All High School Biology Resources
Example Questions
Example Question #1 : Understand Trophic Levels And Flow Of Energy
In a certain food web, rabbits and turtles both feed off of grass. To what trophic level do the rabbits belong?
Prey
Secondary consumer
Primary consumer
Mid-level consumer
Primary consumer
Producers are always the lowest level of a trophic hierarchy, and consist of the autotrophs in the system. Organisms that feed off of producers are considered primary consumers.
In this example, the grasses are the producers. Both the rabbits and the turtles will be primary consumers.
An organism that feeds on primary consumers is considered a secondary consumer.
Example Question #517 : High School Biology
A __________ is considered an autotroph, whereas a __________ is considered a heterotroph.
cyanobacteria . . . cow
cow . . . cyanobacteria
green algae . . . cyanobacteria
mushroom . . . cow
cyanobacteria . . . cow
Autotrophs are organisms that are capable of generating biological energy from inorganic sources, such as sunlight in the case of photoautotrophs. Cyanobacteria are thought to be the prokaryotic precursor to chloroplasts through the endosymbiotic theory because they are able to perform photosynthesis. Cyanobacteria are, thus, photoautotrophs. Green algae are another type of photoautotroph.
Heterotrophs use organic materials from the environment to general energy. Animals are heterotrophs, including cows.
Saprotrophs, many of which are fungi, gain nutrients from decaying organic material. Mushrooms are saprotrophs.
Example Question #2 : Identifying Levels
Which of the following defines a community in ecology?
Organisms that are part of the same species, share a geographical location and can reproduce with each other.
All the living things and nonliving things that share a common location and rely on each other for survival.
Are all the components of planet earth that are able to support life.
Group of different species that are found in the same location and interact with each other.
Group of different species that are found in the same location and interact with each other.
Ecology is essentially the study of all the living things on the planet and their relationships with each other. Ecology can be organized into levels: population, community, ecosystem, and biosphere. A population is a group of organisms that belong to the same species, share an area, and can reproduce with each other. A community is composed of the different species that can be found in a geographical location. An ecosystem encompasses all abiotic and biotic factors in an area. The biosphere refers to those parts of the earth that are able to support and sustain life.
Example Question #3 : Ecology
Which of the following is an example of a decomposer?
Flower
Mushroom
Caterpillar
Lion
Mushroom
Within ecosystems, there is always a transfer of energy, usually from one organism to another. There is also energy transfer between abiotic and biotic factors. The caterpillar and lion are examples of consumers because they are unable to make their own food and must rely on other living organisms for energy. Consumers are subdivided into herbivores, omnivores, and carnivores. Producers are those living things in the ecosystem that generally produce energy using photosynthesis or light. Organisms that break down dead or decaying matter for energy are called decomposers. These are most likely bacteria, fungi (such as mushrooms), and some worms.
Example Question #2 : Identifying Levels
Which of the following is a correct representation of a possible food chain?
Caterpillar -> Flower -> Frog -> Snake
Flower -> Caterpillar -> Frog -> Snake
Frog -> Flower -> Caterpillar -> Snake
Snake -> Caterpillar -> Flower -> Frog
Flower -> Caterpillar -> Frog -> Snake
A flower in this example is a producer, which means it will make its own energy through photosynthesis. As a result, the flower must be the first element of our chain; food chains will always start with a producer. The caterpillar, frog, and snake are consumers, meaning they will need other organisms for energy.
Example Question #1 : Food Pyramids And Food Webs
Which of the following is an example of a producer?
Bear
Green algae
Fungus
Worm
Frog
Green algae
A producer is an organism that makes its own food from the energy of the sun via photosynthesis. Green algae is a producer; it has chlorophyll pigments and can make glucose via photosynthesis. A frog is a consumer; a worm is a decomposer; a fungus is a saprophyte; a bear is a consumer.
Example Question #2 : Food Pyramids And Food Webs
What type(s) of food does an omnivore consume?
Animals only
Animals and decaying matter
Decaying matter
Plants only
Plants and animals
Plants and animals
An omnivore eats both plants and animals. Humans are an example of omnivores.
Herbivores only eat plants. Carnivores only eat animals. Detritivores eat decaying matter.
Example Question #2 : Food Pyramids And Food Webs
A certain insect eats plants. If the plants are producers, what is the insect classified as?
Predator
Autotroph
Secondary consumer
Primary consumer
Tertiary consumer
Primary consumer
Organisms that eat producers are known as primary consumers. Organisms that eat primary consumers are secondary consumers, and organisms that eat secondary consumers are tertiary consumers and so on. Autotrophs are able to fix their own carbon from the air, converting it into food e.g., glucose, and need not eat other organisms. Predators are animals that eat prey animals, thus they are a type of secondary (or higher) consumer.
Example Question #1 : Identifying Levels
The increase in concentration of a pollutant as it moves through an ecosystem is known as __________.
biomagnification
biodegradability
resistance
productivity
biomagnification
Biomagnification is described as the concentration of a pollutant increasing as it moves through the tropic levels of an ecosystem. For example, if a pollutant has a low concentration in a plant, that concentration will be much higher in the animal that eats that plant. This occurs because organisms do not have enzymes that can break down these chemicals. This process does not occur with minerals.
Example Question #2 : Identifying Levels
A plant would be categorized in which trophic level?
Producer
Secondary consumer
Primary consumer
Carnivore
Producer
Plants make up the bottom trophic level: the producers. This is because plants produce energy through photosynthesis. They do not have to eat other organisms to obtain energy, they make their own using carbon dioxide, water and sunlight.