Energy Flow Practice Test
Do Not Write On The Practice Test
Completion
Complete each sentence or statement.
1. Organisms that break down organic matter and return it to the environment are called
____________________.
2. In a four-level energy pyramid, if the first level contains 500 calories of energy, the third level will contain
approximately ____________________ calories.
Figure 3–1
3. Of the organisms represented in Figure 3–1, the organisms in the oceans with the smallest total biomass are
most likely the ____________________.
4. The organisms in the greatest numbers in Figure 3–1 are the ____________________.
Multiple Choice
Identify the letter of the choice that best completes the statement or answers the question.
____ 5. The algae at the beginning of the food chain in Figure 3–1 (from above) are
a. consumers.
b. decomposers.
c. producers.
d. heterotrophs.
____ 6. How does winter hibernation benefit a bear?
a. the energy needed to stay alive in winter is reduced
b. the energy needed to store fat is increased
c. the amount of food gathered in summer is reduced.
d. it gives the bear a way to live without using energy
____ 7. The branch of biology dealing with interactions among organisms and between organisms and their
environment is called
a. economy.
b. modeling.
c. recycling.
d. ecology.
____ 8. The combined portions of Earth in which all living things exist is called the
a. biome.
b. community.
c. ecosystem.
d. biosphere.
____ 9. All of the members of a particular species that live in one area are called a(an)
a. biome.
b. population.
c. community.
d. ecosystem.
____ 10. Which of the following descriptions about the organization of an ecosystem is correct?
a. Communities make up species, which make up populations.
b. Populations make up species, which make up communities.
c. Species make up communities, which make up populations.
d. Species make up populations, which make up communities.
____ 11. An organism that uses energy to produce its own food supply from inorganic compounds using
chemosynthesis is called a(an)
a. heterotroph.
b. consumer.
c. detritivore.
d. chemotroph
____ 12. The simplest grouping of more than one kind of organism in the biosphere is
a. a population.
b. a community.
c. an ecosystem.
d. a species.
____ 13. An organism that cannot make its own food is called a(an)
a. heterotroph.
b. chemotroph.
c. autotroph.
d. producer.
____ 14. Which of the following organisms does NOT require sunlight to live?
a. chemosynthetic bacteria
c. trees
b. algae
d. photosynthetic bacteria
____ 15. The total amount of living tissue within a given trophic level is called the
a. organic mass.
b. trophic mass.
c. energy mass.
d. biomass.
____ 16. What must balance the energy needed by a predator as it chases prey?
a. the energy needed for the prey to run away
b. the energy stored in the predators body
c. the energy stored in the prey animals body
d. the amount of energy stored in the ecosystem
____ 17. Mr. Filiaga’s dog has become obese. How would a biologist describe the cause?
a. more energy is being expended to gather food than energy being consumed
b. food gathering and energy expenditure are no longer part of the dog’s life
c. energy from the sun can now be used by dogs to store energy
d. less energy is being expended to gather food than energy being consumed
e. Mr. Filiaga is planning on eating the dog for Thanksgiving.
____ 18. In which way are plants in a sunny mountain meadow and sulfur bacteria in a deep-sea volcanic vent alike?
a. They both use photosynthesis to make their own food.
b. They both produce carbohydrates and oxygen.
c. They both use chemosynthesis to produce their own food.
d. They both produce carbon and hydrogen.
____ 19. What animals eat both producers and consumers?
a. herbivores
b. omnivores
c. chemotrophs
d. autotrophs
____ 20. A bird stalks, kills, and then eats an insect. Based on its behavior, which ecological terms describe the bird?
a. herbivore, decomposer
c. carnivore, consumer
b. producer, heterotroph
d. autotroph, herbivore
____ 21. Most of the energy available to a consumer trophic level is used by organisms for
a. transfer to the next trophic level.
b. respiration, movement, and reproduction.
c. producing inorganic chemical compounds.
d. performing photosynthesis.
____ 22. Which food chain correctly lists the steps according to energy flow?
a. sun  grass  deer  mountain lion
b. mountain lion  deer  grass  sun
c. grass  sun  mountain lion  deer
d. deer  mountain lion  grass  sun
Figure 3-2
____ 23. From the information in figure 3-2, how much energy is lost between a level the one above it?
a. ten percent
b. fifty percent
c. ninety percent
d. one hundred
percent
____ 24. In figure 3-2, why is energy lost as you move up the pyramid?
a. solar energy does not affect animals
b. animals use energy for heat and movement
c. plants can store energy but animals cannot
d. insects are not efficient in their use of nutrients
____ 25. In figure 3-2, what happens to the number of organisms as you move up the pyramid?
a. it increases
b. it decreases
c. it stays the same d. it is not shown
____ 26. Which of the following best describes the use of energy used to provide food in the United States?
a. Americans use more energy than any other country to grow our food
b. Americans use more fossil fuel energy to grow food than any other country
c. Americans use more animal energy than other countries to grow food
d. Americans use less than other countries to grow food because of our small population.
____ 27. Many animal products eaten by Americans are grown in “factory farms”. What does this term mean?
a. animals are raised on large ranches until they are ready to eat
b. animals are grown indoors or are fattened in feedlots until they are ready to eat
c. animals are cloned and grown in test tubes until they are large enough to live on their own
d. animals raised in family homes and sent to feedlots when they are adults
____ 28. Two food additives have been blamed for increasing the caloric energy in foods without providing additional
nutrition. They are sometimes referred to as “empty calories”. What would you look for on a food wrapper
that indicated they were present?
a. hydrogenated vegetable oil, corn syrup
c. whey protein, wheat bran
b. mono sodium glutamate, salt
d. whole milk solids, fish meal
____ 29. Why might a predator switch the type of prey it feeds on?
a. Sometimes predators do not need to use food energy
b. less energy is needed to catch the new prey
c. more energy is needed to catch the new prey
d. predators lose energy by preying on the same food source
____ 30. The idea that all organisms in an ecosystem are self-reliant while still having responsibilities to each other is
called.
a. biosphere
c. trophic level
b. chemosynthesis
d. interdependence
Other: Using Science Skills
Figure 3–4
31. In Figure 3–4, list the names of all the producers.
32. In Figure 3–4, how many first-level consumers are there for each producer?
33. In Figure 3–4, compare the amount of energy available to the wolf if it eats only first-level consumers with
the amount of energy available to the wolf if it eats only second-level consumers.
Figure 3–5
`
34. How many kilocalories (kcal) will be available to the carnivore in Figure 3–5, Diagram I, store? Explain.
35. In Figure 3-5 Diagram II is a Biomass ecological pyramid. Explain why there is more biomass of bluegrass
than any of the other trophic levels that are in Diagram II.
36. In Figure 3-5 Diagram I is an Energy ecological pyramid. Diagram the food chain for that pyramid (use
words and arrows).
37. Ecologists typically use 3 methods of collecting data to explain complex relationships, such as modeling
similar to the ecological pyramids in Figure 3–5. What other two processes might an ecologist use to collect
data?