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Ecology Test
Multiple Choice
Identify the choice that best completes the statement or answers the question.
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1. Matter can recycle through the biosphere because
a. biological systems use only carbon, oxygen, hydrogen, and nitrogen.
b. biological systems do not use up matter, they transform it.
c. matter is passed out of the body as waste.
d. matter is assembled into chemical compounds.
2. The movements of energy and nutrients through living systems are different because
a. energy forms chemical compounds and nutrients are lost as heat.
b. energy is limited in the biosphere and nutrients are always available.
c. nutrients flow in one direction and energy recycles.
d. energy flows in one direction and nutrients recycle.
3. The total amount of living tissue within a given trophic level is called the
a. organic mass.
c. trophic mass.
b. biomass.
d. energy mass.
Figure 3–2
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4. The trophic levels in Figure 3–2 illustrate
a. that the producers outnumber first-level consumers.
b. the number of individual organisms at each level.
c. the amount of living organic matter at each level.
d. the amount of energy at each level.
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5. In which way does Figure 3–2 differ from a typical model of trophic levels?
a. First-level consumers outnumber second-level consumers.
b. First-level consumers outnumber producers.
c. Second-level consumers outnumber first-level consumers.
d. Third-level consumers outnumber second-level consumers.
6. The combined portions of Earth in which all living things exist is called the
a. biosphere.
c. community.
b. biome.
d. ecosystem.
7. The lowest level of environmental complexity that includes living and nonliving factors is the
a. community.
c. biome.
b. biosphere.
d. ecosystem.
8. An organism that uses energy to produce its own food supply from inorganic compounds is
called!a(an)
a. consumer.
c. autotroph.
b. heterotroph.
d. detritivore.
9. Carbon cycles through the biosphere in all of the following processes EXCEPT
a. transpiration.
c. photosynthesis.
b. burning of fossil fuels.
d. decomposition of plants and animals.
10. Which of the following has a direct role in the nitrogen cycle?
a. bacteria
c. legumes
b. decomposers
d. all of the above
11. A snake that eats a frog that has eaten an insect that fed on a plant is a
a. first-level consumer.
c. second-level producer.
b. first-level producer.
d. third-level consumer.
12. What is the process by which bacteria convert nitrogen gas in the air to ammonia?
a. decomposition
c. denitrification
b. nitrogen fixation
d. excretion
13. Which of the following organisms does NOT require sunlight to live?
a. photosynthetic bacteria
c. chemosynthetic bacteria
b. trees
d. algae
14. Nitrogen fixation is carried out primarily by
a. consumers.
c. plants.
b. humans.
d. bacteria.
15. Which type of pyramid shows the amount of living tissue at each trophic level in an ecosystem?
a. a numbers pyramid
c. an energy pyramid
b. a food pyramid
d. a biomass pyramid
16. Corn planted in a field that has been previously planted with legumes and then plowed under is likely
to be
a. less productive because legumes remove phosphorus from the soil.
b. more productive because nitrogen-fixing bacteria help to keep away pests.
c. less productive because the legumes have already taken all the nitrogen, carbon, and
phosphorus from the soil.
d. more productive because bacteria living on the roots of legumes fix nitrogen in the
soil.
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17. What animals eat both producers and consumers?
a. herbivores
c. autotrophs
b. chemotrophs
d. omnivores
Figure 3–1
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18. The algae at the beginning of the food chain in Figure 3–1 are
a. consumers.
c. heterotrophs.
b. producers.
d. decomposers.
19. Only 10 percent of the energy stored in an organism can be passed on to the next trophic level. Of the
remaining energy, some is used for the organism’s life processes, and the rest is
a. stored as body tissue.
c. eliminated as heat.
b. used in reproduction.
d. stored as fat.
20. The branch of biology dealing with interactions among organisms and between organisms and their
environment is called
a. modeling.
c. recycling.
b. economy.
d. ecology.
21. All the interconnected feeding relationships in an ecosystem make up a food
a. interaction.
c. chain.
b. network.
d. web.
22. The repeated movement of water between Earth’s surface and the atmosphere is called
a. the water cycle.
c. evaporation.
b. the condensation cycle.
d. precipitation.
23. All of the members of a particular species that live in one area are called a(an)
a. population.
c. community.
b. biome.
d. ecosystem.
24. A mathematical formula designed to predict population fluctuations in a community could be
called!a(an)
a. biological system.
c. ecological observation.
b. ecological model.
d. biological experiment.
25. What is the term for each step in the transfer of energy and matter within a food web?
a. energy path
c. trophic level
b. food pyramid
d. food chain
26. Compared to land, the open oceans
a. are rich in silica and iron.
c. contain unlimited nitrogen.
b. are nutrient-rich environments.
d. are nutrient-poor environments.
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27. What is the original source of almost all the energy in most ecosystems?
a. water
c. carbohydrates
b. sunlight
d. carbon
28. If a nutrient is in such short supply in an ecosystem that it affects an animal’s growth, the
a. animal becomes a decomposer.
c. substance is a limiting nutrient.
b. ecosystem will not survive.
d. nutrient leaves the food chain.
29. A bird stalks, kills, and then eats an insect. Based on its behavior, which ecological terms describe
the!bird?
a. producer, heterotroph
c. carnivore, consumer
b. autotroph, herbivore
d. herbivore, decomposer
30. What can happen after a lake receives a large input of a limiting nutrient?
a. Algae begin to die and decomposers take over.
b. Nitrogen compounds are recycled.
c. An algal bloom occurs.
d. The concentration of oxygen drops below the necessary level.
31. Which of the following is NOT a basic method used by ecologists to study the living world?
a. classifying
c. observing
b. experimenting
d. modeling
32. Most of the energy available to a consumer trophic level is used by organisms for
a. respiration, movement, and reproduction.
b. performing photosynthesis.
c. producing inorganic chemical compounds.
d. transfer to the next trophic level.
33. Which of the following is NOT recycled in the biosphere?
a. nitrogen
c. energy
b. carbon
d. water
34. Organisms need nutrients in order to
a. recycle chemical compounds.
c. carry out essential life functions.
b. carry out nitrogen fixation.
d. utilize hydrogen and oxygen.
35. Plants are
a. producers.
c. consumers.
b. omnivores.
d. herbivores.
36. Which of the following descriptions about the organization of an ecosystem is correct?
a. Species make up communities, which make up populations.
b. Communities make up species, which make up populations.
c. Populations make up species, which make up communities.
d. Species make up populations, which make up communities.
37. The simplest grouping of more than one kind of organism in the biosphere is
a. a community.
c. a population.
b. an ecosystem.
d. a species.
38. In which way are plants in a sunny mountain meadow and sulfur bacteria in a deep-sea volcanic
vent!alike?
a. They both use sunlight to produce their own food.
b. They both use photosynthesis to produce their own food.
c. They both produce their own food.
d. They both use chemosynthesis to produce their own food.
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