Question 1

An inverted energy pyramid for an ecosystem,one where there are more consumers than producers at a given point in time,is possible if which of the following is true?

Accepted Answer

A)   Producers are reproducing more slowly than consumers.
B)   There is intense sunlight for long periods of time, as in the tropics.
C)   Producers are reproducing much more rapidly than consumers.
D)   Decomposers are reproducing much more rapidly than consumers.
E)   Consumers are reproducing more rapidly than producers.F) B) and D)
G) C) and E)

Question 2

What happens to the amount of energy while going up the food pyramid?

Accepted Answer

A)   The amount of energy decreases.
B)   The amount of energy increases.
C)   The amount of energy stays the same.
D)   The amount of energy first decreases and then finally increases.
E)   Energy does not move from one trophic level to the next.F) All of the above
G) C) and D)

Question 3

Which may be a secondary or tertiary consumer?

Accepted Answer

A)   producer
B)   herbivore
C)   photoautotrophs
D)   autotroph
E)   carnivoreF) A) and E)
G) A) and B)

Question 4

Which statement is true about the water (hydrologic) cycle?

Accepted Answer

A)   Because this is a true cycle, it is impossible to run out of fresh water for human use.
B)   Some water evaporates from land and from plants.
C)   All water molecules that evaporate from the ocean precipitate on land and move by gravity through groundwater to the ocean again.
D)   Once water sinks into the ground, it is safe from human exploitation or pollution until it has rejoined the ocean.
E)   The main source of water in the atmosphere is from evaporation over landmasses.F) B) and C)
G) A) and E)

Question 5

When deep wells drain aquifers,it is called

Accepted Answer

A)   transpiration.
B)   negative hydrology.
C)   establishing a reservoir.
D)   increasing the transfer rate.
E)   groundwater mining.F) A) and D)
G) B) and C)

Question 6

The only heterotrophs required in an ecosystem are

Accepted Answer

A)   omnivores.
B)   herbivores.
C)   decomposers.
D)   autotrophs.
E)   carnivores.F) All of the above
G) A) and E)

Question 7

Atmospheric carbon serves as

Accepted Answer

A)   An exchange pool for carbon that is available to plants for photosynthesis.
B)   A long term storage reservoir that becomes available to plants through the action of bacteria.
C)   An exchange pool for carbon that is made available to plants through the action of bacteria.
D)   A reservoir of carbon that will eventually be released into the ecosystem through the process of weathering.
E)   A storage reservoir of carbon that is part of the sedimentary cycle of carbon.F) C) and E)
G) C) and D)

Question 8

Which of the following is NOT required in robust chemical cycling of inorganic nutrients in a natural ecosystem?

Accepted Answer

A)   a reservoir for the element in the earth
B)   the biotic community and its food chains
C)   an exchange pool from which producers draw nutrients
D)   weather
E)   plants and animalsF) None of the above
G) D) and E)

Question 9

In the carbon cycle,carbon is returned to the atmosphere by

Accepted Answer

A)   respiration of animals and plants.
B)   photosynthesis.
C)   evaporation of water.
D)   glycolysis.
E)   denitrification.F) None of the above
G) A) and E)

Question 10

The conversion of nitrate to nitrogen gas is achieved by ____ bacteria.

Accepted Answer

A)   denitrifying
B)   leguminous
C)   nitrogen fixing
D)   nitrate producing
E)   nitrite producingF) B) and C)
G) None of the above

Question 11

Energy flow in an ecosystem begins with

Accepted Answer

A)   omnivores.
B)   herbivores.
C)   decomposers.
D)   autotrophs.
E)   carnivores.F) A) and E)
G) A) and B)

Question 12

Someone asks if some of the carbon atoms in their body may have once made up the living tissues of another person or animal in earlier times.This is

Accepted Answer

A)   possible only if you are a cannibal.
B)   possible since carbon cycles through the ecosystem.
C)   impossible since carbon can't enter a living system more than once.
D)   highly unlikely since carbon is always tied up in molecules in organisms or minerals.
E)   impossible since carbon molecules are specific for different organisms.F) B) and E)
G) A) and E)

Question 13

Which of the following is NOT a carbon reservoir?

