Terrestrial Biomes
The largest area of old-growth forest in the United States is located in
a. Alaska
b. Montana
c. California
d. North Carolina
e. Michigan
a. Alaska
Phytoplankton are most abundant in the upper few hundred feet of most bodies of water because
Responses
a. they can most readily hide from predators there
b. sunlight does not penetrate to great depths in water
c. as primary producers, they must be accessible to many other organisms
d. they are benthic organisms
e. they feed on zooplankton, which are found only in the top layers of water
b. sunlight does not penetrate to great depths in water
Elements that cycle in the environment and that also have a gaseous phase at some point in their cycle include which of the following?
a. I only
b. III only
c. I and II only
d. I and III only
e. I, II, and III
d. I and III only
The ultimate source of energy for terrestrial ecosystem is
Responses
a. nutrients in soil
b. nutrients in vegetation
c. primary consumers
d. producers
e. the Sun
e. the Sun
Which of the following best explains why decomposers in soils and water are important to ecosystems?
Responses
a. They remove heavy metals.
b. They store carbon dioxide.
c. They recycle nutrients.
d. They neutralize acid deposition.
e. They produce more oxygen than they consume.
c. They recycle nutrients
Traveling southward from the Arctic regions of Canada to the tropics of Panama, one passes through several biomes - tundra, coniferous forest, temperate deciduous forest, and tropical rain forest. This pattern of change in vegetation is primarily the result of
a. primary and secondary succession
b. the invasion of exotic species
c. an increase in mean annual temperature and a decrease in mean annual precipitation
d. an increase in both mean annual temperature and mean annual precipitation
e. an increase in the total annual hours of sunlight
d. an increase in both mean annual temperature and mean annual precipitation
Which of the following is the zone of a pond or lake in which rooted, emergent plants such as cattails and rushes are located?
Responses
a. Benthic
b. Limnetic
c. Littoral
d. Profundal
e. Riparian
c. Littoral
Which process in the nitrogen cycle releases nitrogen gas into the atmosphere?
Responses
a. Leaching of fertilizers from agricultural areas
b. Assimilation of soil nitrates by plants
c. Bacteria fixation of nitrogen in soil
d. Denitrification of soil nitrates by bacteria
d. Denitrification of soil nitrates by bacteria
For a primary producer, the main function of photosynthesis is to manufacture
Responses
a. oxygen
b. carbon dioxide
c. glucose
d. proteins
e. water
c. glucose
Directions: Select the choice that best fits each statement. The following question(s) refer to the following concepts related to energy
(A) Heat flow
(B) Kinetic energy
(C) Potential energy
(D) First law of thermodynamics
(E) Second law of thermodynamics
Question
An energy transformation occurs and results in increased disorder.
E. Second law of thermodynamics
Which of the following is a characteristic of tropical rainforests?
Responses
a. They rarely receive more than 100 centimeters of rain per year.
b. Their soils typically have a high pH.
c. Their soils are relatively poor in nutrients.
d. They do not exhibit a great deal of species diversity.
e. They generally occur in the rain shadows of mountain ranges.
c. Their soils are relatively poor in nutrients
The major biological source of dissolved oxygen in the ocean comes from
Responses
a. decomposition of organic sediments on the ocean floor
b. metabolic processes of coral in reefs
c. oxidation of sulfur by bacteria in ocean vent communities
d. photosynthesis by phytoplankton
e. respiration by zooplankton
d. photosynthesis by phytoplankton
Which of the following is an example of a carbon sink?
Responses
a. Deposition of organic matter on the deep ocean floor
b. Clearing of trees in the Amazon forest
c. Combustion of fossil fuels in power plants
d. Decomposition of food waste by bacteria
e. Nutrient uptake by the roots of grasses in a suburban lawn
Which of the following best describes the movement of energy in an ecosystem?
