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AP Biology Ecosystems — practice questions

Explore 22 free Ecosystems questions in AP Biology Biology. Open each question or exercise to read its content, reference answers and available explanation.

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Ecosystems questions and exercises with answers

Showing questions 1–22 of 22.

In ecology, a food chain is defined as a linear sequence of organisms through which pass:Read the answer and worked solution →The position an organism occupies in a food chain is called its:Read the answer and worked solution →Herbivores that consume the primary producers are called:Read the answer and worked solution →Carnivores that eat the primary consumers are called:Read the answer and worked solution →Organisms that feed on decaying organic matter are called decomposers or:Read the answer and worked solution →Organisms capable of synthesising their own food are grouped as:Read the answer and worked solution →Energy is acquired by living things in how many ways?Read the answer and worked solution →A grazing food web has which organisms at its base?Read the answer and worked solution →A detrital food web differs from a grazing food web in that its base consists of:Read the answer and worked solution →Autotrophs are described as capable of using which carbon source?Read the answer and worked solution →Productivity within an ecosystem is defined as the percentage of entering energy incorporated into:Read the answer and worked solution →Net primary productivity is used because organisms need to use some energy for their own:Read the answer and worked solution →The recycling of inorganic matter between living organisms and their environment is called a:Read the answer and worked solution →After a limited number of trophic energy transfers, the energy remaining may not be enough to:Read the answer and worked solution →Gross and net primary productivity differ by the energy that producers spend on:Read the answer and worked solution →Carbon is described as which most abundant element in living organisms?Read the answer and worked solution →The nitrogen cycle is introduced with the observation that getting nitrogen into the living world is:Read the answer and worked solution →Stop on the right trophic levelRead the answer and worked solution →Order the grazing food chainRead the answer and worked solution →Match each ecosystem termRead the answer and worked solution →True or false: ecosystemsRead the answer and worked solution →Complete the energy flowRead the answer and worked solution →

Worked practice questions

In ecology, a food chain is defined as a linear sequence of organisms through which pass:

  1. Nutrients and energy
  2. Water and minerals
  3. Oxygen and nitrogen
  4. Sunlight and heat
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Correct answer: A. Nutrients and energy

1. A food chain describes what moves between organisms. 2. In ecology, a food chain is a linear sequence of organisms. 3. Through that sequence nutrients and energy pass. 4. Primary producers, primary consumers and higher-level consumers describe the structure. _Source: OpenStax Biology 2e (CC BY 4.0), Ch 46 'Ecosystems', sections 46.1-46.3_

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The position an organism occupies in a food chain is called its:

  1. Biotic potential
  2. Trophic level
  3. Ecological niche
  4. Population size
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Correct answer: B. Trophic level

1. Each step of a food chain has a name. 2. A food chain is a linear sequence of organisms. 3. Each organism in a food chain occupies what is called a trophic level. 4. Producers sit at the base and consumers stack above them. _Source: OpenStax Biology 2e (CC BY 4.0), Ch 46 'Ecosystems', sections 46.1-46.3_

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Herbivores that consume the primary producers are called:

  1. Primary consumers
  2. Primary producers
  3. Tertiary consumers
  4. Chief decomposers
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Correct answer: A. Primary consumers

1. Consumers are numbered by how far they sit from the producers. 2. Primary producers form the base of a food chain. 3. The organisms that consume the primary producers are herbivores. 4. Those herbivores are the primary consumers. _Source: OpenStax Biology 2e (CC BY 4.0), Ch 46 'Ecosystems', sections 46.1-46.3_

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More Biology topics

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