IB Biology Ecosystems Part C Exam 2024


  1. Which of the following are all abiotic components of an ecosystem?

A. Dirt, water and algae

B. Bacteria, sand and rock

C. Water, Sun and fungus

D.Water, dirt and rock


  1. Which of the following terms encompasses all the others?

A. Heterotrophs

B. Herbivores

C. Carnivores

D. Primary consumers


  1. Which is the proper order from smallest to largest of the hierarchy of life?

A. organism-population-species-community-ecosystem-biomes-biosphere

B. species-population-organism-community-ecosystem-biomes-biosphere

C. organism-species-population-community-ecosystem-biomes-biosphere

D. organism-population-species-community-ecosystem-biosphere-biomes


  1. How can a chi-squared test be used in ecological research?

A. To test the effect of an abiotic factor on one plant species

B) To test whether two species tend to live together

C. To test whether one population of plants is taller than another

D. To test whether one species is more tolerant to heavy metals than another


  1. How is energy passed from one trophic level to the next?

I. Food 

II. Light

III. Heat

A. I only

B. I and II only

C. II and IlI only

D. I, Il and II I


  1. Which is a density-independent factor for a kangaroo?

A. Forest fire

B. Predation 

C. Overproduction of offspring

D. Spread of disease





  1.  In an area of forest measuring 100 m by 100 m, samples were taken to

estimate the number of silver maple (Acer saccharinum) trees in the forest. The

number of trees counted in each of five areas of 400 m2 was recorded.

​​

Approximately how many silver maple trees are in the 10000m2 area of forest?

A. 5

B. 25

C. 125

D. 625


  1. What restricts the length of a food chain?

A. Energy losses between the trophic levels

B. A greater biomass at the higher trophic levels

C. The number of species in the food web

D. The size of the individual organism


  1. In a pond, two species of fish feed on insects and worms. The insects feed

on the different green plants that live in the water. What constitutes a population

in this ecosystem?

A. All the living organisms

B. All the animals

C. All the fish

D. All the fish of one species


  1. Which of the following statements is correct

A. Capture-Mark-Release-Recapture can be used to estimate the population of

sessile organisms

B. A chi-square test of association will determine whether two species have a

positive or negative association

C. Nitrogen fixing bacteria have a mutualistic relationship with plants

D. Density-independent factors have more of an impact on a higher population

Density


  1. Which of the following are required for the sustainability of an

Ecosystem?

I. Availability of energy

II. Detoxification of waste

III. Quaternary consumers 

IV. Nutrient cycling 


A. I and Il only

B. I, II, and III only

C. I, II, and IV only

D. I, II, III and IV


  1. The diagram shows the energy flow between five "sinks" in a terrestrial ecosystem 

In a typical terrestrial ecosystem, which trophic level would have the highest biomass? 

A. Autotrophs 

B. Primary consumers

C. Secondary consumers

D. Detritus feeders


  1. Black walnut (Juglans nigra) secretes the chemical juglone into the soil

surrounding its roots. Juglone inhibits cell respiration in other species of plants.

What does this example illustrate?


A. Mutualism

B. Intraspecific competition

C. Allelopathy

D. Parasitism


  1.  Over time, the hull of a sunken ship may become colonized by a wide

range of marine organisms. What term is used to describe all of the organisms

living in and on a sunken ship?

A. A community

B. An ecological niche

C. A population

D. An ecosystem









  1. What is a difference between detritivores and saprotrophs?



Detritivores

Saprotrophs

  1. Feed on living organic matter 

Feed on dead organic matter 

  1. Autotrophic 

Heterotrophic 

  1. Ingest organic matter and then digest it 

Digest organic matter and then absorb it 

  1. Include fungi and bacteria 

Include plants and animals


     16. Which statement applies to transfers in an ecosystem?

A. Green plants can transfer heat energy from the sun into chemical energy.

B. The greatest loss of energy occurs towards the end of a food chain.

C. Production of carbon dioxide by respiration results in loss of biomass in a

food chain.

D. Both energy and nutrients are finite and must be recycled. 


     17. At each trophic level, energy is lost. How is this energy regained by the

ecosystem?

