Study Guide and Questions for Chapter 28 Honors Biology
Name: ______Block: ______
Study Guide and Questions for Chapter 28 – Honors Biology
(C)1. An ecologist studying a plot of ground in the tundra excludes all herbivores from her study area and estimates the plant biomass at 530 grams per square meter. She comes back to the same plot one year later and estimates that the biomass has increased to 670 grams per square meter. The difference in these two values, 140 grams, represents the ______for that year.
a. biological magnification
b. food chain length
c. food web complexity
d. net primary productivity
e. trophic transfer efficiency
(C)2. If the solar energy that strikes the outer reaches of the Earth's atmosphere, approximately what percentage ends up in carbohydrate molecules produced by photosynthetic organisms?
a. 0.03%
b. 1%
c. 3%
d. 10%
e. 90%
(F)3. Earthworms are ______.
a. detritus feeders
b. herbivores
c. primary consumers
d. producers
e. secondary consumers
(F)4. The base of the energy pyramid represents ______.
a. producers
b. decomposers
c. primary consumers
d. secondary consumers
e. tertiary consumers
(C)5. Which of the following are heterotrophic?
a. producers
b. decomposers
c. primary consumers
d. secondary consumers
e. The second, third, and fourth answers are all correct.
(C)6. Of the following trophic levels, which would support the fewest organisms?
a. producer
b. decomposer
c. primary consumer
d. secondary consumer
e. tertiary consumer
(F)7. Which of the following trophic levels is always the final link in the food chain?
a. producer
b. decomposer
c. primary consumer
d. secondary consumer
e. tertiary consumer
(F)8. Which of the following nutrients remains chemically the same as it is cycled through the food chain and is generally not used in the synthesis of new molecules?
a. water
b. carbon
c. nitrogen
d. phosphorus
e. Both the third and fourth answers are correct.
(F)9. In the carbon cycle, carbon (C) is returned to the atmosphere by ______.
a. photosynthesis
b. evaporation of water
c. burning of fossil fuels
d. respiration of plants and animals
e. The third and fourth answers are both correct.
(F)10. For which of the following nutrients is rock a major reservoir?
a. water
b. oxygen
c. carbon
d. nitrogen
e. phosphorus
(F)11. How is nitrogen released back to the atmosphere once it has been incorporated into the body of an organism?
a. nitrogen fixation
b. through a process involving a symbiotic association with a legume
c. by decomposers and denitrifying bacteria
d. Both of the first two answers are correct.
(F)12. Which of the following is/are a major contributor to the problem of acid deposition?
a. oxygen
b. carbon dioxide
c. sulfur dioxide
d. nitrogen oxides
e. Both the third and fourth answers are correct.
(F)13. So far, global warming has been documented to be causing ______.
a. changes in precipitation patterns on land, with some areas subjected to more severe and frequent droughts, and other areas more frequent and severe floods
b. melting of ice sheets and retreat of glaciers at unprecedented rates
c. shifts in the distribution and abundance of a number of plant and animal species
d. shifts in the timing of spring events, which are occurring much earlier than previously
e. all of the above
f. None of the above. To date, global warming has had no effects on any of the things mentioned above.
(C)14. How does using wood derived from trees as a source of fuel for cooking affect the carbon cycle?
a. It decreases the uptake of CO2 from the atmosphere as there are fewer trees carrying on photosynthesis.
b. It has no effect on the carbon cycle.
c. It increases the release of CO2 into the atmosphere as the wood is burned.
d. Both the first and third answers above are correct.
(F)15. Increased levels of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere contribute to global warming by:
a. allowing more sunlight to reach the Earth.
b. preventing more of the heat radiated from the Earth's surface from escaping into space.
c. promoting and sustaining forest fires and other forms of combustion that release heat.
1. Explain why it may be cheaper for a farmer to produce a 2 pounds of grain than 2 pounds of meat? (Be sure to explain the tophic levels, biomass and amount of energy generally transferred between trophic levels – you may use diagrams)
2. Use a pyramind to representing a primary producer, primary consumer, and secondary consumer. Give each a specific organism. Indicate which of the following would have the most organisms and which would have the least. Explain
3. What would happen in we did NOT have decomposers on Earth? Explain
4. Where is most of Earth’s surface water contained?
5. Why are tropical ecosystems more diverse than temperate ecosystems?
6. What types of adaptations do desert organisms have in order to conserve water?
7. Which biome do herds of grazing animals exist?
8. Which trophic level contains the most energy?
9. Do organisms increase or decrease when going from one trophic level to the next higher level?
10. How do water and minerals needed by all organisms on Earth pass back and forth between the biotic and abiotic portions of the environment?
11. What are three processes that occur in the water cycle?
12. What is a biome?
13. Which biome is characterized by evergreen trees and mammals such as moose, bears, and lynx?
14. Explain what happens to the nitrogen in an organism after it dies.
15. Summarize the carbon cycle:
16. Summarize the nitrogen cycle: