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EXAMPLE EXAM QUESTIONS
UNIT I: ECOLOGY
1. Upwellings are:
a. called tornadoes in the United States.
b. vertical movements of ocean water from deeper water towards the surface.
c.hurricane force winds that move upwards in the atmosphere.
d. result when jet streams encounter monsoons.
e. essential for the existence of plankton.
2. Which of the following has the highest productivity of marine biomes?
a. mudflats
b. sandy beaches
c. open oceans
d. rocky intertidal
e. coral reefs
3. 57 million square miles is
a. the total land surface area of the earth.
b. the total arable land surface on the earth.
c. the only limiting factor of the human species
d. includes all land surface occupied by people
e..total surface of the earth covered by oceans.
4. The total numbers of individuals in a population is called
a. abundance
b. growth rate
c. a deme
d. the carrying capacity
e. a cIone
5. The measurement of the amount of molecular movement of a substance
is called:
a. heat
b. temperature
c. cold
d. light
e. salinity
6. Succession:
a. is a predictable series of changes
b. occurs in a community after a major disturbance such as flood or fire
c. is a number seres.
d. occurs from the time of the first colonization to the mature stable climax community.
e. all of the above.
7. A biome is:
a. the total life zone of the earth's surface
b. a group of populations that interact with each other and the physical part of the environment
c. a complex region of the earth characterized by distinctive life forms
d. a group of interacting individuals of the same species
e. none of the above
8. Two populations that intermingle, living in the same area are always
called:
a. sympatric
b. allopatric
c. territorial.
d. social.
e. dynamic.
. .
9. The total life zone of the earth's surface, including those parts
of the atmosphere, hydrosphere and lithosphere in which living things naturally
occur is called the:
a. biome
b. biosphere
c. ecosystem
d. population
e. community
10. Phycoerythrin is:
a. a crab that inhabits mud flats
b. a pigment found in red algae
c. the scientific name of a species of nekton
d. a type of open ocean jellyfish
e. a common mollusk found in the rocky intertidal biome
11. Photosynthesis is a process:
a. by which the energy from sunlight is transferred to processes that synthesize sugar.
b. that is facilitated by the presence of fucoxanthin in red algae
c. that requires the presence of phycoerythrin in brown algae.
d. that requires oxygen to occur.
e. all of the above.
12. Complimentarity of form and function
a. can be observed in every structure of any living thing.
b. is the relationship between a structure and its function in which the very shape of the structure enhances its function.
c. is an example of coevolution between form and function.
d. can be seen in an organism ONLY if the structure has evolved to perfection
e. b and c above
13. Bacteria and fungi that break down dead organic matter are called:
a. decomposers
b. carnivores.
c. producers.
d. autotrophs
e. parasites.
.
14. The BEST choice below that describes the term dynamic is:
a. the function of a given structure.
b. continuously changing but remaining an identifiable entity or process.
c. can be described by the interactions with other organisms living in the same biome.
d. is limited to the embryonic processes of development in orgamsms.
e. is expressed as an overall function that is greater than the sum of the functions of its individual parts
15. The maximum number of individuals that a given environment can
support over a long period of time without degredation of the environment
is:
a. the limiting factor
b.density
c.dispersion.
d.carrying capacity.
e.the climax community.
16. Nitrogen fixing bacteria:
a. break down dead organisms releasing carbon dioxide and ammonia.
b. utilize free nitrogen from the atmosphere in the synthesis of amino acids.
c. convert ammonia into nitrous salts such as potassium nitrite.
d. convert nitrites into nitrates such as potassium nitrate.
e. break down nitrates and release free nitrogen into the atmosphere.
17. Four characteristics of life which fire does NOT possess are:
a. reproduction, growth, response to stimulus, and automovement.
b. reproduction, growth, organization, and metabolism
c. development, response to stimuli, movement, and anabolism
d. energy, cellular structure, homeostasis and growth.
e. homeostasis, evolution, anabolism, and reproduction with error.
