Biotic/Abiotic Factors
What is the difference between biotic and abiotic factors in an ecosystem?
A. Biotic factors are living, and abiotic factors are nonliving.
B. Biotic factors are nonliving, and abiotic factors are living.
A. Biotic factors are living, and abiotic factors are nonliving.
Where does the arrow point to in a food chain?
A. Only the plants in a food chain
B. Only the animals in a food chain
C. The organism that gets the energy
D. The organism that lives the longest
C. The organism that gets the energy
What is an environmental change that occurs slowly over time and affects organisms over generations?
A. Long term change
B. Short term change
A. Long term change
1. What is an adaptation?
A. A feature or behavior that helps an animal survive.
B. The food that an animal eats.
C. How energy moves in a food web.
A. A feature or behavior that helps an animal survive.
An environmental change drastically reduced the population of milkweed plants in an area. The milkweed plants provided the only source of food for a nearby population of monarch butterfly caterpillars.
Which statement describes the most likely effect of this environmental change on this population of monarch butterflies?
F. The number of monarch butterflies will decrease because their caterpillars will not have enough food.
G. The number of monarch butterflies will stay the same because butterflies reproduce so rapidly their populations can withstand most food shortages.
H. The number of monarch butterflies will stay the same because their caterpillars will begin consuming nectar from different types of flowers.
J. The number of monarch butterflies will increase because their reproduction rate will increase to ensure some individuals survive.
F. The number of monarch butterflies will decrease because their caterpillars will not have enough food.
Which of these is a biotic organism that does not depend on another living thing for food?
A. Willow tree
B. Hammerhead shark
C. Praying Mantis
D. Butterfly
A. Willow tree
Which will most likely cause a decrease in predator populations?
A. an increase in prey populations
B. a decrease in prey populations
C. a decrease in decomposers
D. an increase in producers
B. a decrease in prey populations
What would happen in an ecosystem if the main producer organism was removed?
A. The consumers would increase
B. New producers will come in
C. The consumers would decrease
D. The predators would increase
C. The consumers would decrease
Some grasses grow in hot dry areas. Why might they grow very deep roots?
A. To protect the plant from sun damage
B. To take in as much light as possible
C. To spread seeds to new places
D. To reach water that is underground
D. To reach water that is underground
How would the woodpecker population in a forest area most likely be affected if a housing development is built in that area?
A. They would produce more offspring.
B. They would change the color of their feathers.
C. They would experience a decrease in available food.
D. They would experience a decrease in competition
C. They would experience a decrease in available food.
What is the term for the physical components of an environment, such as wind, temperature, and soil?
A. Biotic factors
B. Abiotic factors
C. Ecosystems
d) niche
B. Abiotic factors
This is a food chain that includes grass, a grasshopper, and a bird.
grass → grasshopper → bird
How is the grass in this food chain best described?
A. It is a producer, because it makes its own food.
B. It is a producer, because it is eaten by consumers.
C. It is a consumer, because it gets energy from producers.
D. It is a decomposer, because it breaks down sunlight?
A. It is a producer, because it makes its own food.
As more people have moved to the beach, the sea turtle population has decreased. Which is most likely the cause of this decrease?
A. Tropical storms
B. Increase in predators
C. Habitat loss
D. Warmer temperatures
C. Habitat loss
The partnership between anemones and clownfish is known as mutualism because it provides benefits to both animals.
The sea anemone benefits from the clownfish because, with their colorful orange and white bodies, they attract larger or smaller fish that the sea anemone can eat. The clownfish waste also provides the sea anemone with essential nutrients such as nitrogen, and they can help to keep the sea anemone clean and oxygenate the tentacles as the clownfish swims through them.
The clownfish offers all of the following benefits to the sea anemone EXCEPT:
A. Cleans the tentacles
B. Provides moving water
C. Provides nitrogen
D. Provides mates
D. Provides mates
A student observes several species of plants growing in a drainage ditch. Some species have short roots, while others have long roots. During periods of heavy rain, the ditch fills with fast-moving water, which uproots more plants that have short roots than long roots.
Which short-term effect will most likely result from a year with more heavy rain than normal?
A. Most plants in the ditch will be plants with long roots.
B. Most plants in the ditch will be plants with short roots.
C. There will be no change in the numbers of plants with long roots and short roots.
D. There will be an equal number of plants in the ditch with long roots and short roots.
A. Most plants in the ditch will be plants with long roots.
Which describes a population depending on an abiotic factor?
