Exam Questions and CORRECT Answers
Both matter and energy are required by all living organisms. Matter can be acquired from
surroundings but energy must be originally captured from _________ via _________.
a. sunlight/photosynthesis
b. cellular respiration/sunlight
c. photosynthesis/animals
d. plants/symbiosis
e. carbon dioxide/cellular respiration - CORRECT ANSWER -a
If the sun were to suddenly stop providing energy to Earth, most ecosystems would cease to
exist. Which of the following ecosystems would likely survive the longest following the
hypothetical disaster?
a. grassland
b. deep-sea vent system
c. tropical rainforest
d. tundra
e. temperate lake - CORRECT ANSWER -b
High levels of atmospheric CO2 affect all of the following EXCEPT...
a. pH of the oceans
b. ability of the atmosphere to trap heat
c. terrestrial plant growth
d. ability of some organisms to make shells or exoskeletons
e. predominance of acid rain in New England - CORRECT ANSWER -c
,If the direction of the Earth's rotation reversed, the MOST predictable effect would be...
a. no more night and day
b. a drastic change in the length of a year
c. winds blowing from west to east along the equator
d. a lost of seasonal variation in high latitudes
e. the elimination of ocean currents - CORRECT ANSWER -c
Imagine there is a new species-specific fishing regulation that mandates only adult fish of this
species that are 75 cm or longer may be kept and shorter fish must be released. Based on your
knowledge of natural selection, you would predict that the average length of the adult fish
population will...
a. remain unchanged.
b. gradually decline (over many generations).
c. rapidly decline (in 2 generations).
d. gradually increase (over many generations).
e. rapidly increase (in 2 generations). - CORRECT ANSWER -b
Which of the following correctly defines a population?
a. All the members of a species, no matter where on the planet they are found.
b. All individuals who have similar cell types (prokaryote or eukaryote).
c. Individuals of the same species in a defined area.
d. Individuals of a different species living in a common location.
e. All the members of one species but separated into 2 different areas. - CORRECT
ANSWER -c
, Carrying capacity is...
a. never reached by marine organisms because of the vast resources of the ocean.
b. fixed for most species over most of their range most of the time.
c. the maximum populations size that a particular environment can support.
d. determined by density and dispersion data.
e. the term used to describe the stress a population undergoes due to limited resources. -
CORRECT ANSWER -c
Why do populations grow more slowly as they approach their carrying capacity?
a. Density-dependent factors lead to fewer births and increased mortality.
b. Density-independent factors lead to fewer births and increased mortality.
c. Hormonal changes promote higher death rates in crowded populations.
d. Individuals voluntarily stop mating so that overcrowding does not occur.
e. The incoming energy is spread out over a larger area so that the population can experience a
higher rate of growth. - CORRECT ANSWER -a
Which of the following is NOT a density-dependent factor that can regulate population growth?
a. Territoriality
b. Disease
c. Hurricanes
d. Reproductive rates
e. Resource competition - CORRECT ANSWER -c
In which of the following does the per capita rate of increase approach zero as the population
size nears its carrying capacity?