Test your basic knowledge |

PCAT Biology Ecology

Subjects : pcat, biology
Instructions:
  • Answer 50 questions in 15 minutes.
  • If you are not ready to take this test, you can study here.
  • Match each statement with the correct term.
  • Don't refresh. All questions and answers are randomly picked and ordered every time you load a test.

This is a study tool. The 3 wrong answers for each question are randomly chosen from answers to other questions. So, you might find at times the answers obvious, but you will see it re-enforces your understanding as you take the test each time.
1. Free-living organisms that feed on other living organisms






2. Frozen area with no vegetation and terrestrial animals -animals that do inhabit polar regions generally live near the polar oceans






3. Treeless - frozen plain found between the taiga lands and the northern ice sheets - very short summer and thus a very short growing season during which time the ground becomes wet and marshy






4. Regiong beneatht he photic zone that receives no light






5. Evolved physical mechanisms that allow them to make Use of the heat produced as a consequence of respiratiion






6. Every energy transfer involves a loss of energy and each level of the food chain uses some of the energy it obtains from the food for its own metabolism and loses some additional energy in the form of heat






7. The metabolically produced CO2 is released to the air. The rest of the orgnaic carbon remains locked whthin an organism until its death (except for wastes given off) - at which time decay processes by bacteria return the CO2 to the air






8. Oceans connect to form one continuous body of water - which controls the earth's temperature by absorbing solar heat






9. In the ocean - the top layer thorugh which light can penetrate - is where all aquatic photosynthetic activity takes place






10. Evolve toward a balance in which the predator is a regulatory influence on th prey but not a threat to its survival






11. First to resettle a virgin area






12. The ultimate source of energy for all organisms






13. Nitrates are absorbed by plants are used to syntheisze nucleic acids and plant proteins






14. Two fates await the ammonia (NH3). some are nitrified or dentrified






15. Links between oceans and land






16. Consumer organisms that are higher in hte food chain are usually larger and heavier than those further down






17. Made into nitrites by chemosynthetic bacteria and then to usable nitrates by nitrifying bacteria






18. Deer - fox - woodchuck - and squirrel






19. The nitrogen locked up in the wastes and dead tissues is released by the action of the bacteria of decay - which convert the proteins into ammonia






20. One that exerts control over the other species that are present






21. Must be maintained at an optimal level -organisms have adaptations necessary for protection against extremes






22. Include saprophytic organisms and organisms of decay






23. Animals that feed on secondary consumer






24. Algae - crabs - crustacea - and many different species of fish






25. Without a constant input of energy from the sun - an ecosystem would soon run down - as food is transferred from one level of the food chain to the next - a transfer of energy occurs






26. Vegetation such as vines and eppiphytes






27. Body temperature is very close to that of their surroundings -as temperature rises - these organisms become more active






28. Receive less rainfall than the temperate forests - have long - cold winters - and are inhabited by single coniferous tree-the spruce -extreme northern parts of Canada and Russia






29. Needs constant energy source and cycling of materials between the living system






30. Individual unit of an ecological system - but the organism itself is composed of smaller units -organs >tissues >cells >molecules >atoms > subatomic particles






31. Recycle water - oxygen - and phosphorus






32. Encompasses all that is external to the organism and is necessary for its existence






33. Determines the nature of plant and animal life in the soil






34. One species may be competitively superior in some regions - and the other may be superior in other regions under different environmental conditions. this would result in the elimination of one species in some places and the other in other places






35. Characterized by low rainfall - although considerably more than the desert biomes receive -provide no shelter for herbivorous mammals from carnivorous predators -ex: East of the Rockies - steppes of the Ukraine - and the pampas of Argentina






36. Group of organisms of the same species living together in a given location






37. Animals eat plants and use the digested nutrients to form carbohydrates - fats - and proteins characteristic of the species. a part of these organic compounds is used as fuel in respiration in plants and animals






38. Freshwater Biomes vs. Saltwater 2: In rivers and streams - strong swift currents exist - and thus fish that have developed strong muscles and plants with _____________ have survived






39. Because organisms at the upper levels of the food chain derive their food energy from organisms at lower levels - and because energy is lost from one level to the next - each level can support a successively smaller biomass






40. Animals that consume green plants (herbivores)






41. Composed of populations that are able to exist under the new conditions






42. Energy is transferred from the original sources in green plants through a series o organisms with repeated stages of consumption and finally decomposition






43. Affect the type of vegetation that can be supported






44. (living) includes all living things that directly or indirectly influence the life of the organism including the relationships that exist between organisms






45. Include those protists and fungi that decompose dead organic matter externally and absorb the nutrients - they consistitute a vital link in the cycling of material within the ecosystem






46. Food chain is not a simple linear chain but an intricate web






47. Adaptations for maintaining their internal osmolarity and conserving water






48. Ammonia (NH3) is broken down to release free nitrogen - which returns to the beginning of the denitrifying






49. Symbiotic relationship from which both organisms derive some benefit






50. Sunlit layer of the open sea extending to a depth of 250-600ft