MSL Science Review 12

What is most likely to happen to soil if crops are not rotated from year to year? 

• The nutrients in the soil will increase resulting in healthier crops.
• The soil will erode more slowly
• There are more open spaces in the soil and it can hold water better.
• The nutrients in the soil are depleted (unavailable - used up) resulting in crops that are not as healthy.

Which of the following is not a method humans use to prevent soil erosion?

• Planting trees or cover crops
• Contour farming on gentle slopes
• Over watering
• Terrace farming on steep slopes

Which of the following is NOT an example of an abiotic factor that would affect a forest ecosystem?

• Rain from a hurricane
• Clouds
• Trees
• Minerals and nutrients in the soil

Pollution from a factory in Tennesse causes acid rain to fall on the soil in North Carolina.  The acid rain changes the acidity of the soil making it hard for plants to live. Because the plants are dying off, rabbits that eat those plants also start to decrease in number.  Because there are fewer rabbits, the hawks do not have enough food and their numbers begin to decrease.  Which of the following is the abiotic factor causing the problem?

• hawks
• rabbits
• soil
• plants

What is the term given to any biotic or abiotic factor that controls the number of individual organisms that can survive in an area?

• Limiting Factor
• Control Factor
• Pollutants
• Survival Factor

What is the term that refers to the largest number of a certain animal or plant that an ecosystem can support? 

• Carrying Capacity
• Food Chain
• Pollutants
• Control Factor

As the hawk population increases in an ecosystem, the field mouse population will most likely decrease.  What is the best explanation for why this happens to the field mouse population?

• The field mouse food sources decreased.
• The amount of diseases in the field mice increased.
• The number of field mouse predators increased.
• The field mouse habitat decreased. 

Which best explains why Earth's oceans experience tides?

• Earth orbits the Sun.
• The Moon has a gravitational pull on Earth.
• The Sun has a gravitational pull on Earth.
• Earth rotates on its axis.

Which of the following is the best explanation for why the Earth experiences different seasons?

• The distance between the Earth and the Sun changes a lot throughout the year.
• The energy released from the Sun changes throughout the year.
• Earth's axis is tilted with respect to the Sun.
• The Earth spins on its axis once every year.

During which phase of the Moon does a lunar eclipse occur?

• Full Moon
• Cresent Moon
• A lunar eclipse can occur during any phase of the Moon
• New Moon