1. Ecology Review Questions

2. Multiple Choice
The natural world that surrounds an organism is called the organism’s:
a. energy
b. environment
c. lodgings
d. nutrients

3. Multiple Choice The study of how living things interact is called:
a. ecosystems
b. abiotic factors
c. ecology
d. the energy pyramid

4. Multiple Choice The source of energy for almost all life on Earth is:
a. fungi
b. animals
c. water
d. sunlight

5. Multiple Choice
An example of a biotic factor in a forest ecosystem is:
a. waterfall
b. cliff
c. a tree
d. a rock

6. Multiple Choice An ecosystem is made up of: a. living things only
b. physical environment only
c. living things and the physical environment
d. living things and decaying matter

7. Multiple Choice In an energy pyramid, the bottom level represents:
a. consumers
b. producers
c. scavengers
d. decomposers

8. Multiple Choice An example of a consumer in a pond ecosystem is:
a. a water lily
b. algae
c. a reed
d. a frog

9. Multiple Choice Which of these food chains is in the correct order?
a. caterpillar, cattail, frog, water snake
b. cattail, caterpillar, frog, water snake
c. water snake, frog, caterpillar, cattail
d. cattail, frog, caterpillar, water snake

10. Multiple Choice Ecology is the study of how:
a. the physical environment changes over time
b. biotic factors change over time
c. matter interacts with energy in our environment
d. living things interact with each other and their environment

11. Multiple Choice An example of a biotic factor in a pond ecosystem is:
a. temperature
b. water
c. fish
d. sunlight

12. Multiple Choice An example of a producer is a: a. fungus
b. caterpillar
c. bird
d. moss

13. Multiple Choice Both consumers and producers are a source of food for:
a. scavengers
b. decomposers
c. carnivores
d. herbivores

14. Multiple Choice In an energy pyramid, the lowest level has:
a. less energy than the top level
b. less energy than the second level
c. more energy than the top level
d. the same amount of energy as the second level

15. Multiple Choice
A scientist who studies the interactions of plants and animals is called:
a. a physicist
b. a botanist
c. a geologist
d. an ecologist

16. Multiple Choice A food chains shows:
a. one possible pathway for energy
b. many possible pathways for energy
c. the amount of energy available to a producer
d. the amount of energy available to a consumer

17. Multiple Choice Decomposers are important to ecosystems because they:
a. are at the highest level of the energy pyramid
b. change simple compounds into more complex ones
c. make nutrients available for producers to reuse
d. convert light energy into sugars through photosynthesis

18. Multiple Choice
Which of the following factors in an ecosystem is biotic?
a. insects
b. soil
c. water
d. sunlight

19. Multiple Choice Two abiotic factors that affect an ecosystem are:
a. temperature and animals
b. plants and animals
c. water and bacteria
d. soil and water

20. Multiple Choice Two examples of decomposers are: a. fungi and bacteria
b. algae and marine mammals
c. carnivores and herbivores
d. ferns and mosses

21. Multiple Choice
A caterpillar eats a leaf, and a bird eats the caterpillar. In this interaction, the bird is a:
a. producer
b. herbivore
c. primary consumer
d. secondary consumer

22. Multiple Choice How is a food web model different from a food chain?
a. In a web, energy moves from an organism to only one other.
b. In a web, energy may move to many organisms from one.
c. In a web, an organism gets energy from one source.
d. In a web, an organism receives less energy than in a chain.

23. Multiple Choice
When a rabbit population in a meadow cannot grow any larger, it has reached the:
a. climax community
b. carrying capacity
c. limiting factor
d. minimum size

24. Multiple Choice
Which list of terms is in the correct order, from simplest to most complex?
a. organism, community, population, ecosystem, biome
b. organism, population, community, biome, ecosystem
c. organism, population, community, ecosystem, biome
d. organism, community, ecosystem, population, biome

25. Multiple Choice
A population of rabbits is at its carrying capacity when the population:
a. reproduces
b. becomes extinct
c. stops growing
d. can’t survive

26. Multiple Choice
An unusually cold winter causes the squirrel population to decrease. This is an example of temperature as a:
a. carrying capacity
b. limiting factor
c. climax community
d. pattern in space

27. Multiple Choice
All the living things in a meadow and the physical environment around them make up the meadow’s:
a. community
b. population
c. ecosystem
d. niche

28. Multiple Choice
A crab lives on a beach where it gets food, shelter, and space to live. The beach is the crab’s:
a. niche
b. community
c. habitat
d. home

29. Multiple Choice
All the leopard frogs in a pond make up the pond’s leopard frog:
a. population
b. niche
c. habitat
d. ecosystem

30. Multiple Choice Biodiversity is a measure of the:
a. variety of nonliving things within an ecosystem
b. amount of resources shared by the human population.
c. Variety of species within an ecosystem.
d. Amount of renewable resources within an ecosystem.

