Biologys Unit 3

The air surrounding our planet

Atmosphere

What is the function of nitrifying bacteria?

. the conversion of ammonium into nitrates

A food chain is represented below. Phytoplankton ⟶ Krill ⟶ Mackerel ⟶ Sea gull Which of the following organisms is correctly paired with its role in the food chain? Select one: a. Phytoplankton - secondary consumer b. Krill - producer c. Sea gull - tertiary consumer d. Mackerel - primary consumer

.Sea gull - tertiary consumer

The efficiency of energy transfer from a lower trophic level to the next highest level is roughly

10%

The transfer efficiency of energy between trophic levels is usually about

10%

Which number on the diagram below shows the location of the secondary consumers? Select one: a. 1 b. 2 c. 3

3

Of all the energy striking the Earth, how much is used by living things?

< 1%

Phosphate ions in the soil would be described as

Abiotic Factors

Air, oxygen levels, wind currents, temperature, dirt, light and humidity are all examples of

Abiotic factors

Which type of pyramid shows the amount of living tissue at each trophic level in an ecosystem?

Biomass pyramid

A group of ecosystems that have the same climate and similar species.

Biome

This sphere is composed of all the living things

Biosphere

Phosphorus is important to living organisms because it forms the important life-sustaining molecule(s) (check all that apply) Select one or more: a. Carbohydrates b. NO2 c. DNA and RNA d. ATP

DNA and RNA; ATP

Which one of the following has the largest population in a food chain? Select one: a. Decomposers b. Producers c. Secondary consumers d. Primary consumers

Decomposers

In urban areas, water can contain high levels of phosphorous due to use of agents such as fertilizers. What is a possible negative effect of excess phosphorus in the water?

Development of "dead zones"

Plants can use nitrogen directly from the atmosphere.

False

Which of the following is a difference between food chains and food webs? Select one: a. Food chains show energy flow in an ecosystem, and food webs do not. b. Food webs separate organisms by trophic level, but food chains do not. c. Food webs contain both plants and animals, but food chains contain only plants. d. Food chains are linear, while food webs are complex.

Food chains are linear, while food webs are complex

Which of the following statements is true?

Humans help recycle phosphorus when they eat plants

Composed of all the water on or near the earth

Hydrosphere

This sphere includes the continents, the ocean floor, all the rocks on the surface and below to the mantle.

Lithosphere

Which form is nitrogen primarily in while it's in our atmosphere (atmospheric N)?

N2

The rate at which energy is stored as biomass by plants and made available to the consumers in the ecosystem.

Net primary productivity

The correct sequence of increasing biological complexity is

Organism, population, community, ecosystem, biome, biosphere

Most phosphorus found in the biosphere is stored in

Rock and soil minerals and ocean sediment

A finch that feeds on a grasshopper, which eats plants, is a

Secondary consumer

Which of the following carbon reservoirs holds the most carbon?

Sediments and sedimentary rock

What is an energy pyramid used to show?

The amount of energy at each trophic level

Ecologists divide the species in an ecosystem into trophic levels on the basis of what?

Their main source of nutrition

The arrows in a food chain or web represents what?

They show what direction the energy is flowing between organisms.

How does carbon leave the atmosphere and become part of the food chain?

Through photosynthesis

Water can enter the atmosphere by evaporating from the leaves of plants in the process of

Transpiration

Which of the following correctly pairs a step of the water cycle with its events?

Transpiration - water enters through a plant's roots, travels through its vascular system, and escapes through its leaves

Ecologists divide the species in an ecosystem into these on the basis of their main source of nutrition.

Trophic levels

When an aquatic ecosystem receives a large input of a limiting nutrient, the result is

algal bloom

Process in which decomposers break down amino acids and nucleic acids back into ammonia.

ammonification

Phosphorus does NOT travel through which of the following spheres?

atmosphere

Which of the following pathways is available in the carbon cycle? Select one: a. atmosphere >> land plants b. land plants >> marine life c. soil >> primary consumers d. deep ocean >> soil

atmosphere >> land plants

Matter can recycle through the biosphere because

biological systems do not use up matter, they transform it

The total amount of living tissue within a given trophic level is called the

biomass

The combined portions of the planet in which life exists, including land, water, and the atmosphere, form the

biosphere

What do plants do with the nitrogen they absorb?

build proteins

In the nitrogen cycle, bacteria that live on the roots of plants

change nitrogen gas back into ammonium

Autotrophs convert solar energy into ________ energy.

chemical

When organisms use chemical energy to produce carbohydrates, the process is called

chemosynthesis

Decomposers are important to ecosystems because they

return vital nutrients to the ecosystem

Process in which soil bacteria convert nitrogen compounds in soil back into nitrogen gas:

denitrification

Organisms that feed on plant and animal remains and other dead matter with their mouths

detritivores

A mathematical formula designed to predict population fluctuations in a community could be called a(n)

ecological observation

The lowest level of environmental complexity that includes biotic and abiotic factors is

ecosystem

Both energy and matter are recycled within an ecosystem.

false

T/F All pyramids are shaped like a typical pyramid.

false

Which of the following reservoirs in the carbon cycle is biotic? Select one: a. atmosphere b. surface ocean c. land plants d. both a and b

land plants

An ecological method that uses mathematical formulas based on data collected is

modeling

What is the process where ammonium is converted to nitrite (NO2-) and then to nitrate (NO3-) to be used directly by plants called?

nitrification

Process in which nitrogen gas from the atmosphere is converted into ammonia by bacteria:

nitrogen fixation

What is the process of combining atmospheric nitrogen with other elements to make nitrogen into usable compounds

nitrogen fixation

Which ecological inquiry method is an ecologist using when he or she enters an area periodically to count the population numbers of a certain species?

observing

Which is the most common limiting nutrient in fresh water ecosystems?

p

Which biogeochemical cycle does NOT involve a stage where the chemical enters the atmosphere

phosphorus

A group of organisms of the same species that inhabit a specific area and interbreed is called a(n)

population

These organisms eat plants

primary consumers

What are processes that remove carbon from the atmosphere called?

sinks

A group of organisms that can breed and produce fertile offspring is known as a

species

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

stored as fat

A snake that eats a frog that has eaten an insect that fed on a plant is a

tertiary consumer

Finches feed on grasshoppers that eat plants. If a hawk eats a finch it is a

tertiary consumer

When is ammonia released?

the breaking down of dead animals and plants