Accepted Answer

A)   living organisms
B)   dead organisms
C)   coal
D)   ammonium and nitrates
E)   inorganic carbonate in limestone/carbonaceous shellsF) C) and D)
G) A) and B)

Question 14

Most natural food chains are only four or five links long,rarely more.The number of trophic levels is limited because

Accepted Answer

A)   there are more predators than herbivores.
B)   the efficiency in utilizing the food eaten at each level is very low, about 10 percent.
C)   winter kills off most insects and stops the food chains.
D)   This is not correct; most food chains are much longer than four or five links.
E)   nutrients cannot be passed after four or five levels.F) B) and D)
G) A) and D)

Question 15

In an experiment carried out to study the energy flow through an ecosystem scientists measure the total solar energy captured by plants to be 10,000 kilocalories.The portion of this available to the next trophic level will be

Accepted Answer

A)   10,000 kilocalories
B)   1,000 kilocalories
C)   100 kilocalories
D)   10 kilocalories
E)   1 kilocalorieF) B) and C)
G) A) and E)

Question 16

A carbon atom cycles between an organism and the atmosphere where it is then taken up by a producer and is then eventually eaten by an herbivore and passed back into the atmosphere through respiration.The carbon atom has passed through which portions of a nutrient cycle?

Accepted Answer

A)   Exchange pool to reservoir to exchange pool to reservoir.
B)   Living organism to long term storage to living organism to long term storage.
C)   Living organism to exchange pool to living organism to exchange pool
D)   Living organism to exchange pool to living organism to reservoir.
E)   Living organism to exchange pool to living organism to exchange pool.F) A) and D)
G) C) and D)

Question 17

Pioneers move into an area and harvest most of the foxes for fur.They are likely to see

Accepted Answer

A)   hawks die out.
B)   squirrel populations increase.
C)   grasshopper populations increase.
D)   hawk populations immediately increase.
E)   grasshoppers decrease.F) B) and D)
G) C) and D)

Question 18

When an herbivore eats only about 10% of the energy it consumed is available for the next trophic level.Discuss where the remaining 90% of the energy that was consumed goes.

Accepted Answer

When an herbivore eats approximately 90%...

Question 19

Humans are biologically adapted to be

Accepted Answer

A)   omnivores.
B)   herbivores.
C)   decomposers.
D)   autotrophs.
E)   carnivores.F) All of the above
G) A) and B)

Question 20

In a certain ecosystem,caterpillars eat grass.Field mice eat the caterpillars and seeds from the grass.Snakes eat the mice.Hawks eat both the snakes and mice.Such an arrangement would be considered a(n)

Accepted Answer

A)   food web.
B)   food chain.
C)   ecosystem.
D)   first trophic level.
E)   second trophic level.F) A) and C)
G) A) and D)

Exam 35: Nature of Ecosystems

When deep wells drain aquifers,it is called

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Which statement is true about the water (hydrologic) cycle?

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Which may be a secondary or tertiary consumer?

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Which of the following is NOT a carbon reservoir?

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Which of the following is NOT required in robust chemical cycling of inorganic nutrients in a natural ecosystem?

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Atmospheric carbon serves as

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In a certain ecosystem,caterpillars eat grass.Field mice eat the caterpillars and seeds from the grass.Snakes eat the mice.Hawks eat both the snakes and mice.Such an arrangement would be considered a(n)

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Someone asks if some of the carbon atoms in their body may have once made up the living tissues of another person or animal in earlier times.This is

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Humans are biologically adapted to be

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The only heterotrophs required in an ecosystem are

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In an experiment carried out to study the energy flow through an ecosystem scientists measure the total solar energy captured by plants to be 10,000 kilocalories.The portion of this available to the next trophic level will be

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Pioneers move into an area and harvest most of the foxes for fur.They are likely to see

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When an herbivore eats only about 10% of the energy it consumed is available for the next trophic level.Discuss where the remaining 90% of the energy that was consumed goes.

Correct AnswerverifiedWhen an herbivore eats approximately 90%...View AnswerShow Answer

Most natural food chains are only four or five links long,rarely more.The number of trophic levels is limited because

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An inverted energy pyramid for an ecosystem,one where there are more consumers than producers at a given point in time,is possible if which of the following is true?

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What happens to the amount of energy while going up the food pyramid?

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Energy flow in an ecosystem begins with

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A carbon atom cycles between an organism and the atmosphere where it is then taken up by a producer and is then eventually eaten by an herbivore and passed back into the atmosphere through respiration.The carbon atom has passed through which portions of a nutrient cycle?

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In the carbon cycle,carbon is returned to the atmosphere by

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The conversion of nitrate to nitrogen gas is achieved by ____ bacteria.

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When an herbivore eats approximately 90%...
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