31. Multiple Choice Biotic factors in an ecosystem may include:
a. bacteria, soil, and water
b. plants, animals, and bacteria
c. temperature, water, and soil
d. animals, fungi, and temperature

32. Multiple Choice An animal that eats only plants is a:
a. primary consumer
b. secondary consumer
c. tertiary consumer
d. primary producer

33. Multiple Choice An example of a biotic factor is: a. soil b. a rock
c. water
d. a tree

34. Multiple Choice A snake that eats an insect-eating frog is a:
a. primary consumer
b. secondary consumer
c. tertiary consumer
d. primary producer

35. Multiple Choice
Which group shown in the energy pyramid is most immediately affected by the decomposition of other organisms?
primary consumer
b. secondary consumer
c. tertiary consumer
d. primary producer

36. Multiple Choice
Knowing the type of food consumed by an organism helps to identify the role of the organism in the community. This role is known as its_________
a nesting site
b. habitat
c. Biomass
d. niche

37. Multiple Choice
Which of these organisms would most likely be found at the top of an energy pyramid?
Shrimp
Salmon
Sharks
Seaweed

38. Multiple Choice
Which of these organisms would most likely be found at the bottom of an energy pyramid?
Shrimp
Salmon
Sharks
Seaweed

39. Fill in the Blank
A(n) ___________________________ is made up of both living things and the physical environment.
An ecosystem is made up of both living things and the physical environment.

40. Fill in the Blank
__________________________ is the study of how living things interact with each other and their environment.
Ecology is the study of how living things interact with each other and their environment.

41. Fill in the Blank
Living things in an ecosystem are ________________________ factors.
Living things in an ecosystem are biotoic factors.

42. Fill in the Blank
Nonliving things in an ecosystem are __________________________ factors.
Nonliving things in an ecosystem are abiotic factors.

43. Fill in the Blank
The __________________________ of an environment is the maximum population that it can support.
The carrying capacity of an environment is the maximum population that it can support.

44. True or False? Organisms in soil are an example of abiotic factors.

45. True or False?
The amount of light available in an ecosystem affects the types and amount of plant life that will grow there.
TRUE

46. True or False?
Plants use energy to make sugars through photosynthesis.
TRUE

47. Biotic factors AND abiotic factors.
True or False?
An ecosystem is composed of biotic factors.
FALSE
Biotic factors AND abiotic factors.

48. True or False?
In a species, the organisms’ offspring must be able to breed.
TRUE

49. True or False?
The same niche in a habitat may be occupied by more than one species.
TRUE

50. Matching _____ Producer a. made up of many overlapping food chains
_____Consumer b. organism that converts heat or light energy into chemical energy
_____Decomposer c. shows how energy is lost as it is transferred up the food chain
_____Food Chain d. organism that gets its energy by eating plants or animals
_____Food Web e. shows one set of feeding relationships between a producer and several consumers
_____Energy Pyramid f. organism that breaks down dead plants and animals into simpler compounds

51. Matching __B__ Producer a. made up of many overlapping food chains
_____Consumer b. organism that converts heat or light energy into chemical energy
_____Decomposer c. shows how energy is lost as it is transferred up the food chain
_____Food Chain d. organism that gets its energy by eating plants or animals
_____Food Web e. shows one set of feeding relationships between a producer and several consumers
_____Energy Pyramid f. organism that breaks down dead plants and animals into simpler compounds
A producer is an organism that converts heat or light energy into chemical energy.

52. Matching __B__ Producer a. made up of many overlapping food chains
__D__ Consumer b. organism that converts heat or light energy into chemical energy
_____ Decomposer c. shows how energy is lost as it is transferred up the food chain
_____ Food Chain d. organism that gets its energy by eating plants or animals
_____ Food Web e. shows one set of feeding relationships between a producer and several consumers
_____ Energy Pyramid f. organism that breaks down dead plants and animals into simpler compounds
A consumer is an organism that gets its energy by eating plants or animals.

53. Matching __B__ Producer a. made up of many overlapping food chains
__D__ Consumer b. organism that converts heat or light energy into chemical energy
__F__ Decomposer c. shows how energy is lost as it is transferred up the food chain
_____ Food Chain d. organism that gets its energy by eating plants or animals
_____ Food Web e. shows one set of feeding relationships between a producer and several consumers
_____ Energy Pyramid f. organism that breaks down dead plants and animals into simpler compounds
A decomposer is an organism that breaks down dead plants and animals into simpler compounds.

