Question 1

What is landscape ecology?
A)the study of human-designed communities.
B)the study of the influences of pollution on natural ecosystems.
C)a science exclusively concerned with terrestrial ecosystems.
D)the study of the connections among various ecosystems.

Accepted Answer

Landscape ecology focuses on the patterns and interactions between ecosystems within a landscape. It examines how these ecosystems are connected and how they affect each other.

Question 2

What type of chemical energy is stored in a plant?
A)kinetic
B)nuclear
C)solar
D)potential

Accepted Answer

Plants store energy in the form of potential energy within the chemical bonds of glucose and other molecules produced during photosynthesis. This energy is released when the bonds are broken during cellular respiration.

Question 3

What layer of our planet that is made of rock and soil?
A)hydrosphere
B)ecosphere
C)biosphere
D)lithosphere

Accepted Answer

The lithosphere is the outermost layer of Earth, comprising the crust and the upper part of the mantle. It is made of rock and soil, distinguishing it from other layers like the hydrosphere (water), biosphere (living things), and ecosphere (a term sometimes used to describe the global ecosystem, encompassing all the other 'spheres').

Question 4

Living space, temperature, sunlight, soil, wind, and precipitation make up the biotic components of the environment.

Accepted Answer

These are examples of abiotic components, which are non-living chemical and physical factors in the environment.

Question 5

Which of the following is an abiotic factor of the environment?
A)living spaces
B)disease organisms
C)fungus
D)producers

Accepted Answer

Living spaces such as soil, water, and air are considered abiotic factors because they are non-living components of an environment that influence living organisms.

Question 6

Which of the following does the photograph BEST illustrate? 
A)community
B)biosphere
C)landscape
D)population

Accepted Answer

The answer of Which of the following does the photograph...

Question 7

Which of the following is an example of a biotic component of an ecosystem?
A)the climate
B)a community
C)water
D)synthetic pesticides

Accepted Answer

A community is a biotic component because it consists of living organisms interacting with each other within an ecosystem.

Question 8

The layers of the biosphere are the atmosphere, hydrosphere, and ___________.

Accepted Answer

The answer of The layers of the biosphere are the...

Question 9

Which term encompasses the other four?
A)community
B)population
C)species
D)ecosystem

Accepted Answer

An ecosystem encompasses communities, populations, and species, as it is a larger system that includes all living organisms (biotic factors) in a given area, interacting with each other and with their non-living environments (abiotic factors).

Question 10

What is stated by the First Law of Thermodynamics?
A)energy can be created or destroyed by physical processes.
B)entropy always increases.
C)energy cannot be created or destroyed.
D)the organization of the universe is steadily increasing.

Accepted Answer

The First Law of Thermodynamics, also known as the Law of Conservation of Energy, states that energy cannot be created or destroyed in an isolated system. It can only be transformed from one form to another.

Question 11

Usable energy has high entropy, whereas disorganized energy has low entropy.

Accepted Answer

Usable energy typically has low entropy because it is more organized and can be efficiently utilized, whereas disorganized energy has high entropy and is less available for doing work.

Question 12

A community and its physical environment is known as a(n)___________.

Accepted Answer

The answer of A community and its physical environment is...

Question 13

Plants do both photosynthesis and cellular respiration.

Accepted Answer

Plants perform photosynthesis to convert light energy into chemical energy (glucose) during the day, and they undergo cellular respiration both day and night to break down glucose for energy to fuel their metabolic activities.

Question 14

According to the laws of thermodynamics which of the following can be recycled?
A)both matter and energy.
B)matter, but not energy.
C)neither matter nor energy.
D)energy, but not matter.

Accepted Answer

According to the laws of thermodynamics, matter can be recycled through various processes, but energy cannot be recycled in a closed system because it tends to disperse and become less useful for doing work (as per the second law of thermodynamics).

Question 15

Which of the following series is organized in successive steps according to the levels of organization used by ecologists?
A)population -> ecosystem -> community
B)species -> community -> biosphere
C)species -> ecosystem -> population
D)population -> community -> ecosystem

Accepted Answer

Ecologists organize biological organization from smaller to larger scales in the following order: individual, population, community, ecosystem, biome, and biosphere. The correct sequence that follows this order is "population -> community -> ecosystem," making option D the correct choice.

Question 16

Which of the following is NOT a component of the hydrosphere?
A)sea ice
B)tropical rainstorms
C)soil
D)hail

Accepted Answer

The hydrosphere includes all the water on Earth's surface, such as oceans, seas, lakes, rivers, and water in the atmosphere like rain and hail. Soil, however, is considered part of the lithosphere, not the hydrosphere, even though it can contain moisture.

Question 17

What is a species?
A)Organisms that live together.
B)Organisms that live in the same area at the same time.
C)A group of similar organisms whose members freely interbreed with one another and produce fertile offspring.
D)All of the organisms that live together in an area including the physical environment that they live in.

Accepted Answer

A species is defined as a group of similar organisms that can interbreed and produce fertile offspring. This definition emphasizes the genetic compatibility and reproductive isolation from other groups.

Question 18

What is entropy?
A)the amount of energy in a system.
B)the amount of work done.
C)the efficiency of a system.
D)the disorder in a system.

Accepted Answer

Entropy is a measure of the disorder or randomness in a system, reflecting the number of ways the system can be arranged.

Question 19

Which of the following BEST describes an ecosystem?
A)populations + community.
B)all species, population, and community interactions for organisms in a given area.
C)the abiotic components of the environment.
D)all of the biological interactions, plus interactions with the abiotic environment, in a given area.

Accepted Answer

An ecosystem encompasses not only the biological interactions among organisms (such as predation, competition, and symbiosis) but also includes the interactions between these organisms and their abiotic (non-living) environment, such as climate, soil, water, and sunlight. This comprehensive approach is what distinguishes an ecosystem from simpler concepts like populations or communities.

Question 20

The study of the interactions among organisms and between organisms and their abiotic environment that live and interact together within an area at the same time is:
A)ecosystem
B)ecology
C)landscape ecology
D)biosphere

Accepted Answer

Ecology is the branch of biology that studies the interactions among organisms and their biotic and abiotic environment. The other options refer to different scales or aspects of ecological study: ecosystems involve communities of organisms and their physical environment, landscape ecology focuses on the patterns and interactions across large areas, and the biosphere encompasses all ecosystems on Earth.

Quiz 5: How Ecosystems Work

What is landscape ecology?

What type of chemical energy is stored in a plant?

What layer of our planet that is made of rock and soil?

Living space, temperature, sunlight, soil, wind, and precipitation make up the biotic components of the environment.

Which of the following is an abiotic factor of the environment?

Which of the following does the photograph BEST illustrate?

Which of the following is an example of a biotic component of an ecosystem?

The layers of the biosphere are the atmosphere, hydrosphere, and ___________.

Which term encompasses the other four?

What is stated by the First Law of Thermodynamics?

Usable energy has high entropy, whereas disorganized energy has low entropy.

A community and its physical environment is known as a(n)___________.

Plants do both photosynthesis and cellular respiration.

According to the laws of thermodynamics which of the following can be recycled?

Which of the following series is organized in successive steps according to the levels of organization used by ecologists?

Which of the following is NOT a component of the hydrosphere?

What is a species?

What is entropy?

Which of the following BEST describes an ecosystem?

The study of the interactions among organisms and between organisms and their abiotic environment that live and interact together within an area at the same time is: