UNIT 5 REVIEW

Which statement correctly identifies one of the numbered levels in the model?

• Level 1 focuses on an individual

• Level 2 focuses on abiotic and biotic factors.

• Level 3 focuses on abiotic factors.

• None of the levels should be included in the diagram.

Which would have the greatest impact on energy flow within an ecosystem?

• decreasing available sunlight

• decreasing the number of carnivores

• increasing the amount of minerals

• increasing the number of herbivores

What process in the water cycle is illustrated by the letter X in this diagram?

• denitrification

• photosynthesis

• precipitation

• transpiration

Which event would lead to primary succession of a forest?

• a volcanic eruption

• a forest fire

• an abandoned field

• a tornado

How are decomposers critical to the carbon cycle?

• They return nitrogen gas back into the atmosphere.

• They convert carbon dioxide into usable carbon.

• They return carbon to the environment for reuse.

• They store carbon compounds in fossils for later use.

Which scenario describes some phase of secondary succession?

• flowers blooming in rock crevices several months after a lava flow

• grass growing in the joints of a concrete sidewalk

• mosses growing on glacial till

• pine seedlings sprouting after a forest fire

Which two processes are major contributors in the movement of carbon in the carbon cycle?

• respiration and evaporation

• respiration and photosynthesis

• condensation and evaporation

• photosynthesis and condensation

Which list includes only biotic factors that would affect a population of deer living in a local forest?

• predation by coyotes, fire, competition from domesticated grazing animals such as cows and horses

• drought, floods, commensal relationships with birds that eat insects stirred by the deer

• high wind and rainfall from a hurricane, competition with other herbivores, growth of algae in their watering hole

• predation by wolves, parasitism by ticks, growth of a non-native grass that competes with their main food source

The nitrogen cycle plays an important role in the movement of nitrogen through the environment and converting it into a form that organisms can use. Which organism is responsible for the movement and conversion of the most nitrogen?

• animals

• bacteria

• humans

• plants

A diagram outlining the phosphorus cycle in an ecosystem is shown. If the amount of phosphates present in water increased, what would be the most direct effect on the ecosystem?

• It will result in a decrease of phosphates in animal tissues and wastes.

• It will result in a decrease in the weathering of rocks.

• It will result in an increase in the rate of decomposition by bacteria and fungi.

• It will result in an increase in the incorporation of phosphates into sedimentary rocks.