Ecology (Ch. 2-5): TEST PRACTICE
Multiple Choice
Identify the letter of the choice that best completes the statement or answers the question.
____1.Ecology is the study of the interaction of living organisms
a. / with each other and their habitat.b. / and their communities.
c. / with each other and their physical environment.
d. / and the food they eat.
____2.A group of organisms of different species living together in a particular place is called
a. / a community. / c. / a biome.b. / a population. / d. / a habitat.
____3.An ecosystem consists of
a. / a community of organisms. / c. / the soil, water, and weather.b. / energy. / d. / All of the above
____4.The physical location of an ecosystem in which a given species lives is called a
a. / habitat. / c. / community.b. / tropical level. / d. / food zone.
____5.The areas of a tolerance curve that lie at the extreme high or low for the environmental variable represent the
a. / optimal range of an environmental variable for an organism.b. / zones of physiological stress of an environmental variable for an organism.
c. / zones of physiological intolerance of an environmental variable for an organism.
d. / None of the above
____6.An organism’s niche includes
a. / what it eats. / c. / when it eats.b. / where it eats. / d. / All of the above
____7.Which of the following would not be included in a description of an organism’s niche?
a. / its trophic levelb. / the humidity and temperature it prefers
c. / its number of chromosomes
d. / when it reproduces
____8.Because individuals in a population usually tend to produce more than one offspring,
a. / populations tend to increase in size.b. / populations remain stable in size.
c. / individuals tend to die quickly.
d. / the number of individuals declines rapidly.
____9.Which of the following does not represent a population?
a. / all the robins in Austin, Texasb. / all the grass frogs in the pond of Central Park, New York City
c. / all the birds in Chicago, Illinois
d. / all the earthworms in Yosemite National Park
____10.Demographic studies of populations must take into consideration
a. / population size. / c. / population dispersion.b. / population density. / d. / All of the above
____11.Regarding population dispersion patterns, which of the following is an improper pairing?
a. / randomly spaced — chance / c. / clumped — clustersb. / evenly spaced — regular intervals / d. / dispersive — randomly distributed
____12.Trees growing along the banks of a river but not growing in the surrounding area would best be described as a ____ dispersion of the trees.
a. / clumpedb. / even
c. / random
d. / mixture of clumped, even, and random
____13.A population of organisms grows
a. / with no natural restrictions except the availability of food.b. / when the birth rate exceeds the death rate.
c. / only in the absence of predators or natural diseases.
d. / All of the above
World Population Growth
____14.Refer to the illustration above. Which time period shows exponential growth of the population?
a. / period A–B / c. / period C–Db. / period B–D / d. / period D
____15.Refer to the illustration above. Which of the following contributed to the change in world population during the 1900s shown in the graph?
a. / better sanitation / c. / agricultural improvementsb. / improved health care / d. / All of the above
____16.Refer to the illustration above. Which letter in the graph indicates the approximate world population in the year 1950?
a. / Letter “A” / c. / Letter “C”b. / Letter “B” / d. / Letter “D”
____17.Refer to the illustration above. The American Revolution began in 1776. According to the graph, what was the approximate world population at that time?
a. / 500 thousand / c. / 1 billionb. / 1 million / d. / 2 billion
____18.Refer to the illustration above. The current rate of population growth will result in a doubling of the world population every 39 years. Based on information in the graph, what will be the approximate world population in the year 2039 if nothing is done to change this rate?
a. / 6 billion / c. / 12 billionb. / 10 billion / d. / 24 billion
____19.population density : number of individuals in a given area ::
a. / population : an area where organisms liveb. / logistic model : how populations grow in nature
c. / logistic growth curve : rate of growth
d. / population size : population density
Population Growth Over Time
____20.Refer to the illustration above. During which time period are the birth rate and death rate equal?
a. / period “A” / c. / period “C”b. / period “B” / d. / period “D”
____21.Refer to the illustration above. The rate of growth of a population is represented by r. During which time period will r = 0?
a. / period “A” / c. / period “C”b. / period “B” / d. / period “D”
____22.Refer to the illustration above. The time period during which r would have a negative value is
a. / period “A” / c. / period “C”b. / period “B” / d. / period “D”
____23.As a population reaches its carrying capacity, there is an increase in competition for
a. / food. / c. / mates.b. / shelter. / d. / All of the above
____24.A relationship between a producer and consumer is best illustrated by
a. / a snake eating a bird. / c. / a lion eating a zebra.b. / a fox eating a mouse. / d. / a zebra eating grass.
