Unit 1 "The Living World: Ecosystems" - AP Environmental Science Topic Questions

Algae in an aquatic food chain convert solar energy into 93,000 kilocalories of plant tissue. What best represents the amount of energy available for primary consumers in the food chain?

9,3009,300 kilocalories

What best explains why terrestrial trophic pyramids usually do not have levels higher than tertiary consumers?

A large proportion of energy is lost as heat as it is transferred up the pyramid, so there is not enough energy available to support another level.

What is required for cycling matter in an ecosystem?

Decomposers

What best describes gross primary productivity in an ecosystem?

Gross primary productivity is the total amount of solar energy captured by producers through photosynthesis over time.

Which of the following biomes is best characterized as an area that forms the narrow band along the coast that experiences a range of environmental conditions (including daily changes in sunlight, temperature, and water) ?

Intertidal zones

Which process reduces the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere?

Photosynthesis

This biome is characterized by long dry seasons and is dominated by grasses, shrubs, and grazing animals.

Savanna

Which reservoir contains most phosphorus?

Sediments

In the nitrogen cycle illustrated above, nitrification occurs in which of the following steps?

Step 3

In a fish species, the number of eggs that hatch and survive for one year varies depending on the number of eggs that were produced. As the number of eggs produced increases past a threshold number, the survival rate of the offspring decreases. Which of the following statements best explains why only a limited number of offspring can survive in a fish population?

The chance of survival decreases when there is intraspecific competition for resources among surviving yearlings.

Which part of the water cycle is most directly affected by impervious building materials, such as concrete and asphalt?

Water Filtration