Content Benchmark L.8.C.2

Students know how to characterize organisms in any ecosystem by their functions. E/S

Sample Test Questions

1st Item Specification: Identify producers, consumers, decomposers and their functions in an ecosystem.

Depth of Knowledge Level 1

1.  What distinguishes producers from other organisms?

  1. Producers consume a variety of foods.
  2. Producers feed at different trophic levels.
  3. Producers are autotrophs.
  4. Producers are heterotrophs.

2.  Most of the minerals within an ecosystem are recycled and returned to the environment by the direct activities of organisms known as

  1. producers.
  2. consumers.
  3. scavengers.
  4. decomposers.

Depth of Knowledge Level 2

3.  Carefully examine the food web in the figure below.

From ExamView test Generator for Modern Biology, Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, 2006.

A drought has caused the producer populations to significantly decrease. Which of the following statements describes an immediate effect caused by the decrease of producers?

  1. The grouse population would increase.
  2. The grasshopper population would decrease.
  3. The seed populations would increase.
  4. The grizzly bear populations would decrease.

4.  A factory has been releasing pollution into a nearby river. A chemical in the runoff has been killing the fungi populations in the nearby forest. In response to the decrease in fungi, the plant growth will

  1. decrease which will in turn decrease competition between herbivores.
  2. increase due to the increased recycling of nutrients back into the soil.
  3. decrease due to decreased recycling of nutrients back into the soil.
  4. increase due to decreased competition with between the plants and fungi.

2nd Item Specification: Understand how different populations interact within an ecosystem.

Depth of Knowledge Level 1

5.  In a forest, two different insect eating birds prefer to nest in different trees. This behavior allows the birds to avoid

  1. predators.
  2. parasites.
  3. competition.
  4. succession.

6.  An overpopulation of squirrels in a forest will most likely lead to

  1. a decrease in squirrel predators like fox and owls.
  2. an increase in competition between squirrels.
  3. an increase in the number of acorns available for food.
  4. a decrease in disease transmission between squirrels.

Depth of Knowledge Level 2

7.  Protists are single-celled organisms that feed on bacteria and yeast. In a test tube, a single species of protists grew and flourished. Another test tube had two species of protists, one species died within 16 days, while the other survived. This observation illustrates

  1. competition.
  2. predation.
  3. mutualism.
  4. commensalism.

8.  Carefully examine the predator/prey population graph below of Paramecium and yeast. A Paramecium is a single-celled organism that feeds on yeast.

What is the most likely reason for the increase in Paramecium population between days 9 and 11?

  1. An increasing food supply between days 7 and 9.
  2. An equal sized predator and prey populations between days 7 and 9.
  3. A decreasing prey population between days 5 and 7.
  4. A decreasing food supply between day 11 and 12.

3rd Item Specification: Understand different types of relationships (e.g. symbiotic, mutual, parasitic/host) in an ecosystem.

Depth of Knowledge Level 1

9.  Which statement describes all symbiotic relationships? A relationship where both organisms

  1. benefit from the relationship.
  2. have no impact on one another.
  3. live in a close association with one another.
  4. have a negative effect on the other.

10.  The Honeyguide, a bird, and the badger both eat honey. The Honeyguide cannot open a bee hive and the badger cannot find the hive. The Honeyguide leads the badger to the hive and the badger breaks open the hive so both can eat the honey. This type of relationship is best described as

  1. competition.
  2. parasitism.
  3. mutualism.
  4. commensalism.

Depth of Knowledge Level 2

11.  The symbiotic relationship between a flower and the insect that feeds on its nectar is an example of

  1. mutualism because the flower provides the insect with food, and the insect pollinates the flower.
  2. commensalism because the insect lives off the nectar but the flower does not benefit.
  3. parasitism because the insect harms the flower by removing the nectar.
  4. predation because the insect feeds on the flower and the flower dies.

12.  Some plants form a relationship with bacteria. The bacteria are protected by the roots where they convert nitrogen gas to a usable form of nitrogen needed by the plant. Which of the following statements explains this relationship?

  1. Commensalism because the plant is not harmed or benefited from the relationship but the bacteria is benefited.
  2. Parasitism because the plant is harmed by the bacteria infection in their roots.
  3. Commensalism because the plant benefits by associating with the bacteria but the bacteria is not affected.
  4. Mutualism because the plant derives a benefit by associating with the bacteria and the bacteria also benefits.

4th Item Specification: Understand the process of succession (e.g. producers enter ecosystem first, followed by consumers)

Depth of Knowledge Level 1

13.  What is one difference between primary and secondary succession?

  1. Primary succession is slow and secondary succession is rapid.
  2. Secondary succession begins on soil and primary succession begins on rock.
  3. Primary succession modifies the environment and secondary succession does not.
  4. Secondary succession begins with lichens and primary succession begins with trees.

14.  A lava flow covers a mature forest. Which of the following is most likely to be the sequence of plants that regrow in the area?

  1. Lichens, grasses, shrubs, trees
  2. Grasses, flowering groundcover, shrubs, trees
  3. Flowering groundcover, grasses, lichens, trees
  4. Lichens, shrubs, grasses, trees

Depth of Knowledge Level 2

15.  Use the information below to answer the following question.

Location #1:
A plowed fieldàgrassesàshrubsàtrees
Location #2:
Bare rockàlichensàgrassesàshrubsàtrees

Which of the following are the pioneer species in each location?

  1. Grasses and shrubs
  2. Shrubs and trees
  3. Lichens and grasses
  4. Trees and grasses

16.  Use the diagram below to answer the following question.

Figure from Examgen test generating program

The boxes above represent a different stage in succession. Put the boxes in order.

  1. I, II, III, IV
  2. II, IV, I, III
  3. IV, II, I, III
  4. III, IV, II, I


Constructed Response L.8.C.2

An old growth forest was destroyed by a wildfire. Overtime the forest returned.

  1. Summarize the process that returned the mature forest from the destroyed environment.
  2. Construct a food web of the resulting mature forest that includes 2 producers, 2 consumers from different trophic levels, and 1 decomposer.
  3. Describe the role and importance of the producers, consumers, and decomposers that you chose to include in the ecosystem.


Content Benchmark L.8.C.2

Students know how to characterize organisms in any ecosystem by their functions. E/S

Answers to Sample Test Questions

1.  C, DOK Level 1

2.  D, DOK Level 1

3.  B, DOK Level 2

4.  C, DOK Level 2

5.  C, DOK Level 1

6.  B, DOK Level 1

7.  A, DOK Level 2

8.  A, DOK Level 2

9.  C, DOK Level 1

10.  C, DOK Level 1

11.  A, DOK Level 2

12.  D, DOK Level 2

13.  B, DOK Level 1

14.  A, DOK Level 1

15.  C, DOK Level 2

16.  C, DOK Level 2

Constructed Response L.8.C.2 Score Rubric:

3 points / Response addresses all parts of the question clearly and correctly.
A.  The first plants to return are grasses and other ground cover plants. These plants stabilize the soil. Shrubs replace the ground over as the area matures. Next, trees replace the shrub community. Lastly, the forest is returned as the climax community.
B.  Generic food web provided above. Students should have specific organisms representing each trophic level. Food web must include arrows indicating the direction of the energy transfer.
C.  Producers capture sunlight energy and convert it to usable organic energy. The energy from the producers is transferred through the food web through the various levels of consumers. Decomposers live off the energy and recycle the nutrients in dead plants and animals.
2 points / Response addresses all parts of the question and includes only minor errors.
1 point / Response does not address all parts of the question.
0 points / Response is totally incorrect or no response provided