01
True or false
1 point
A severe storm can affect a population whether its members are crowded or sparse. This is an example of a density-independent pressure.
Free Practice Quiz Question List
8 Environmental Change and Ecological Interactions Online Quiz Questions
Use this free practice quiz with 20 questions to review 8 Environmental Change and Ecological Interactions, test your knowledge, and prepare for your next test or exam.
20 questions
02
Choose one
1 point
In a food web, why is less energy generally available to organisms at higher trophic levels?
- A
Energy is recycled completely, so each level receives the same amount.
- B
Some energy is used in life processes and released as heat at each transfer.
- C
Consumers create new energy as they feed.
- D
Decomposers prevent energy from being released as heat.
03
Written response
1 point
A woodland survey groups all populations of different species living in the same area. What ecological level does this group represent?
04
Fill in the blank
1 point
In most ecosystems, energy enters as captured by photosynthetic producers, while matter is .
05
True or false
1 point
If some individuals with a heritable trait leave more offspring, natural selection can make the associated genetic variants more common in the population over generations; the population evolves, not an individual organism.
- A
True
- B
False
06
Written response
1 point
A plant receives pollination from an insect, and the insect obtains food from the plant. What type of species interaction is this?
07
Choose one
1 point
Which pressure is most likely to affect a population regardless of how dense it is?
- A
Competition for nesting sites in a crowded colony
- B
Disease spreading more easily as host density rises
- C
A heat wave affecting a sparse population
- D
Competition for food intensifying as a population grows
08
Choose all
1 point
A major predator is removed from a food web. Which outcomes are plausible according to the described predator–prey–plant chain? Select all that apply.
- A
The prey population may increase.
- B
The prey must become extinct immediately.
- C
The prey may consume more plants.
- D
Plant growth must increase because fewer predators are present.
09
Fill in the blank
1 point
Excess fertilizer nutrients entering water can promote . When the algae die and decompose, can be depleted, harming aquatic organisms.
10
Choose one
1 point
A prolonged drought reduces water and plant growth in a grassland. What is the most likely effect on the grassland’s carrying capacity for a large herbivore?
- A
It must rise because fewer resources are available.
- B
It may fall because the environment can support fewer individuals.
- C
It stays fixed unless the species evolves.
- D
It changes only when individuals immigrate or emigrate.
11
Choose all
1 point
A researcher is assessing whether habitat loss is affecting a local species. Which practices would strengthen the assessment? Select all that apply.
- A
Compare observations from affected and less-affected sites.
- B
Consider other pressures that could also explain the observed change.
- C
Conclude that the suspected pressure caused the change based on one observation.
- D
Trace effects on organisms, populations, interactions, and ecosystem processes.
12
Choose one
1 point
Which option correctly classifies both environmental factors?
- A
A predator’s abundance is abiotic, while temperature is biotic.
- B
Competition is abiotic, while soil moisture is biotic.
- C
Temperature is abiotic, while food availability is biotic.
- D
A parasite is abiotic, while light is biotic.
13
Open ended
1 point
A road project divides a continuous habitat into several smaller patches. Explain a plausible cause-and-effect chain from this change to consequences for populations and the wider ecosystem. Include at least one factor that could affect the outcome and describe what evidence would help assess the impact.
14
True or false
1 point
True or false: In an ecosystem, energy flows through food webs while matter is recycled.
- A
True
- B
False
15
Choose one
1 point
Researchers study several fish species in a lake together with the lake’s water temperature and nutrient conditions. Which ecological level includes all of these interacting living and nonliving components?
- A
An organism
- B
A population
- C
An ecosystem
- D
A community
16
Written response
1 point
What ecological term means the population size an environment can support under particular conditions?
17
Choose one
1 point
A severe storm reduces the number of animals in both a sparsely populated area and a crowded area. How is the storm’s population pressure best classified?
- A
Density-dependent, because storms spread more easily in crowded populations
- B
Density-independent, because the storm can affect populations regardless of their density
- C
Density-dependent, because storms reduce available resources
- D
Density-independent, because population density always increases after a storm
18
Choose one
1 point
A major predator is removed from a food web. Which chain of effects is most consistent with the likely community response described in the material?
- A
Prey may increase and consume more plants
- B
Prey must decrease because their predator is gone
- C
Plant consumption must stop because the predator is absent
- D
The community cannot change unless the prey becomes extinct
19
Written response
1 point
What evolutionary process can make a heritable trait that improves reproductive success more common in a population over generations?
20
Choose one
1 point
Fertilizer runoff adds excess nutrients to a lake. Which sequence best explains how this can harm aquatic organisms?
- A
Algae consume all the nutrients, causing oxygen levels to rise as they decompose
- B
Nutrient runoff directly prevents decomposition, leaving oxygen levels unchanged
- C
Algal growth increases, and decomposition of dead algae can deplete oxygen
- D
Algae reduce nutrient levels, which necessarily increases fish abundance