Name: ___________________________________ Class: _____________________ Date: _______________
Ecosystem Interactions
Multiple Choice
Identify the choice that best completes the statement or answers the question.
____
1. In an ecosystem, organism interact with living and non-living elements. Which best describes the
living part of the ecosystem?
A. plants that grow in soil
B. the animals that breathe oxygen
C. all living things in the environment
D. plants and animals that live in water
____
2. If you stand in the middle of an open field, you are standing among individual organisms, different
species, populations, and communities. What makes up one of the populations in the field?
A. all organisms of the same species
B. the different communities in the ecosystem
C. the communities that occupy the same niche
D. all organisms that live in a certain part of the field
____
3. The rainforests in South America support many ecosystems. These ecosystems are healthy. How
does the diversity in the rainforests help determine the health of ecosystems?
A. When diversity is high, there are more resources available.
B. Resources in the environment last longer when the diversity is low.
C. Less diverse ecosystems have less competition among the residents.
D. Areas with high diversity have increased competition among the residents.
____
4. Temperature, water, soil, and air are non-living elements in an environment. Pictured below is a
toucan, a bird that lives only in warm, wet rainforests. What does this show about the role non-living
elements play in an ecosystem?
A.
B.
C.
D.
They control the changes of the seasons.
They prevent competition among populations to live and survive.
They determine which organisms can live and survive in the ecosystem.
They help control the effect humans have on the ability of organisms to survive in
the ecosystem.
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5. Dr. Dowlen is a paleontologist. She goes on a field trip to look at some interesting rocks in her area.
One place has a large, flat surface covered with fossils. Is it possible for Dr. Dowlen to learn about
the organisms of this ancient ecosystem by marking out a grid?
A. no, because there are no organisms living there now
B. no, because the area is not completely flat and the grid would not be accurate
C. yes, because the fossils are easy to see just as living organisms are
D. yes, because the fossils in the rocks represent the organisms that once lived there
____
6. A student is planting a garden. The space in which she can plant is half in the shade and half in the
sun. What types of plants should she plant so they can live and survive in those conditions of shade
and sun?
A. plants that are native to the area
B. plants that live in filtered or somewhat shady conditions
C. plants that are capable of living in both full sun and full shade
D. plants that live in sun for one side of the garden and plants that live in shade for
the other side
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7. Look at the organisms below.
What is one way these organisms interact with one another?
A. The bird produces food that the plants consume.
B. The plants produce carbon dioxide that the bird breathes.
C. The bird maintains a constant body temperature.
D. None of the above.
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8. Prairie dogs live in the grasslands of western Texas.
What is one way prairie dogs interact with living things to live and survive in their environment?
A. They dig burrows in the dirt.
B. They use oxygen from the air they breathe.
C. They tend to stay in their burrows unless it is a sunny day.
D. They sound an alarm and hide when a fox approaches.
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9. Prairie dogs live in the grasslands of western Texas.
How do prairie dogs interact with non-living things to live and survive in their environment?
A. They dig burrows in the dirt.
B. They use oxygen from the air they breathe.
C. They tend to stay in their burrows unless it is a sunny day.
D. All of the above
____ 10. Observe the plants in the illustration below.
Based on your observation, which abiotic factor most likely controls where the plants in this
ecosystem live?
A. air
B. soil
C. birds
D. sunlight
____ 11. Which of the following do you need to observe while investigating how an organism lives and
survives in its ecosystem?
A. all the living things that interact with the organism
B. all the non-living things that interact with the organism
C. other populations in the ecosystem that interact with the organism
D. all living and non-living things in the environment around the organism
____ 12. What is the process that plants use to produce food?
A. consumption
B. photosynthesis
C. primary succession
D. secondary succession
____ 13. Which type of organism uses energy derived from the sun to make its own food?
A. producer
B. consumer
C. scavenger
D. decomposer
____ 14. A certain insect species lives only in one type of plant. If humans remove that plant, what part of the
insect’s life are they negatively affecting?