54. Matching __B__ Producer a. made up of many overlapping food chains
__D__ Consumer b. organism that converts heat or light energy into chemical energy
__F__ Decomposer c. shows how energy is lost as it is transferred up the food chain
__E__ Food Chain d. organism that gets its energy by eating plants or animals
_____ Food Web e. shows one set of feeding relationships between a producer and several consumers
_____ Energy Pyramid f. organism that breaks down dead plants and animals into simpler compounds
A food chain shows one set of feeding relationships between a producer and several consumers. .

55. Matching __B__ Producer a. made up of many overlapping food chains
__D__ Consumer b. organism that converts heat or light energy into chemical energy
__F__ Decomposer c. shows how energy is lost as it is transferred up the food chain
__E__ Food Chain d. organism that gets its energy by eating plants or animals
__A__ Food Web e. shows one set of feeding relationships between a producer and several consumers
_____ Energy Pyramid f. organism that breaks down dead plants and animals into simpler compounds
A food web is made up of many overlapping food chains.

56. Matching __B__ Producer a. made up of many overlapping food chains
__D__ Consumer b. organism that converts heat or light energy into chemical energy
__F__ Decomposer c. shows how energy is lost as it is transferred up the food chain
__E__ Food Chain d. organism that gets its energy by eating plants or animals
__A__ Food Web e. shows one set of feeding relationships between a producer and several consumers
__C__ Energy Pyramid f. organism that breaks down dead plants and animals into simpler compounds
An energy pyramid shows how energy is lost as it is transferred up the food chain.

57. Matching _____ It surrounds all living things
_____All living organisms need it
_____It gives Earth most of its energy
organism
Energy
The ocean
Environment
The Sun

58. Matching __D__ It surrounds all living things
_____All living organisms need it
_____It gives Earth most of its energy
organism
Energy
The ocean
Environment
The Sun

59. Matching __D__ It surrounds all living things
__B__All living organisms need it
_____It gives Earth most of its energy
organism
Energy
The ocean
Environment
The Sun

60. Matching __D__ It surrounds all living things
__B__All living organisms need it
__E__It gives Earth most of its energy
organism
Energy
The ocean
Environment
The Sun

61. Matching _____ Two organisms try to get the same thing in a relation
_____ Two organisms benefit in a relationship
_____ The role a species fills in a habitat
a. niche
b. habitat
c. parasitism
d. competition
e. mutualism

62. Matching __D__ Two organisms try to get the same thing in a relation
_____ Two organisms benefit in a relationship
_____ The role a species fills in a habitat
a. niche
b. habitat
c. parasitism
d. competition
e. mutualism

63. Matching __D__ Two organisms try to get the same thing in a relation
__E__ Two organisms benefit in a relationship
_____ The role a species fills in a habitat
a. niche
b. habitat
c. parasitism
d. competition
e. mutualism

64. Matching __D__ Two organisms try to get the same thing in a relation
__E__ Two organisms benefit in a relationship
__A__ The role a species fills in a habitat
a. niche
b. habitat
c. parasitism
d. competition
e. mutualism

65. Matching _____ A substance that degrades the environment
_____ An introduced species
_____ The variety of life in an ecosystem
a. pollution
b. population density
c. natural resource
d. Invasive species
e. biodiversity

66. Matching __C__ Something from the environment that humans use
_____ Number of people in a given area
_____ The variety of life in an ecosystem
a. pollution
b. population density
c. natural resource
d. Invasive species
e. biodiversity

67. Matching C C __C__ Something from the environment that humans use
__B__ Number of people in a given area
_____ The variety of life in an ecosystem
a. pollution
b. population density
c. natural resource
d. Invasive species
e. biodiversity

68. Matching C D E ____ Something from the environment that humans use
____ Number of people in a given area
____ The variety of life in an ecosystem
a. pollution
b. population density
c. natural resource
d. Invasive species
e. biodiversity D E

69. What do the arrows in the food web represent?
The flow of energy within the food web.

70. List two producers and three consumers in the food web.
Producers = rosebush, oak tree, grass
Consumers = deer, wolf, rabbit, squirrel caterpillar, frog, sparrow, snake, hawk

71. Draw one food chain that includes the sparrow.
rose bush –> caterpillar –> sparrow -> hawk
rose bush -> caterpillar -> sparrow -> snake
oak tree -> caterpillar -> sparrow -> hawk
oak tree -> caterpillar -> sparrow -> snake
grass -> caterpillar -> sparrow -> hawk
grass -> caterpillar -> sparrow -> snake

72. Good Luck
on the Test!
Remember to
Study!