A) A bean plant does not grow well because it is planted where many consumers like deer will eat it.
B) Coral reef organisms carry out photosynthesis using the sunlight that passes through the clear water above.
C) Squirrels eat eggs from a bird's nest.
D) A hawk preys on a mouse.
B) Coral reef organisms carry out photosynthesis using the sunlight that passes through the clear water above.
In an ocean ecosystem, if the population of sharks suddenly decreased, what would most likely happen to the rest of the ecosystem?
A. The ecosystem would become overpopulated with fish.
B. The ecosystem would see a decrease in the population of fish as well.
C. The nutrition of the soil would decrease.
A. The ecosystem would become overpopulated with fish.
A food chain in an ecosystem includes blackberry bushes, deer, and wolves.
• Deer eat blackberries. • Wolves eat deer.
If the population of wolves decreases, how will this affect the population of blackberry bushes?
A. It will decrease because there will be fewer deer.
B. It will increase because there will be fewer deer.
C. It will decrease because there will be more deer.
D It will increase because there will be more deer.
C. It will decrease because there will be more deer.
Which of the following adaptations best explains how pine trees are able to prevent water loss or damage from freezing temperatures?
A. Pine trees have thick bark
B. Pine cones produce seeds.
C. Pine tree roots go deep underground.
D. Pine needles are thin and have a wax coating.
D. Pine needles are thin and have a wax coating.
Giant salvinia is an aquatic plant that floats on water and reproduces rapidly. When these plants die, decomposition by bacteria affects oxygen levels in the water. As more plants die, less oxygen is available in the water. Students observe a pond covered by giant salvinia.
Which statement is the best prediction the students can make about the immediate future of the pond?
F. The depth of the water in the pond will increase.
G. Fish populations in the pond will begin to decrease.
H. The amount of bacteria in the pond will suddenly decrease.
J. The number of different types of plants around the pond will increase.
G. Fish populations in the pond will begin to decrease.
What would most likely result if all plants in an area were destroyed?
A. Consumer populations would increase because more sunlight would reach the ground.
B. Decomposer populations would increase because more sunlight would reach the ground.
C. Consumer populations would decrease because plants provide them with water.
D. Consumer populations would decrease because plants provide them with energy.
D. Consumer populations would decrease because plants provide them with energy.
How would a deer population most likely be affected if a houses started being built in the forest it lives in?
A. The deer would produce more offspring
B. The deer would change the colors of their fur
C. The deer would experience a decrease in available food
D. The deer would experience a decrease in competition
C. The deer would experience a decrease in available food
So-called dead zones are areas of large bodies of water—typically in the ocean but also occasionally in lakes and even rivers—that do not have enough oxygen to support marine life.
By depriving organisms of sunlight and oxygen, the resulting algal blooms negatively impact a variety of species that live below the water’s surface.
Which of the following activities is affected the most by an increase in the number of dead zones?
A.Offshore oil drilling, because water in dead zones is toxic
B.Commercial fishing, because fish cannot survive without oxygen
C.Commercial shipping, because dead zones change the course of ocean currents
D.Sand mining, because oxygen is not available to form the sands on ocean beaches
B.Commercial fishing, because fish cannot survive without oxygen
Which statement best describes the evolution of pesticide resistance in a population of insects?
A. All insects exposed to the insecticide begin to use a formerly silent gene to make a new enzyme that breaks down the insecticide molecules
B. Insects observe the behavior of other insects that survive pesticide application, and adjust their own behaviors to copy those of the survivors.
C. Offspring of insects that are genetically resistant to the pesticide become more abundant as the susceptible insects die off.
D. Individual members of the population slowly adapt to the presence of the chemical by striving to meet the new challenge.
C. Offspring of insects that are genetically resistant to the pesticide become more abundant as the susceptible insects die off.
Wild hogs introduced to Texas from Europe became feral after the hogs escaped from the ranches where they lived. Feral hogs are omnivores that feed on native plants, crops, and small animals. Feral hogs can damage an ecosystem by rooting through the soil to look for food and trampling small plants.
Which types of native organisms do feral hogs most likely compete with for food sources?
F. Carnivores and producers
G. Herbivores and carnivores
H. Producers and decomposers
J. Decomposers and herbivores
G. Herbivores and carnivores