5th Grade Ecosystems Test Name_______________________ Date_____________ 4. A student wants to put some plants in a window-box planter. The window selected for the plants is always shaded by a large tree outside the window. Which characteristic of the plants would most likely affect the plants’ growth in this location? A. leaf shape B. light C. plant price D. flower color 1. Which of the following gases do plants use to do photosynthesis? A. hydrogen B. nitrogen C. carbon dioxide D. carbon monoxide The diagram below shows a simple food web. 2. Which animal is classified as an herbivore? A. frog B. fox C. snail D. cat 5. Which location on Earth receives the most direct sunlight? A. North Carolina B. The South Pole C. The Equator D. The Western Hemisphere 3. A group of students is building a model of an ecosystem. Which of the following organisms should the students select to act as a decomposer? Snail Deer Worm Bird 6. The diagram above is of a food pyramid. What does a food pyramid mainly show? There are many herbivores. There are more plants than herbivores. There are too many carnivores. There are more carnivores than plants.

7. A strip of land is cleared of trees and bushes to make space for a power line. What impact might this have on birds living in the area? A. The natural enemies of birds will be eliminated. B. Weather conditions may change. C. The rate of erosion will decrease. D. There will be less food and shelter. 12. Which basic need to groundhogs meet by burying themselves a hole into the ground? Food Water Shelter Sunlight 8. Algae and other producers need lots of sunlight. Most ocean algae would be found in the water — A. Near the shallow areas B. In the oceanic trench C. In the deep sea D. On the beach 13. Which of these would best complete this food chain? Hawks Mice Bacteria Fungi 9. Which of these natural resources is a source of lumber for home building? A. Oil B. Coal C. Trees D. Grasses 14. Which diagram shows how energy flows through a food chain? Producers -> Carnivores -> Herbivores Sun -> Producers -> Herbivores -> Carnivores Sun -> Carnivores -> Producers -> Consumers Herbivores -> Carnivores -> Producers 10. Which is the best example of two organisms having a mutualistic relationship? A tick and a dog A sea anemone and a clown fish A tapeworm and a human None of the above 15. Why do large trees have a difficult time living in a tundra? A. A tundra is too hot for trees to grow large. B. Animals that live in a tundra destroy most vegetation. C . Flooding occurs too often in a tundra for large trees to grow. D. The soil in a tundra is too poor for large trees to grow. 11. As more people have moved to the beach the sea turtle population has decreased. Which is most likely the cause of this decrease. Tropical Storms Increase in predators Habitat loss Warmer temperatures

16. Which effect does a decrease in sunlight have on a pond ecosystem? A. an increase in oxygen levels B. a decrease in the nitrogen levels C. an increase in the algae population D. a decrease in the algae population 21. A species of giant pandas lives only in central China. Bamboo, a tall, green tropical plant, is the main food source for these animals. Large areas of bamboo are being cut down in central China to make room for growing other crops. What will most likely happen to these giant pandas? A. They will become endangered or extinct. B. They will migrate to colder areas of China. C. They will become carnivores. D. They will begin to live in caves. 17. Which organisms are producers? A. oak tree B. frogs C. insects D. snakes 22. The owl butterfly has patterns on its wings that look like large eyes. How does this help the butterfly survive? A. It helps the butterfly fly faster. B. It helps the butterfly see better. C. It helps the butterfly scare enemies. D. It helps the butterfly absorb sunlight. 18. Different types of birds within an environment may feed on different types of organisms. What is a benefit of this type of interaction? A. It allows different birds to build better nests. B. It reduces competition between different birds. C. It causes different birds to reproduce more often. D. It allows different birds to escape from predators. 23. Which organism uses sunlight to produce food that others eat? A. Snail B. Sunfish C. Butterfly D. Green Algae 19. What is a likely consequence of cutting down rain forests? A. a reduction in the amount of air pollution on Earth B. an increase in the number of plants living on Earth C. a reduction in the variety of organisms living on Earth D. an increase in the number of arctic ecosystems on Earth 24. In a forest, how do decomposers help other organisms survive? A. They release oxygen into the air that animals breathe. B. They put nutrients into the soil that plants use to grow. C. They provide shelter in forests where animals can hide. D. They use sunlight to make food for plants and animals. 20. What is a defining characteristic of the deciduous forest? It has many pine trees. It has many mammals. It has many cacti that store water. It has many broad-leafed trees.

Deliver trees to paper mill 25. A class observed grasshoppers, frogs, mice, snakes, and owls in a grassy field. They are all part of the same food In the box below, draw a food web with four of these organisms. When drawing the food web, be sure to use the names of the four organisms and draw arrows to trace the energy flow among the organisms. The diagram below shows the process of how trees are used to make paper. It also shows two ways to dispose of used paper. Cut Trees Transport Trees Deliver trees to paper mill Reduce trees to wood chips, wood chips and recycled paper to pulp, and pulp to paper Deliver paper Use and then throw away paper Deposit trash in landfill Recycle Paper 27. On the lines below, describe two ways that recycling paper conserves Earth’s resources. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 26. Oak trees produce seeds that are contained in acorns. Blue jays eat the seeds in acorns. Blue jays also collect acorns and hide them in the ground, often far away from the parent oak tree. Blue jays do not eat the seed of every acorn they hide. How do oak trees benefit from blue jays’ collecting and hiding acorns? A. The oak trees are pollinated by the blue jays. B. The oak trees are protected from other herbivores. C. The seeds of oak trees are protected from the sun. D. The seeds of oak trees are planted in new environments. 28. Which will most likely cause a decrease in predator populations? An increase in prey populations. A decrease in prey populations. A decrease in decomposers. An increase in producers.

Answer Key 1. C 22. C 2. C 23. D 3. C 24. B 4. B 25. Food Web Diagram 5. C 26. D 6. B 27. Short Answer 7. D 28. B 8. A 9. C 10. C 11. C 12. C 13. B 14. B 15. D 16. D 17. A 18. B 19. C 20. D 21. A