Ecology Quiz Review #1

Question 1

Consumers

Answer 1

An organism which does not make its own food but must get its energy from eating a plant or animal.

Question 2

Decomposers

Answer 2

Organisms that break down dead plants or animals into the substances that plants need for growth.

Question 3

Producers

Answer 3

An organism which produces its own food through photosynthesis.

Question 4

Primary consumers

Answer 4

They eat primary producers—plants or algae—and nothing else.

Question 5

Secondary consumers

Answer 5

Secondary consumers are largely carnivores that feed on the primary consumers or herbivores

Question 6

Tertiary consumers

Answer 6

Tertiary consumers are those that eat the secondary consumers (large predators).

Question 7

Top predator

Answer 7

An animal at the top of the food chain and has no natural predators.

Question 8

Biotic factors

Answer 8

Living organisms within an ecosystem.
→ Tiny to gigantic organisms

Question 9

Abiotic factors

Answer 9

The non-living chemical and physical components of an ecosystem.
→ Sunlight, temperature, water, soil

Question 10

Trophic levels

Answer 10

The position of a species in a food chain.

Question 11

Energy pyramids

Answer 11

Graphical representation of the energy found within the trophic levels of an ecosystem.

Question 12

Food chain

Answer 12

Highlights feeding relationships among organisms.

Question 13

Food web

Answer 13

The combination of several food chains to highlight the feeding relationships in an ecosystem.

Question 14

Evaporation

Answer 14

The sun’s rays evaporate large amounts of water on earth and turn into water vapour.

Question 15

Condensation

Answer 15

The water vapour rises in the atmosphere where it cools and condenses changing gas vapour to liquid.

Question 16

Precipitation

Answer 16

Condensed droplets of water form from the clouds and fall to the LITHOSPHERE (in the form of RAIN, SNOW, etc).

Question 17

Transpiration

Answer 17

Water that is absorbed by plants is turned into water vapour to be used for photosynthesis.

Question 18

Cellular respiration

Answer 18

A series of chemical reactions that break down glucose to produce ATP (Adenosine Triphosphate).

Question 19

Photosynthesis

Answer 19

Photosynthesis is a process used by plants and other organisms to convert light energy into chemical energy.

Question 20

Biosphere

Answer 20

Locational zone where life is able to exist within the lithosphere, hydrosphere and atmosphere.

Question 21

Atmosphere

Answer 21

The layer of gases that surround the earth.
Made up of:
78% Nitrogen gas
21% Oxygen gas
<1% other gases, water vapour, and carbon dioxide

Question 22

Lithosphere

Answer 22

Rocky outer shell of earth.
→ mountains, ocean floors, solid landscape

Question 23

Hydrosphere

Answer 23

ALL the water on/above/below the surface of the earth.
→ Oceans, lakes, ice, groundwater and clouds

Question 24

Biodiversity

Answer 24

The different living things in an ecosystem.

Question 25

Limiting factors of sustainability

Answer 25

Some examples of limiting factors are biotic, like food, mates, and competition with other organisms for resources. Others are abiotic, like space, temperature, altitude, and amount of sunlight available in an environment.

Question 26

Nitrogen fixing

Answer 26

A chemical process that converts atmospheric nitrogen into ammonia (which is absorbed by plants).

Question 27

What is the difference between species diversity and genetic diversity?

Answer 27

Species diversity is all the differences within the population of a species. Genetic diversity is all the different genes contained in all individual plants, animals, etc.

Question 28

What is the order of the water cycle?

Answer 28

Evaporation, condensation, precipitation, transpiration, surface runoff.

Question 29

How do plants produce carbon? Name the two processes.

Answer 29

Photosynthesis removes CO2 from the atmosphere and replaces it with O2. Respiration takes O2 from the atmosphere and replaces it with CO2.

Question 30

Name 2 ways that humans increase the amount of carbon in the atmosphere.

Answer 30

Burning fossil fuels Using limestone to create concrete Deforestation

Question 31

How are photosynthesis and respiration complementary?

Answer 31

They are complementary because they interact with each other and each reaction produces what the other one needs and uses. → CO2 & Water are needed for photosynthesis. → Glucose & Oxygen are used to create energy during cellular respiration.