18. A good example of an interspecific interaction is
a. a female Black Widow eats the male after mating
b. a Redwing Blackbird gives the territorial call which is heard by a female of that species
c. the Second World War
d. a classroom debate
e. nitrogen fixing bacteria convert gasseous nitrogen to amino acids which is then utilized by the clover
19. All organisms that live in marine or fresh water environments are called:
a. aquatic
b. terrestrial
c. pelagic
d. intertidal
e. benthic
20. Bacteria of decay:
a. break down dead organisms releasing carbon dioxide and ammonIa.
b. utilize free nitrogen from the atmosphere in the synthesis of amino acids.
c. convert ammonia into nitrous salts such as potassium nitrite
d. convert nitrites into nitrates such as potassium nitrate
e. break down nitrates and release free nitrogen into the atmosphere.
21. Bacteria that convert ammonia into nitrous salts such as potassium nitrite
are called:
a. bacteria of decay
b. nitrogen fixing bacteria.
c. nitrite bacteria
d. nitrate bacteria.
e. denitrifying bacteria.
22. Biomass is:
a. a number of biomes lumped together
b. the total weight of living matter in a given area
c. the number of species in a given biome
d. the total density of a species in a given area
e. all of the above
23. The total amount of land surface on the earth:
a. greatly exceeds that needed by people today.
b. does not adequately represent the land available for production of food
c. shows that there is far more opens space than needed by present day populations.
d. is much greater than the surface of the earth that is covered by water.
e. all of the above.
24. The actual carrying capacity of the earth for humans is:
a. 100 million
b. much less than 6.4 billion due to environmental deterioration
c.. is 5.8 billion.
d. is based on human desire to reproduce
c. all of the above except a.
25. The total number of arable acres on earth is approximately:
a. 57 million.
b. 4 billion.
c. 6.4 billion
d. 5.8 billion
e. 40 billion
26. The minimum amount of land surface that can support one person
(assuming the land is fertile and has sufficient water) is:
a. 100 square feet
b. one square mile
c. 100 acres.
d. 0.625 acres.
e. one city block.
27. 90 million is:
a. the amount of land surface that will be covered by water when the ice caps melt
b. r, (where r = b+d)
c: the number of people lost from the population by death
d. the number of people added to the earth's population each year after the number of deaths is taken into consideration.
e. the increase of the worlds human population due to births alone.
28. With regard to the carrying capacity of the earth for people, 11 percent
is
a. the proportion of the total earth's surface inhabitable for people.
b. total percent of land surface of the earth that is suitable for agriculture.
c. proportion of people today that will survive the coming world disaster.
d. the proportion of the earth's oceans that can be used for fisheries.
c. fraction of the earth's surface that will be covered by water when the ice caps melt.
29. The Second Law of thermodynamics states that:
a. energy is created when coal is formed.
b. energy is destroyed when forests are burned.
c. when energy is transformed from one form to another, some of the energy is lost in the form of heat and cannot perform work.
d. energy is neither created or destroyed when converted from one form to another.
e. all of the above except c.
30. Which one of the below does NOT belong to the group of organisms
called plankton?
a. krill
b. jell fish
c. squid
d.diatoms
e. copepods
31. A well defined, identifiable membrane bounded subcomponent of
a cell, having a specific function is called:
a. organ
b. organelle
c. tissue
d. macromolecule
e. atom
32. In an ecosystem, a food web consists of:
a. many interconnected food chains
b. a number of tropic levels.
c. a flow of energy
d. material cycles
e. all of the above.
33. Biological magnification is
a. the increase in size of organisms at higher trophic levels.
b. the increase in number of organisms at higher trophic levels.
c. the increase in concentration of stable, nonexcretable chemicals in organisms at higher tophic levels.
d. the concentration of nitrates and phosphates in a polluted lake.
e. the capture of small organisms by larger organisms at higher trophic levels
34. A group of populations in a given area that interact with each
other and the physical environment is best defines:
a. a dispersion
b. a biome
c. an ecosystem
d. a food chain
e. a sere
35. Which one of the following organisms would exhibit a type III survivorship curve of high mortality rates among young individuals
a. elephants
b. humans
c. oysters
d. Kangaroo Rats
e. whale