Responses
a. Energy is constantly recycled by decomposers for use by producers.
b. Energy is harnessed by producers, and available energy decreases with each trophic level transfer.
c. Energy is absorbed by plants through water and soil and then moves up the food chain through consumers.
d. Energy is magnified as it moves up the trophic levels, and tertiary consumers store the most energy in a food web.
b. Energy is harnessed by producers, and available energy decreases with each trophic level transfer.
Losses of usable energy between successive trophic levels in an ecosystem are best accounted for by which of the following?
Responses
a. The first law of thermodynamics
b. The second law of thermodynamics
c. The law of conservation of matter
d. The process of ecological succession
e. Limiting factors in the ecosystem
b. The second law of thermodynamics
Which of the following best describes soil in many tropical rain forests?
Responses
a. They lack soil horizons.
b. They are quickly depleted of nutrients when the forest is removed.
c. They are similar to soils in grasslands.
d. They are well suited for growing a wide variety of crops.
b. They are deep and well drained.
b. They are quickly depleted of nutrients when the forest is removed.
Directions: Select the choice that best fits each statement. The following question(s) refer to the qualities of water samples.
Acidity
Turbidity
Hardness
Dissolved oxygen
Salinity
Question
Decreased by the breakdown of organic waste
4. Dissolved oxygen
A field is abandoned, and an invasive plant that can live in nutrient-poor soil moves into the field. If the land is later cleared of this invasive species and it is discovered that the soil has an abundance of nitrogen compounds, what conclusion can best be made?
Responses
a. The plants used up all of the phosphorus and potassium and left the nitrogen behind.
b. Primary succession always produces an abundance of nitrogen.
c. Bacteria in soil and in root nodules converted free nitrogen into nitrogen compounds.
d. The plants were able to produce nitrogen in their leaves.
e. More rock was weathered and broken down to release nitrogen compounds.
Of the following organisms, which occupies the lowest trophic level?
Responses
a. Spider
b. Deer
c. Lion
d. Hawk
e. Snake
Directions: Select the choice that best fits each statement. The following question(s) refer to the following energy efficiencies, expressed percentages.
(A) 100%
(B) 95%
(C) 30%
(D) 15%
(E) 1%
Question
The maximum efficiency possible in an energy-conversion process that is not limited by the second law of thermodynamics
A. 100%
In Mediterranean climate regions like portions of California, a wetter-than-normal winter often leads to greater severity of fires the following summer. This seeming paradox occurs because increased rain leads to
Responses
a. greater accumulation of chapparal biomass
b. higher pollination rates of annual flowers
c. greater recreational use of parklands
d. greater erosion and damage of access roads
e. decreased summer rainfall
a. greater accumulation of chapparal biomass
Directions: Select the choice that best fits each statement. The following question(s) refer to the qualities of water samples.
Acidity
Turbidity
Hardness
Dissolved oxygen
Salinity
Question
Caused by suspended particulates
2. Turbidity
Which of the following best describes the process of leaching?
Responses
a. Water percolating through soil, dissolving some of its material
b. The falling of acid precipitation from the atmosphere to Earth’s surface
c. The use of chemicals to reduce the amount of E. coli in wastewater
d. Rocks embedded in a glacier being carried downslope
e. The use of drip irrigation on a crop of wheat
a. Water percolating through soil, dissolving some of its material.
Open oceans produce the largest share of Earth’s biomass because the net primary productivity (NPP) of the oceans is
Responses
a. high and thus can support a high proportion of producers
b. high as a result of the high concentration of nutrients in the open oceans
c. low, but the large expanse of the oceans supports enormous numbers of producers such as phytoplankton
d. low, but the individual producers found there are huge in size
e. low, but still higher than that of other ecosystems of the world
c. low, but the large expanse of the oceans supports enormous numbers of producers such as phytoplankton
Directions: Select the choice that best fits each statement. The following question(s) refer to the following energy efficiencies, expressed percentages.
(A) 100%
(B) 95%
(C) 30%
(D) 15%
(E) 1%
Question
Approximate efficiency of the conversion of light energy to chemical energy in photosynthesis
E. 1%