Ecosystems questions

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Ecosystems question collection

Review Ecosystems questions for Biology, with correct answers shown and coverage across ecosystem vocabulary; food chains and food webs; producers, consumers and decomposers.

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Question 1

What is an ecosystem?
  1. A community of organisms interacting with each other and their environment
  2. A group containing only plants in one area
  3. A single food chain with no decomposers
  4. A habitat containing only abiotic factors

Question 2

In a food chain, what is a producer?
  1. An organism that makes its own food, usually by photosynthesis
  2. An organism that eats producers
  3. An organism that breaks down dead material
  4. An organism that hunts top predators

Question 3

Which organism is most likely a primary consumer in a grassland food chain?
  1. Rabbit
  2. Grass
  3. Fox
  4. Fungus

Question 4

What is the main role of decomposers such as fungi and bacteria?
  1. To break down dead organisms and waste
  2. To convert oxygen into carbon dioxide in photosynthesis
  3. To pollinate flowers directly
  4. To produce sunlight for plants

Question 5

In a food chain, what does an arrow show?
  1. Direction of energy transfer
  2. Direction of animal movement
  3. Direction of wind speed
  4. Where reproduction occurs

Question 6

Why are food webs often more useful than single food chains?
  1. They show multiple feeding relationships in an ecosystem
  2. They only include plants and decomposers
  3. They show exactly one route for energy flow
  4. They remove the need to identify producers

Question 7

Which statement best describes interdependence in an ecosystem?
  1. Organisms rely on each other for resources and survival
  2. Organisms can survive equally well in isolation
  3. Only predators depend on other species
  4. Only plants depend on abiotic factors

Question 8

Why are insect pollinators important for many crop plants?
  1. They transfer pollen, allowing fertilisation and seed/fruit production
  2. They provide mineral ions directly to roots
  3. They increase chlorophyll production at night
  4. They decompose all dead plant material

Question 9

If a top predator is removed from a food web, what is most likely first?
  1. Numbers of its prey may increase
  2. All producers disappear immediately
  3. Decomposers stop functioning
  4. Carbon dioxide levels become zero

Question 10

When does competition between organisms happen?
  1. When they need the same limited resources
  2. When resources are unlimited for all species
  3. When predators have no prey available
  4. When only one species is present in a habitat

Question 11

Which is an abiotic factor in an ecosystem?
  1. Light intensity
  2. Predation
  3. Competition
  4. Disease caused by bacteria

Question 12

Which is a biotic factor in an ecosystem?
  1. Availability of food organisms
  2. Soil pH
  3. Temperature
  4. Rainfall

Question 13

Why can a thicker fur coat be an adaptation in a cold habitat?
  1. It reduces heat loss
  2. It increases water loss from skin
  3. It speeds up diffusion of oxygen in blood
  4. It allows photosynthesis in mammals

Question 14

How is a cactus leaf adaptation linked to dry habitats?
  1. Leaves are reduced to spines to lower water loss
  2. Leaves are broad and thin to increase evaporation
  3. Leaves absorb mineral ions from air
  4. Leaves become transparent to stop photosynthesis

Question 15

What does biodiversity describe?
  1. The variety of living organisms in an area
  2. Only the number of top predators
  3. Only the mass of plants in a field
  4. The total amount of sunlight received

Question 16

Why is high biodiversity often beneficial for ecosystem stability?
  1. More species can make food webs more resilient to change
  2. It guarantees no competition between species
  3. It prevents all disease transmission
  4. It removes abiotic limiting factors

Question 17

What is bioaccumulation of toxic materials?
  1. Build-up of toxins in organisms over time
  2. Breakdown of toxins into glucose in cells
  3. Transfer of toxins only from predators to plants
  4. Rapid loss of toxins after every meal

Question 18

Why can top predators have the highest toxin concentration in a food web?
  1. Toxins can become more concentrated at each trophic level
  2. Top predators drink the least water
  3. Top predators produce toxins by photosynthesis
  4. Toxins are only made in top predator cells

Question 19

Which field method is commonly used to estimate plant population in grassland?
  1. Quadrat sampling
  2. Microscope lens calibration
  3. X-ray scanning
  4. Blood pressure measurement

Question 20

How can an invasive species affect native species in a habitat?
  1. It may outcompete them for resources
  2. It always increases native biodiversity
  3. It removes all abiotic factors
  4. It turns consumers into producers

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Review Ecosystems questions for Biology, with correct answers shown and coverage across ecosystem vocabulary; food chains and food webs; producers, consumers and decomposers.

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