BIO1000A, APES1002A, APES1003A
INTRODUCTORY LIFE SCIENCE
3 DECEMBER 2021
QUESTION BANK
By Amatullah Chiosa
“Ecology, management and the environment are all fundamental topics and can be easily
understood by watching documentaries and geographical channels but why is it that when we
are put to the test it becomes so difficult to recall and make sense of? Honestly, that question still
remains unanswered, yet this document serves as a way to create a visual image like the ones
created in documentaries so that it can be easily understood. Best of luck!”
CONCEPTS COVERED
Overview of ecology
Ecosystems
Species interactions and communities
Climate biodiversity
Water bodies
South African biomes
Environment, management, and sustainability
Environmental impact assessments
Hazards
Aquatic ecosystems
Seasons
Protecting Diversity
, Multiple Choice Questions
1. All of the following are correct about the food chain except;
A. Bacteria and fungi act as decomposers that recycle nutrients
B. Producers are always at the bottom of any food chain
C. Energy is lost at each tropic level
D. Food chains never have more than or 5 tropic levels
E. Pesticides tend to be concentrated at the producer level because producers have the
largest mass in a food chain
2. The result of the action of decomposers is
A. Decrease in ammonia
B. Increase in transpiration
C. Nitrogen fixation
D. Decrease in oxygen
E. Increase in oxygen
3. Which of the following shows the correct order of the biomes as you move from equator
to the north pole in the western hemisphere?
A. Tropical rain forest ⟶desert ⟶ temperate rain forest ⟶ taiga ⟶ tundra
B. Tundra ⟶ taiga ⟶ temperate deciduous forest ⟶ desert ⟶ tropical rain forest
C. Desert ⟶ taiga ⟶ tundra ⟶temperate deciduous forest ⟶ tropical rain forest
D. Tundra ⟶ temperate deciduous forest ⟶ taiga ⟶ desert ⟶ tropical rain forest
E. Desert ⟶ tropical rain forest ⟶ temperate deciduous forest ⟶ taiga ⟶tundra
4. Which of the following is a density-independent factor?
A. Disease
B. Famine
C. Floods
D. Predation
E. Increase in toxins in the environment
5. Humans eat corn and other vegetables. Humans also eat beef from cattle that were corn-
fed. In those cases, cattle and humans occupy which of the following trophic levels?
A. Producer and primary consumer
B. Primary consumer and secondary consumer
C. Secondary consumer and tertiary consumer
D. Tertiary consumer and quaternary consumer
E. Both are primary consumers
6. Factors that influence population density include which of the following?
i. Predation
ii. Interspecies competition
iii. Intraspecies competition
A. i only
B. ii only
C. i and iii only
D. ii and iii only
INTRODUCTORY LIFE SCIENCE
3 DECEMBER 2021
QUESTION BANK
By Amatullah Chiosa
“Ecology, management and the environment are all fundamental topics and can be easily
understood by watching documentaries and geographical channels but why is it that when we
are put to the test it becomes so difficult to recall and make sense of? Honestly, that question still
remains unanswered, yet this document serves as a way to create a visual image like the ones
created in documentaries so that it can be easily understood. Best of luck!”
CONCEPTS COVERED
Overview of ecology
Ecosystems
Species interactions and communities
Climate biodiversity
Water bodies
South African biomes
Environment, management, and sustainability
Environmental impact assessments
Hazards
Aquatic ecosystems
Seasons
Protecting Diversity
, Multiple Choice Questions
1. All of the following are correct about the food chain except;
A. Bacteria and fungi act as decomposers that recycle nutrients
B. Producers are always at the bottom of any food chain
C. Energy is lost at each tropic level
D. Food chains never have more than or 5 tropic levels
E. Pesticides tend to be concentrated at the producer level because producers have the
largest mass in a food chain
2. The result of the action of decomposers is
A. Decrease in ammonia
B. Increase in transpiration
C. Nitrogen fixation
D. Decrease in oxygen
E. Increase in oxygen
3. Which of the following shows the correct order of the biomes as you move from equator
to the north pole in the western hemisphere?
A. Tropical rain forest ⟶desert ⟶ temperate rain forest ⟶ taiga ⟶ tundra
B. Tundra ⟶ taiga ⟶ temperate deciduous forest ⟶ desert ⟶ tropical rain forest
C. Desert ⟶ taiga ⟶ tundra ⟶temperate deciduous forest ⟶ tropical rain forest
D. Tundra ⟶ temperate deciduous forest ⟶ taiga ⟶ desert ⟶ tropical rain forest
E. Desert ⟶ tropical rain forest ⟶ temperate deciduous forest ⟶ taiga ⟶tundra
4. Which of the following is a density-independent factor?
A. Disease
B. Famine
C. Floods
D. Predation
E. Increase in toxins in the environment
5. Humans eat corn and other vegetables. Humans also eat beef from cattle that were corn-
fed. In those cases, cattle and humans occupy which of the following trophic levels?
A. Producer and primary consumer
B. Primary consumer and secondary consumer
C. Secondary consumer and tertiary consumer
D. Tertiary consumer and quaternary consumer
E. Both are primary consumers
6. Factors that influence population density include which of the following?
i. Predation
ii. Interspecies competition
iii. Intraspecies competition
A. i only
B. ii only
C. i and iii only
D. ii and iii only
