Ecosystems quiz with answers for introduction to ecology.

📚 Quick Study Guide

🌍 Ecosystem: A community of living organisms (biotic factors) interacting with their non-living environment (abiotic factors). 🌱 Biotic Factors: Living components like plants, animals, and microorganisms. They influence each other's survival. ☀️ Abiotic Factors: Non-living components such as sunlight, temperature, water, and soil. These determine which organisms can survive in a particular environment. ➡️ Trophic Levels: The position an organism occupies in a food chain. Examples include producers, primary consumers, secondary consumers, and decomposers. ♻️ Energy Flow: Energy flows through an ecosystem from producers to consumers. About 10% of energy is transferred from one trophic level to the next; the rest is lost as heat. ⚖️ Balance: Ecosystems maintain balance through complex interactions. Changes in one factor can affect the entire system. 📈 Population Dynamics: Study of how populations change in size and composition over time, influenced by birth rates, death rates, immigration, and emigration.

🧪 Practice Quiz

1. Which of the following is the BEST definition of an ecosystem?
   1. A group of organisms of the same species living in the same area.
   2. The non-living components of an environment.
   3. A community of living organisms interacting with their non-living environment.
   4. A single organism and its immediate surroundings.
2. Sunlight, water, and soil are examples of:
   1. Biotic factors.
   2. Trophic levels.
   3. Abiotic factors.
   4. Decomposers.
3. Which of the following organisms is a producer?
   1. A lion.
   2. A mushroom.
   3. A grasshopper.
   4. A tree.
4. In a food chain, what is the role of a primary consumer?
   1. To decompose dead organisms.
   2. To produce its own food through photosynthesis.
   3. To eat producers.
   4. To eat secondary consumers.
5. What happens to most of the energy as it moves from one trophic level to the next?
   1. It is converted into biomass.
   2. It is lost as heat.
   3. It is recycled back to the producers.
   4. It is stored in the environment.
6. Which of the following describes the study of how populations change in size and composition over time?
   1. Ecosystem dynamics
   2. Population dynamics
   3. Trophic cascade
   4. Community ecology
7. What is the approximate percentage of energy transferred from one trophic level to the next in an ecosystem?
   1. $1\%$
   2. $10\%$
   3. $50\%$
   4. $90\%$