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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. Free-living organisms that feed on other living organisms






2. Rivers - lakes - ponds - and marshes






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






4. Region exposed to low tides that undergoes variations in temperature and periods of dryness






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






6. Developed long legs and many are hoofed






7. 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






8. First to resettle a virgin area






9. The vegetation that becomes dominant and stable after years of evolutiionary development






10. Symbiotic relationship from which both organisms derive some benefit






11. Jungles characterized by high temperatures and torrential rains -found in Central Africa - Central America - the Amazon basic - and Southeast Asia






12. Polar bears - musk oxen - and arctic hens






13. Each member of a food chain uses some of the energy it obtains from its food for its own metabolism and loses some additional energy in the form of heat






14. 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






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






16. 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






17. Deer - fox - woodchuck - and squirrel






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






19. Crawling and sessile organsms






20. Includes the community and the environment and usually all five kingdoms






21. 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






22. Used to include only the population and not their physical environment






23. 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






24. 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






25. Include reproduction and protection from predators and destructive weather






26. 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






27. Animals that consume only plants or plant foods






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






29. Animals that consume dead animals






30. Vegetation such as vines and eppiphytes






31. When a parasite benefits at the expense of the host






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






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






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






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






36. More than 70% of earth -plants have little controlling influence in communities -most stable ecosystems; the conditions affecting temperature - amount of available oxygen and cabon dioxide - and amount of suspended or dissolve materials are very stab






37. An essential component of amino acids and nucleic acids - which are the building blocks of all living things






38. Affect the type of vegetation that can be supported






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






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






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






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






43. Trees such as beech - maple - oaks - and willows shed their leaves during cold winters months






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






45. Determined by the same decisive factors-temperatures and rainfall






46. Animals that feed on secondary consumer






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






48. 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






49. 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






50. Animals that eat both plants and animals