Chapter 3 (The Biosphere) Test A - DiBiasioScience

Name______________________________ Class __________________ Date ______________

Chapter 3 The Biosphere Chapter Test A

Multiple Choice

Write the letter that best answers the question or completes the statement on
the line provided.

____ 1. Which of the following descriptions about the organization of
an ecosystem is correct?

a. Communities make up species, which make up
populations.

b. Populations make up species, which make up communities.
c. Species make up communities, which make up populations.
d. Species make up populations, which make up communities.

____ 2. The simplest grouping of more than one kind of organism in
the biosphere is a(an)

a. population. c. ecosystem.

b. community. d. species.

____ 3. 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?

a. questioning c. experimenting
b. observing d. modeling

Small fishes
Zooplankton

Squid Shark

Algae

© Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Figure 3-1

____ 4. The algae at the beginning of the food chain in Figure 3-1 are

a. consumers. c. producers.

b. decomposers. d. heterotrophs.

____ 5. An organism that uses energy to produce its own food supply
from inorganic compounds is called a(an)

a. heterotroph. c. detritivore.

b. consumer. d. autotroph.

____ 6. Which of the following organisms does NOT require sunlight
to live?
a. chemosynthetic bacteria
b. algae
c. trees
d. photosynthetic bacteria

Chapter 3 Test A 21

Name______________________________ Class __________________ Date ______________

____ 7. The total amount of living tissue within a given trophic level
is called the

a. organic mass. c. energy mass.

b. trophic mass. d. biomass.

____ 8. What animals eat both producers and consumers?

a. herbivores c. chemotrophs Owl
b. omnivores d. autotrophs

____ 9. A snake that eats a frog that has eaten Tree shrews
an insect that fed on a plant is a Insects
a. first-level producer.
b. first-level consumer.
c. second-level producer.

d. third-level consumer.

____10. The trophic levels in Figure 3-2 illustrate

a. the relative amount of energy. Tree

b. the amount of living organic matter. Figure 3-2
c. the relative number of individual organisms.

d. that producers outnumber first-level consumers.

____11. 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

a. used in reproduction.

b. stored as body tissue.
c. stored as fat.

d. eliminated as heat.

____12. What is the process by which bacteria convert nitrogen gas in
the air to ammonia?

a. nitrogen fixation c. decomposition

b. excretion d. denitrification

____13. Carbon cycles through the biosphere in all of the following © Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
processes EXCEPT

a. photosynthesis. c. respiration.
b. transpiration. d. decomposition.

____14. The movements of energy and nutrients through living
systems are different because

a. energy flows in one direction and nutrients recycle.
b. energy is limited in the biosphere and nutrients are always

available.

c. nutrients flow in one direction and energy recycles.
d. energy forms chemical compounds and nutrients are lost as

heat.

22 Chapter 3 Test A

Name______________________________ Class __________________ Date ______________

____15. Which is most likely to be a limiting nutrient in a freshwater
pond?

a. phosphorus c. carbon

b. nitrogen d. potassium

Completion

Complete each statement on the line provided.

16. Autotrophs capture energy from sunlight or ___________________ to produce food.
17. Organisms that break down organic matter and return it to the environment are called

___________________ .

Small fishes
Zooplankton

Squid Shark

Algae

Figure 3-3

© Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 18. Of the organisms represented in Figure 3-3, the organisms in the oceans with the
smallest total biomass are most likely the ___________________ .

19. Water can enter the atmosphere through the processes of evaporation and
___________________ .

20. Living organisms require nitrogen to make ___________________ , which are used to
build proteins.

Short Answer

In complete sentences, write the answers to the questions on the lines provided.

21. Describe the role of algae in ocean food chains.
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Chapter 3 Test A 23

Name______________________________ Class __________________ Date ______________

22. Describe the flow of energy among the following members of an
ecosystem: decomposers, autotrophs, heterotrophs, and the sun.
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23. Describe the flow of energy to the owl in Figure 3-4 if the tree
provides 1500 calories of energy to the insects.
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24. What is the most likely explanation for why Figure 3-4 shows only
one organism at its base? In what way would an energy diagram
be different?
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25. Explain how seepage and transpiration in Figure 3-5 are related.
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Owl Condensation © Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Tree shrews Precipitation

Insects Runoff
Transpiration Seepage
Tree
Evaporation Runoff
Figure 3-4
24 Chapter 3 Test A Lake Uptake

Ocean Ground water

Figure 3-5

Name______________________________ Class __________________ Date ______________

Using Science Skills

Use the diagrams below to answer the following questions on the lines
provided.

s 5 g/m2

Bass 10,000 Kcal Birds
27 g/m2
100 Kcal
Ants and spiders
Fish and other carnivores

1000 Kcal

Insects, small fish, and snails Insects and worms 104 g/m2
900 g/m2
10,000 Kcal

Eelgrass Bluegrass
I II

Figure 3-6

© Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 26. Predicting How might a large omnivore change the flow of energy
in Figure 3-6, Diagram II?
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27. Inferring If a limiting nutrient is supplied to the producers in
Figure 3-6, Diagram II, what effect could it have on the birds?
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28. Interpreting Graphics How many Kilocalories (Kcal) can the top
carnivore in Figure 3-6, Diagram I, store? Explain.
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29. Applying Concepts What three scientific approaches do ecologists
use to explain complex relationships, such as in the energy
pyramid in Figure 3-6?
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Chapter 3 Test A 25

Name______________________________ Class __________________ Date ______________ © Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
30. Applying Concepts Describe how chemosynthesis could

contribute to the energy represented by Figure 3-6, Diagram I.
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Essay

Write the answer to each question in the space provided.
31. Describe the two sources of energy that fuel life on Earth.

32. How does a food web differ from a food chain?

33. Describe the three types of ecological pyramids.

34. Describe the roles of bacteria in the nitrogen cycle.

35. How might a large input of phosphorus affect a freshwater lake
over time?

26 Chapter 3 Test A