A. Heat

B. Photosynthesis

C. Recycling 

D. Death of consumers


    18. Animals in the highest trophic level of a food chain will often be the

largest in body size but will be few in numbers. What accounts for the small

numbers?

A. Food eaten by animals at the highest trophic level has a lower energy content

per gram

B. Energy losses through the food chain

C. Conversion of heat energy into chemical energy

D. Biomass of producers is small


   19. Which processes occur in an ecosystem?

I. Biomass increases in each successive trophic level.

II. Inorganic nutrients are recycled.

III. Chemical energy is stored in carbon compounds.

A. I and II only

B. I and III only

C. II and III only

D. I, II and III



    20. Which organism would be classified as a saprotroph? 

A. A single-celled eukaryote that obtains its carbon compounds by digestion photosynthesis and ingestion of other single-celled organisms

B. A jellyfish that uses the stinging cells in its tentacles to paralyze its prey, which is passed to an internal gastric cavity through a single opening

C. A fungus that feeds by secretion of digestive enzymes onto its food and absorption of digested material

D. A dung beetle that feeds on the fecal material left behind by other animals


   21. What is lost between trophic levels in ecosystems and cannot be recycled? 

A. Heat 

B. Nitrogen

C. Carbon compounds

D. Biomass


   22. The Australian pitcher plant (Cephalotus follicularis) is a green plant that

traps and feeds on flies and other live insects. What is this plant's mode of

nutrition?

A. Producer and saprotroph

B. Autotroph and detritivore

C. Autotroph and heterotroph

D. Consumer and saprotroph


   23. Which level(s) of ecological complexity involves) biotic factors but not abiotic factors?

I. Community Organism

II. Ecosystem species

III. Population

A. I only 

B. II only

C. I and II only

D. I and III only











    24. The following diagram shows part of food web from Yellowstone Park


What would be the short-term effects on the populations of the other species if

the gray wolf were exterminated?



Beaver

Moose

Elk

Aspen

  1. Increase 

Decrease

Increase

Increase

  1. Decrease

Decrease

Decrease

Decrease

  1. Increase 

Increase

Decrease

Increase

  1. Decrease

Increase

Increase

Decrease


25. What are the effects of limiting factors?

A. They separate biotic factors from abiotic factors

B. They determine which animal is the predator and which one is the prey.

C. They regulate how many organisms live an ecosystem.

D. They determine which natural disasters will hit an area


26. What happens to the population of a species after it reaches it's carrying capacity?

A. It will increase linearly over time

B. It will remain relatively the same over time

C. It will decrease slowly over time

D. It will drop quickly in numbers due to lack of resources


27. Which human activity can change the carrying capacity of a population?

A. Studying the habitats of a particular species

B. Compiling a list of habitats in an ecosystem

C. Manipulating resources in an ecosystem

D. Using the random quadrat method to estimate the population size of a

species.






28. The pyramid of energy shows the annual gross productivity for each trophic level in the Silver Springs ecosystem in Florida. 

What does the energy pyramid show? 


A. Most energy is lost by the autotrophs

B. There are a larger number of herbivores than carnivores

C. The biggest loss of energy is when sunlight reflects from plants

D. The energy in the trophic levels is affected by seasonal changes


29. Which of the following interspecific relationships is not harmful to one of the organisms?

A. A pathogen invading a host

B. A carnivore ingesting its prey

C. A honeybee interacting with a flower

D. A herbivore grazing on the grass


30. The amount of rain in a temperate grassland can dictate the population fluxes in various trophic levels of the food web. This is an example of what?

A. Top-down control

B. Allelopathy

C. Pathogenicity

D. Bottom-up control




















ANSWER KEY:

  1. D

  2. A

  3. C

  4. B

  5. A

  6. A

  7. C

  8. A

  9. D

  10. C

  11. C

  12. A

  13. C

  14. A

  15. C

  16. C

  17. B

  18. B

  19. C

  20. C

  21. A

  22. C

  23. D

  24. D

  25. C

  26. B

  27. C

  28. A

  29. C

  30. D