____25.A tick feeding on a human is an example of
a. / parasitism. / c. / competition.b. / mutualism. / d. / predation.
____26.Refer to the illustration above. Level “A” is composed of
a. / carnivores. / c. / producers.b. / herbivores. / d. / omnivores.
____27.Refer to the illustration above. On the pyramid, animals that feed on plant eaters are no lower than
a. / level “A.” / c. / level “C.”b. / level “B.” / d. / level “D.”
____28.The relationship between plants and the bees that pollinate them is an example of
a. / commensalism. / c. / mutualism.b. / competition. / d. / parasitism.
1 / Both organisms benefit from the activity of each other.
2 / One organism benefits, and the other organism neither benefits nor suffers harm.
3 / One organism obtains its nutrients from another, and the other organism may weaken due to deprivation.
____29.Refer to the chart above. The table represents three types of
a. / competition. / c. / symbiosis.b. / rhythmic patterns. / d. / secondary succession.
____30.Refer to the chart above. Which pair of organisms generally exhibits the type of relationship that corresponds to number “1” in the table?
a. / coyotes and sheepb. / shrimp and sea cucumbers
c. / parasitic worms and white-tailed deer
d. / clams and algae
____31.Refer to the chart above. The relationship that corresponds to number “2” in the table is known as
a. / parasitism. / c. / mutualism.b. / commensalism. / d. / predation.
____32.Species diversity is a measure of
a. / the number of species in a community.b. / the total number of individuals in a community.
c. / the number of plant species relative to the number of animal species in a community.
d. / the number of species and the relative abundance of each in a community.
____33.Refer to the illustration above. The process shown in the diagram is known as
a. / competitive exclusion. / c. / symbiosis.b. / succession. / d. / oligotrophy.
____34.Succession is
a. / an organism’s ability to survive in its environment.b. / the number of species living in an ecosystem.
c. / the regular progression of species replacement in an environment.
d. / the transfer of energy through a food chain.
____35.Which of the following types of succession would most likely occur after a forest fire?
a. / primary succession / c. / secondary successionb. / old field succession / d. / lake succession
____36.secondary succession : cleared forest ::
a. / pile of rock and gravel : secondary successionb. / secondary succession : bare soil
c. / primary succession : new volcanic island
d. / succession : the absence of plants
____37.The end stage of primary succession in a northern latitude would be characterized by the predominance of
a. / lichens. / c. / small plants and shrubs.b. / needle-leaved evergreen trees. / d. / grasses.
____38.Organisms that manufacture organic nutrients for an ecosystem are called
a. / primary consumers. / c. / primary producers.b. / predators. / d. / scavengers.
____39.The primary producers in a grassland ecosystem would most likely be
a. / insects. / c. / grasses.b. / bacteria. / d. / algae.
____40.cows : herbivores ::
a. / horses : carnivores / c. / algae : consumersb. / plants : producers / d. / caterpillars : producers
____41.Refer to the illustration above. The photosynthetic algae are
a. / producers. / c. / parasites.b. / consumers. / d. / decomposers.
____42.Refer to the illustration above. The diagram, which shows how energy moves through an ecosystem, is known as a
a. / habitat. / c. / food net.b. / food chain. / d. / food web.
____43.Refer to the illustration above. Leopard seals are
a. / producers. / c. / herbivores.b. / omnivores. / d. / carnivores.
____44.Refer to the illustration above. Killer whales feed at the
a. / first and second trophic levels. / c. / second and third trophic levels.b. / second trophic level only. / d. / third and fourth trophic levels.
____45.In a food web, which type of organism receives energy from every other type?
a. / producer / c. / decomposerb. / carnivore / d. / herbivore
____46.Water and minerals needed by all organisms on Earth pass back and forth between the biotic and abiotic portions of the environment in a process known as
a. / recycling. / c. / a biogeochemical cycle.b. / a pathway. / d. / transpiration.
