Chapter 24:
Ecosystem Structure and Function
Practice Test
1.
Which of these is a type of primary consumer in an ecosystem?
a.
herbivore
b.
carnivore
c.
decomposer
d.
producer
Hint
2.
What is the principle that states that two species cannot occupy the same niche in the same ecosystem for long?
a.
carrying capacity
b.
exponential growth principle
c.
boom-and-bust cycle
d.
competitive exclusion principle
Hint
3.
What are the nutritional relationships among species of an ecosystem?
a.
nutrient cycles
b.
habitats
c.
abiotic factors
d.
trophic structure
Hint
4.
What is the particular combination of resources that a species is adapted to exploit?
a.
niche
b.
trophic level
c.
habitat
d.
biomass
Hint
5.
What is a symbiotic relationship between species in which one organism benefits, but the other organism is unaffected?
a.
mutualism
b.
parasitism
c.
commensalism
d.
predation
Hint
6.
What organisms obtain energy from sunlight or inorganic chemical reactions?
a.
autotrophs
b.
decomposers
c.
heterotrophs
d.
consumers
Hint
7.
In most ecosystems, which organisms are the primary decomposers?
a.
bacteria and earthworms
b.
bacteria and fungi
c.
cockroaches and earthworms
d.
earthworms and fungi
Hint
8.
What is a pattern of population growth in which exponential growth results in a population exceeding its carrying capacity, causing the population to crash?
a.
nitrogen cycle
b.
productivity
c.
boom-and-bust cycle
d.
logistic growth cycle
Hint
9.
What is the total quantity of living matter in an ecosystem?
a.
energy
b.
biomass
c.
niche
d.
habitat
Hint
10.
In a new environment, a population may begin to grow exponentially, then slow to a linear growth pattern, and eventually approach a stable maximum. What is this pattern of population growth called?
a.
boom-and-bust cycle
b.
logistic growth
c.
exponential growth
d.
predator-prey cycle
Hint
