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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. Includes climate - temperature - availability of light and water - and the local topology






2. Region on the continental shelf that contains ocean area with depths up to 600 feet and extends several hundred miles from the shores






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






4. Autotrophic green plants and chemosynthetic bacteria that use the energy of the sun and simple raw materials to manufacture carbohydrates - proteins - and lipids






5. Links between oceans and land






6. 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






7. Includes all portions of the planet that support life -the atmosphere - the lithosphere - and the hydrosphere






8. 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






9. Nutrients - water - and sunlight limitations aid in maintaining populations at relatively constant levels






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






11. Any group of similar organisms that are capable of reproducing






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






13. Receive less than ten inches of rain each year; the rain is concentrated within a few heavy cloudbursts -ex: Sahara in Africa and Gobi in Asia






14. Freshwater Biomes vs. Saltwater 3: Freshwater biomes - except very large lakes - are affected by variations in _________. temperature of freshwater bodies varies considerably; they may freeze or dry up - and mud from their floors may be stirred up by






15. Animals that feed on secondary consumer






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






17. Region typical of the open seas and can be divided into photic and aphotic zones






18. Symbiotic relationship from which both organisms derive some benefit






19. Consists of populations of different plants and animal species interacting with each other in a given environment






20. Distinct community in a geographic region






21. Animals that consume green plants (herbivores)






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






23. Determine by the amount of decaying plant and animal life in the soil






24. Animals that consume only plants or plant foods






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






26. The orderly process by which one biotic community replaces or succeeds another until a climax community is established






27. The stable - living part of the ecosystem in whicih populations exist in balance with each other and with the environment






28. Freshwater Biomes vs. Saltwater 1: Freshwater is _______________ which results in the passage of water into the cell. Freshwater organisms have homeostatic mechanisms to maintain water balance by the regular removal of the excess water. these include






29. Deer - fox - woodchuck - and squirrel






30. Only animal life and other heterotrophic life exists






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






32. The study of interactions between organisms and their environment






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






34. Regiong beneatht he photic zone that receives no light






35. The oceans






36. Have adaptations enabling them to survive in very cod water - with high pressures - and in complete darkness






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






38. One species may be competitively superior to the other and drive the second to extinction






39. Plants growing on other plants - trees grow closely together; sunlight hardly reaches the forest floor






40. Adaptations for maintaining their internal osmolarity and conserving water






41. 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






42. Material is cycled and recycled betweenn organisms and their environments - passing from inorganic forms to organic forms and then back to the inorganic forms






43. Affect the type of vegetation that can be supported






44. Cold - dry - and inhabited by fir - pine - and spruce trees -much vegetation has evolved adaptations for water conservation such as needle-shaped leaves -Extreme Northern Part of the US and in Southern Canada






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






46. Elemental nitrogen is chemically inert and cannot be used by most organisms. Lightning and nitrogen-fixing bacteria in the roots of legumes change the nitrogen into the usable - soluble nitrates






47. Lichens and moss






48. 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






49. The major component of the internal environment of all living things






50. Active swimmers such as fish - sharks - or whales that feed on plankton and smaller fish