8.L.3.3

The cycling of materials such as carbon, water, and other nutrients are mainly dependent upon soil-dwelling organisms. Which pair of organisms shown are decomposers?

• Fungi and Bacteria

• Bacteria and Grass

• Fungi and Mice

• Mice and Grass

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NGSS.MS-LS2-3

Within a cave environment, bat waste products, called guano, are decomposed by organisms such as fungi and bacteria. These are then eaten by creatures such as flatworms. Larger animals like salamanders eat flatworms. Which correctly represents the energy flow described?

• Guano → Bacteria → Flatworms → Salamanders

• Fungi → Bacteria → Salamanders → Guano

• Bats → Guano → Flatworms → Salamanders

• Salamanders → Fungi → Bacteria → Flatworms

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS2-3

Mushrooms are classified as decomposers. What will MOST likely happen after decomposition?

• Matter will be used by producers.

• Scavengers will be consumed decomposers.

• Energy will be transferred to primary consumers.

• Decomposers will be broken down living organisms.

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS2-3

The food chain shows the flow of energy through an ecosystem. What is the role of decomposers in the system?

• They recycle energy from dead organisms back to the ecosystem.

• They recycle oxygen back into the ecosystem.

• They absorb energy from sunlight to pass on to other organisms.

• They obtain and use the energy that remains in living organisms.

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NGSS.MS-LS2-2

NGSS.MS-LS2-3

In a mangrove swamp, the roots of mangrove trees trap plant debris on which brown shrimp feed. Little blue herons are among the animals that feed on the brown shrimp living among the roots. Which BEST explains the role of brown shrimp in this food chain?

• enabling energy to flow from detritus to other organisms

• keeping populations of overabundant species under control

• producing energy that forms the foundation of the food chain

• processing organic material to produce nutrients for plant growth

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NGSS.MS-LS2-1

NGSS.MS-LS2-3

Many different organisms live in Amanda’s garden. The diagram shows a simple food web of some of the organisms in her garden. Predation helps maintain the stability of an ecosystem. Which statement BEST describes how this garden ecosystem can benefit from the presence of snakes?

• The snakes keep the mice from overpopulating, which could deplete plant resources.

• The snakes provide an energy source for the moles.

• The snakes consume the mice best adapted to their environment.

• The snakes eat moles, which allows the population of mice to increase.

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NGSS.MS-LS2-1

NGSS.MS-LS2-4

Scientists identified a new species of fungus. This organism is classified as a decomposer. Which statement BEST describes the role of the organism in its environment?

• It breaks organic matter into its components.

• It removes energy through oxidation.

• It replicates itself by injecting a host cell.

• It produces carbohydrates in the presence of sunlight.

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS2-3

A bracket fungus grows on a log in a forest. The bracket fungus cannot produce its own food, but gains energy from other organisms. How does a bracket fungus contribute to the forest ecosystem?

• by recycling materials from the log back into the soil

• by storing genetic traits from cells in the log

• by prolonging photosynthetic activity in the log

• by preventing use of the log by invasive species

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS2-3

This energy pyramid models the flow of energy between organisms in a Florida ecosystem. Which statement describes how energy flows in the pyramid?

• Energy is lost between each level.

• Energy is consumed only at Level 1.

• The most energy available is at Level 3.

• Equal amounts of energy are transferred between levels.

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS2-3

The Florida Everglades include ridge-and-slough landscapes. When water moves slowly through the sloughs, dissolved oxygen decreases, which kills microbe populations. A continuation of this will have what immediate impact on the local ecosystem?

• Plants that die in the sloughs will not be cycled back into the ecosystem.

• Plants will not grow in the sloughs.

• Excess microbes from the ridges will migrate to the sloughs.

• Biomass will stop moving between trophic levels in the sloughs.

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS2-1

NGSS.MS-LS2-3

NGSS.MS-LS2-4