____47.Precipitation and evaporation are important components of the
a. / nitrogen cycle. / c. / carbon cycle.b. / water cycle. / d. / All of the above
____48.Which of the following is common to the carbon cycle, the nitrogen cycle, and the water cycle?
a. / The substance is rearranged into different types of molecules as it moves through its cycle.b. / The substance must pass through organisms in order to complete its cycle.
c. / The largest reserves of the substance are always in organisms.
d. / The substance is required by all living things and is involved in many processes that occur in all living things.
____49.Coal, oil, and natural gas
a. / are formed from decayed plants.b. / are fossil fuels.
c. / release carbon dioxide when they are burned.
d. / All of the above
____50.Humans are affecting the carbon cycle by
a. / burning fossil fuels.b. / destroying vegetation that absorbs carbon dioxide.
c. / using electrical labor-saving devices.
d. / All of the above
____51.Major ecosystems that occur over wide areas of land are called
a. / communities. / c. / biomes.b. / habitats. / d. / food chains.
Biome / Average Yearly Temperature Range / Vegetation
1 / -10°C – 14C / Needle-leaved evergreen trees
2 / 0°C – 25°C / Tall grasses in moist areas; short grasses in drier areas
3 / 24°C –34°C / Succulent plants, scattered grasses
4 / 25°C – 27°C / Broad-leaved evergreen trees and shrubs
5 / 10°C – 20°C / Giant needle-leaved evergreen trees
____52.Refer to the table above. Which biome generally has the lowest average yearly precipitation?
a. / “2” / c. / “4”b. / “3” / d. / “5”
____53.Refer to the table above. Biome “1” is called the
a. / deciduous forest. / c. / coniferous forest.b. / tropical rain forest. / d. / temperate rain forest.
____54.Which of the following biomes is characterized by evergreen trees and mammals such as moose, bears, and lynx?
a. / taiga / c. / temperate rain forestb. / polar / d. / tundra
____55.Herds of grazing animals are most likely to be found in a
a. / savanna. / c. / deciduous forest.b. / tropical rain forest. / d. / taiga
____56.The biome that makes up most of the central part of the United States is
a. / rain forest. / c. / tundra.b. / temperate grassland. / d. / deciduous forest.
____57.Which of the following is not an adaptation for water conservation found in desert organisms?
a. / nocturnal lifestyle / c. / waxy leaf coatingsb. / deep root system / d. / burrowing in the ground
____58.Which of the following animals would most likely be found in a temperate rain forest?
a. / monkeys / c. / deerb. / caribou / d. / leopards
____59.Which of the following is characteristic of the photic zone of the ocean but not the aphotic zone?
a. / fish / c. / bacteriab. / tides / d. / photosynthesis
____60.Organisms with light-producing body parts would most likely be found in
a. / the deep-water zone of lakes. / c. / open ocean surfaces.b. / shallow ocean waters. / d. / deep ocean waters.
____61.Which of the following processes harnesses energy for organisms living near deep-sea vents?
a. / photosynthesis / c. / chemosynthesisb. / heterotrophy / d. / respiration
____62.The extinction of species
a. / is a problem limited to the tropics.b. / has been speeded up by the activities of people.
c. / is a problem only where topsoil and ground water are limited.
d. / is not a problem in the twentieth century.
____63.Which of the following groups of organisms has the greatest species richness?
a. / mammals / c. / plantsb. / insects / d. / vertebrates
____64.Destruction of the tropical rain forests
a. / threatens the existence of thousands of species.b. / provides for more pasture and farmlands.
c. / is done partly because of the need for lumber.
d. / All of the above
____65.The efforts to restore Everglades National Park focus on
a. / planting native trees and grasses that had previously been removed.b. / building a dam to prevent further water loss from the area.
c. / restoring water pathways to their previous, natural courses.
d. / purchasing the rest of the Everglades ecosystem not already in the Everglades National Park.
Essay
66.What is the difference between primary and secondary succession? Write your answer in the space below.
67.Contrast exponential growth with logistical growth by completing the chart below.
Criteria / Exponential Population Growth / Logistic Population GrowthGraph of
Growth Rate
Assumptions
Birth and death
Rates
Ecology (Ch. 2-5)
Answer Section
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ESSAY
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Primary succession is the replacement of species in an area that had not previously supported life, such as bare rock or sand dune. Secondary succession involves species replacement habitats that have been disrupted due to natural disaster or human activity but still possess a small amount of soil and vegetation.
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