A. niche
B. ecosystem
C. community
D. population
____ 15. What does a food web show?
A. how predators catch prey
B. why organisms find food
C. when organisms seek food
D. how an organism gets its energy
____ 16. The ecosystem in the illustration below has drought conditions throughout the year.
Which of the following is the main feature of the ecosystem to which plants shown in the illustration
are best able to live and survive?
A. high winds
B. lack of water
C. limited number of animals
D. low carbon dioxide levels
____ 17. Which of these describes the flow of energy in a food chain?
A. decomposers  consumers  plants  producers
B. sun  consumers  producers  decomposers
C. producers  predators  decomposers  consumers
D. sun  producers  consumers  decomposers
____ 18. Hawks eat snakes. Snakes eat toads. Toads eat grasshoppers. Grasshoppers eat plants. Which of the
statements below about this food chain is correct?
A. A toad is an herbivore.
B. A grasshopper is a producer.
C. A hawk is a second-level consumer.
D. A snake is a first-level consumer.
____ 19. The illustration below shows a food chain. The arrows show how energy flows from one living thing
to the next.
In this food chain, which describes all of the possible energy sources for the bacteria?
A. all the plants
B. all the animals
C. all the organisms
D. all the consumers
____ 20. In a forest food chain, what is the connection between the sun and a tree?
A. The sun helps chlorophyll turn oxygen into carbon dioxide.
B. The tree shades animals from the sun and gives them nutrients.
C. The sun heats up the ground so the tree’s roots can take in water.
D. The tree uses the sun’s energy to make food through photosynthesis.
____ 21. Below is a diagram that describes a basic food web. Which word correctly replaces the letter X?
A.
B.
C.
D.
predators
decomposers
first-level consumers
second-level consumers
____ 22. The picture below shows a food web.
If the number of fish dropped suddenly, which of the following is a possible short-term effect in the
food web?
A. fewer squid
B. fewer water plants
C. more seals
D. more penguins
____ 23. What is the significance of the carbon dioxide-oxygen cycle on the survival of animals?
A. They require sunlight to create oxygen.
B. They take in carbon dioxide that plants release.
C. They release carbon dioxide that plants require.
D. They take in the oxygen that plants release.
____ 24. People are part of food chains. What is the role of people in a food chain?
A. carnivore
B. consumer
C. decomposer
D. producer
____ 25. In a desert food chain, wild pigs eat cacti. Then, coyotes eat wild pigs. How does energy move in
this food chain?
A. from producers to consumers
B. from consumers to producers
C. from scavengers to herbivores
D. from carnivores to scavengers
____ 26. Some organisms live and survive in their ecosystem by breaking down dead things for food. Which
word describes these organisms?
A. consumers
B. decomposers
C. herbivores
D. producers
____ 27. How are decomposers like consumers?
A. They provide energy to producers.
B. They must capture prey in order to survive.
C. They can make their own energy from sunlight.
D. They get their energy from producers or other consumers.
____ 28. A rabbit eats grass to live and survive in its ecosystem. In the same ecosystem, bobcats eat rabbits.
How are these living elements interacting?
A. Rabbits are predators and bobcats are prey.
B. Rabbits are prey and bobcats are predators.
C. Rabbits are producers and bobcats are consumers.
D. Rabbits are consumers and bobcats are producers.
____ 29. In the carbon dioxide-oxygen cycle, which organisms take in carbon dioxide and release oxygen as
part of the process of making food?
A. plants
B. animals
C. consumers
D. plants and animals
____ 30. What is the significance of the carbon dioxide-oxygen cycle on the survival of this plant?
A.
B.
C.
D.
It requires full sunlight to create oxygen.
It takes in oxygen that animals release.
It takes in oxygen and releases carbon dioxide when producing sugars.
It takes in carbon dioxide and releases oxygen when producing sugars.