Start learning →

AP Biology Ecology and the Biosphere — practice questions

Explore 84 free Ecology and the Biosphere questions in AP Biology Biology. Open each question or exercise to read its content, reference answers and available explanation.

Practise Ecology and the Biosphere with Quill →

Ecology and the Biosphere questions and exercises with answers

Showing questions 1–30 of 84.

An ecosystem is made up of the biotic components of an area together with the:Read the answer and worked solution →A biological community consists of the different species in an area plus:Read the answer and worked solution →Members of different species living together are called:Read the answer and worked solution →Very few living things survive below which temperature, because of metabolic constraints?Read the answer and worked solution →The Karner blue butterfly is of particular interest to population ecologists because it is:Read the answer and worked solution →At about 30 degrees north latitude, forests give way to deserts because of:Read the answer and worked solution →Two places at the same latitude can hold different ecosystems because of factors such as:Read the answer and worked solution →Light availability is limited in aquatic ecosystems because sunlight is absorbed by water and by:Read the answer and worked solution →At hydrothermal vents, some bacteria obtain energy from:Read the answer and worked solution →Water reaches its maximum density at:Read the answer and worked solution →The deepest water of an ice-covered lake is oxygen poor because:Read the answer and worked solution →Fall turnover in a lake happens when surface water cools to 4 degrees Celsius and then:Read the answer and worked solution →Upwelling is ecologically important because water moving from the ocean bottom to the surface brings up:Read the answer and worked solution →Marine organisms risk losing water to their surroundings because seawater has:Read the answer and worked solution →Amphibians and reptiles are more limited in their geographic distribution than birds because they:Read the answer and worked solution →Soil influences plant distribution through its pH, nutrient content and:Read the answer and worked solution →Oxygen availability becomes a limiting factor for organisms living:Read the answer and worked solution →Wind matters as an abiotic factor mainly because it influences the rate of:Read the answer and worked solution →Biotic or abiotic?Read the answer and worked solution →Match each ecology term to its meaningRead the answer and worked solution →True or false: the biosphereRead the answer and worked solution →Walk north from the equatorRead the answer and worked solution →Complete the lake turnover ruleRead the answer and worked solution →Which one does not belong?Read the answer and worked solution →Which geneticist wrote that nothing makes sense in biology except in the light of evolution?Read the answer and worked solution →Which ancient Greek philosopher emphasized that species were static and unchanging?Read the answer and worked solution →Which Scottish geologist proposed that geological change accumulates gradually over long periods?Read the answer and worked solution →Darwin traveled around the world on HMS Beagle from:Read the answer and worked solution →The Galapagos Islands, where Darwin studied finches, lie west of:Read the answer and worked solution →Darwin noted seed-eating finches had which kind of beak?Read the answer and worked solution →

Worked practice questions

An ecosystem is made up of the biotic components of an area together with the:

  1. Abiotic components
  2. Aquatic components
  3. Migratory components
  4. Symbiotic components
Show answer and solution

Correct answer: A. Abiotic components

1. Ecology studies living things and the setting they live in together. 2. The ecosystem is composed of all the biotic components, the living things, in an area. 3. It also includes the abiotic components, the non-living things, of that area. 4. Water, soil, temperature and light are abiotic parts of an ecosystem. _Source: OpenStax Biology for AP(R) Courses (CC BY 4.0), Ch 35 'Ecology and the Biosphere', sections 35.1-35.5_

Open this question →

A biological community consists of the different species in an area plus:

  1. Their common ancestors
  2. Their interactions
  3. Their fossil record
  4. Their genome sizes
Show answer and solution

Correct answer: B. Their interactions

1. A community is more than a list of the species present. 2. A biological community consists of the different species within an area, typically a three-dimensional space. 3. It also includes the interactions within and among these species. 4. Those interactions are what community ecologists actually study. _Source: OpenStax Biology for AP(R) Courses (CC BY 4.0), Ch 35 'Ecology and the Biosphere', sections 35.1-35.5_

Open this question →

Members of different species living together are called:

  1. Heterospecifics
  2. Conspecifics
  3. Homospecifics
  4. Monospecifics
Show answer and solution

Correct answer: A. Heterospecifics

1. Ecologists need one word for members of the same species and another for members of different ones. 2. Ecologists also study interactions among various species. 3. Members of different species are called heterospecifics. 4. The counterpart term for the same species is conspecifics. _Source: OpenStax Biology for AP(R) Courses (CC BY 4.0), Ch 35 'Ecology and the Biosphere', sections 35.1-35.5_

Open this question →

How to practise

  1. Choose a Ecology and the Biosphere question and try to work out your answer.
  2. Open the question to check the correct answer and read its worked solution.
  3. Continue in the app for bite-sized lessons, explanations and review with Quill. You can start without creating an account.

More Biology topics

Gene ExpressionEvolution and the Origin of SpeciesDNA Structure and FunctionCell StructureBiological MacromoleculesCellular RespirationMetabolismPhotosynthesis