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Ecosystem Unit Test – Freshman Biology
Name:______Date:______Period:______
You will have 50 minutes to complete this exam. Please clearly indicate the correct answer. The short answer responses must be legible.
Multiple Choice. For each of the following questions, circle ONE correct answer. Be sure to read the question and each answer choice carefully.
1. An organism that is unable to produce its own food is:
a. heterotroph b. producer c. consumer d. autotroph e. a and c
2. Soil, air currents, rocks, temperature, and altitude are examples of ______.
a. limiting factors b. biotic factors c. abiotic factors d. ecosystems
3. The Little Bluestem is a(n) ______species in Illinois.
a. invasive b. keystone c. native d. limiting
4. Pregnant women should not eat certain fish due to ______.
a. accumulation of mercury b. lack of nutrients due to loss of energy during transfer c. an excess of nitrogen d. none of the above
5. If there was a widespread forest fire, and all of the trees and plant life were destroyed, which would be affected?
a. producers b. primary consumers c. decomposers d. all of the above e. a and b
6. Fungi and bacteria are ______.
a. producers b. decomposers c. autotrophic d. heterotrophic e. b and d f. a and c
7. Where is the largest reservoir of carbon found?
a. freshwater lakes b. the atmosphere c. sediments such as fossil fuels d. oceans
8. In central Illinois, ______is the main ecosystem while in the southern part of the state, ______is the major ecosystem.
a. prairie; forest b. lakes; wetlands c. prairie; lakes d. prairie; wetlands
Use the following graph to answer questions 9-10.
9. What does this graph represent?
a. amount of rainfall b. carrying capacity c. ecosystem maintenance d. none of the above
10. What factors determine the shape of this graph?
a. amount of resources b. temperature c. size of population d. amount of resources each organism eats e. all of the above f. all but one of the above
11. Which biome has the least amount of rainfall?
a. Desert b. Tundra c. Savanna d. a and b
Use the following diagram to answer questions 12-14.
12. What is the process shown by letter A?
a. evaporation b. precipitation c. freshwater storage d. condensation
13. Acid rain would have an impact on which letter?
a. A b. B c. C d. D e. all of the above
14. Producers obtain their energy from ______.
a. eating autotrophic organisms b. raw materials c. the sun d. consumers e. b and c
15. Ecosystems are ______.
a. all the same size b. small c. large d. a wide variety of sizes
Matching. Write the letter corresponding to the best phrase for each of the numbered terms. Each choice is used only used once.
____16. Biome A. The Princess Tree is an example of this in Illinois.
____17. Consumer B. Part of this cycle involves the decomposition of plant and animal matter.
____18. Invasive species C. Largest number of a particular species that can survive for long periods in a specific environment.
____19. Autotrophy D. The grizzly bear is an example of this in North America.
____20. Nitrogen E. There are three trophic levels of these.
____21. Biotic factors F. This accounts for 78% of the air.
____22. Accumulation of Biomass G. The living components of an ecosystem.
____23. Carrying capacity H. The largest ecosystems in which the Earth’s surface can be divided.
____24. Keystone species I. The use of DDT in the 1950s and 1960s is an example of this.
____25. Carbon J. The ability to produce food from inorganic compounds.
Short answer. Answer each question to the best of your ability – no more than 6 sentences. You may use a picture to help answer your question, if you feel it is necessary. Do not forget that your responses must be legible!
1. Define ecosystem.
2. Compare and contrast two terrestrial biomes.
Use the following diagrams to answer the questions 3-5.
3. What do the herring represent in this food chain? What would you predict would happen to the populations of the other three organisms if the number of herring dropped drastically due to overfishing? And, WHY would these changes occur?
4. How would the food chain be affected if a bear, acting as a keystone species, was introduced that primarily feeds on salmon? Why do you predict these changes?
5. Discuss the energy transfer that occurs between the trophic levels.