statement or
answers the question.
__29. Energy flows from
A. coyotes to grasses
C. mice to cats
B. cats to mice
D. coyotes to cats
__30. The coyotes are
A. herbivores
B. third-oder heterotrophs
C. second-order heterotrophs D. decomposers
__31. How many trophic levels does the food chain include?
A. four
B. one
C. three
D. two
__32. As matter and energy move from grasses to coyotes, the amount of available
energy
A. always decreases and population size always increases
B. always increases and population size always decreases
C. always decreases but population size may increase or decrease
D. increases or decreases but population size remains the same
__33. Suppose 10,000 units of energy are available at the level of the grasses. What
is the total number of energy units lost by the time energy reaches the coyote?
A. 90
B. 9990
C. 900 D. 9999
__34. Energy that is lost at each trophic level of an ecosystem is replenished by
A. heat B. Nutrients C. sunlight D. organisms
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__35. Besides energy, what moves through the organisms at each trophic level of an
ecosystem?
A. Organisms
B. Nutrients C. Sunlight D. cycles
__36. Evaporation and condensation are part of the
A. carbon cycle
B. nitrogen cycle
C. phosphorus cycle D. water cycle
__37. Plants lose water to the air through
A. transpiration
B. photosynthesis
C. their roots D. evaporation
__38. Animals lose water when they
A breath in
B. urinate
C. breath out
D. both B and C
__39. The water in the atmosphere is returned to the earth by
A. precipitation
B. evaporation C. photosynthesis D. Decomposition
__40.Autotrophs and heterotrophs use carbon molecules for energy and
A. photosynthesis
B. evaporation C. decomposition D. both a and b
__41. Heterotrophs get carbon molecules by
A. making the molecules themselves
C. decaying
B. feeding on other organisms
D. growing
__42. When decomposers break down the carbon molecules in dead organisms,
A. the dead organisms are converted to coal
B. oxygen is released
C. carbon dioxide is released
D. carbon dioxide is converted to energy-rich carbon molecules
__43. Fertilizers provide plants with
A. nitrogen B. carbon
C. water
D. oxygen
__44. Which of the following convert(s) nitrogen in the air into a form plants can use?
A. bacteria
B. lightning C. sunlight
D. both a and b.
__45. Plants use nitrogen to make
A. carbohydrates
B. decomposes
C. proteins
D. both b and c
__46. An animal returns nitrogen to the environment when it
A. breathes B. decomposes
C. urinates
D. both b and c
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Directions: Answer the following questions completely.
47. Compare and contrast populations and communities.
48. A leaf-eating caterpillar turns into a nectar-eating butterfly. How is this feeding
behavior an advantage for this species?
49. Clownfish are small, tropical marine fish usually found swimming among stringing
tentacles of sea anemones. What type of symbiotic relationship do these animals have if
the clownfish are protected by the sea anemone, but the anemone does not benefit from
the clownfish?
50. Give an example and describe a parasitic and mutualistic relationship.
51. Why do autotrophs always occupy the lowest level of ecological pyramids?
52. Describe the difference between a food chain and a food web. ( not just the definition)
53. The country of Avorare has many starving people. Should you encourage the people
to grow crops such as vegetables, wheat, and corn, or is it better to encourage them to use
the land to raise cattle for beef? Explain your answer.
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