Diversity and Adaptations of Organisms Unit Study Guide
1. What term describes the length of time the embryo develops in its mother?_____________________________
2. Why do you think the gestation period for elephants (almost two years) is longer than that for dogs (about 2
months)?___________________________________________________________________________________
3. What organ provides food and carries away waste from the embryo?___________________________________
4. What organ does the placenta attach the young to?_________________________________________________
5. What organ does the embryo of the placental mammal grow in?_______________________________________
6. What is a carnivore?___________________________________________________________________________
7. What is the purpose of a rabbit’s long ears?________________________________________________________
8. What do a porcupine, a guinea pig, and a chinchilla have in common?___________________________________
9. What would happen if a rodent were to stop chewing and gnawing?____________________________________
10. Which type of placental mammal has opposable thumbs, forward-facing eyes, and a large brain?_____________
11. If a skeleton has a skull with large incisors, what can you infer about the animal?__________________________
12. What is the purpose of the giraffe’s adaptation of a long neck?_________________________________________
13. Give an example of a mammal that each characteristic describes.
a.
Rabbits, hares, pikas_______________________________________________________________________
b. Rodents_________________________________________________________________________________
c. Flying mammals___________________________________________________________________________
d. Insectivores______________________________________________________________________________
e. Carnivores______________________________________________________________________________
f.
Trunk-nosed mammals____________________________________________________________________
g. Toothless mammals_______________________________________________________________________
h. Hoofed mammals_________________________________________________________________________
i.
Cetaceans________________________________________________________________________________
j.
Manatees and dugongs_____________________________________________________________________
k. Primates_________________________________________________________________________________
14. An organism that can make its own food is called a _________________________________________________.
15. Consumers that eat both plants and animals are called______________________________________________.
16. Bacteria and fungi are known as ______________________because they break down the remains of organisms.
17. The first organism in a food chain is always a ______________________________________________________.
18. The energy role of a grizzly bear is that of a __________________________because it cannot make its own food.
19. An organism that eats only plants is a ___________________________________ consumer.
20. Vultures, which feed on bodies of dead organisms, are_______________________________________________.
21. The many overlapping food chains in an ecosystem make up a ________________________________________.
22. A group of land ecosystems with similar climates and organisms is called a ______________________________.
23. Which biome is extremely cold and dry?__________________________________________________________
24. The _____________ biome only receives 25cm of rain a year and may have large temperature shifts every day.
25. A bird eating berries and depositing the seeds in its wastes is an example of _____________________________.
26. Small, light organisms such as baby spiders can be dispersed by_______________________________________.
27. What would happen to other organisms if all the plants in an ecosystem died?____________________________
28. Define independent variable.____________________________________________________________________
29. Define dependent variable._____________________________________________________________________
30. Define control._______________________________________________________________________________
31. Define controlled variable.______________________________________________________________________
32. A student wants to know if dish soap affects the growth of plants. The student has two groups of the same type
of plants. The plants in group 2 are given daily doses of dish soap. The plants in group 1 are not given any dish
soap. The student measures the height of the plants weekly.
A.
What is the independent variable?___________________________________________________________
B. What is the dependent variable?_____________________________________________________________
C. What is the control?_______________________________________________________________________
D. List a controlled variable.___________________________________________________________________
33. Draw a food chain with yourself in it.