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End of Course Biology

Reporting Category5

Interdependence within Environmental Systems

1. Why are humans important to the life cycle of malaria parasites?

A. Malaria parasites kill humans.

B. Malaria parasites only live in human cells.

C. Malaria parasites can live in mutual symbiosis with humans.

D. Malaria parasites use humans for reproductive purposes.

2. This diagram shows a food web of a meadow.

Due to the insecticides, the cricket population is greatly reduced. Which population is most affected by

this event?

A. Mouse

B. Hawk

C. Grass

D. Frog

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3. The crab Lybia Tessellata carries a pair of sea anemones on its claws. The crab uses the sea anemone’s

stinging tentacles as protection, and the sea anemone obtains small food particles released by the crab as

it feeds. Which type of symbiotic relationship does this best illustrate?

A. Commensalism

B. Mutualism

C. Parasitism

D. Predation

4. Which substance is considered to be a factor affecting Earth’s ozone layer?

A. Chlorofluorocarbons

B. Ethyl Alcohol

C. Nitrogen gas

D. Water vapor

5. After an initial infection, which is the most likely reason for an increase in the producer population if

there is an increase in the carnivore population?

A. Fewer herbivores

B. Higher temperatures

C. Less food

D. More oxygen

6. Which graph represents the maximum carrying capacity of a bacterial colony?

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7. Which structure in the leaf controls the opening and closing of the stoma?

A. Cuticle

B. Epidermis

C. Guard cell

D. Spongy mesophyll

8. Which sequence shows increasing ecological levels of organization?

A. Organism, population, community, ecosystem

B. Ecosystem, population, organism, community

C. Community, ecosystem, population, organism

D. Population, organism, ecosystem, community

9. This graph represents changes in human population over period of 2,000 years.

What can be concluded from the graph?

A. Human population grew at a constant rate over the last 2,000 years.

B. Human population grew exponentially over the past 200 years.

C. Human population reached its carrying capacity around the year 1900.

D. Human population will begin to level off around 2010.

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10. Some birds live in a close association with horses. These birds feed on insects that are parasites to

horses. Which type of relationship between the horses and these birds does this illustrate?

A. Commensalism

B. Mutualism

C. Parasitism

D. Predation

11. This diagram shows the flow of carbon in a terrestrial ecosystem.

Which will most likely happen if the decomposers are removed from the carbon cycle?

A. The amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere will increase.

B. The amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere will decrease.

C. The amount of carbon dioxide used by producers will increase.

D. The amount of carbon dioxide needed by consumers will decrease.

12. Every year, monarch butterflies from Canada and the United States spend the winter in central Mexico.

The dry and mild climate in Mexico allows the monarch butterflies to survive the winter. One winter, a

week of storms caused freezing temperatures and 43 cm of snow in Mexico. What was the most likely

impact of these storms on the monarch butterflies?

A. Monarch butterflies died in large numbers.

B. Monarch butterflies immediately migrated back to the United States.

C. Monarch butterflies did not migrate from Canada and the United States the next year.

D. Monarch butterflies evolved several new adaptations to survive the winter in Mexico.

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13. Part of a desert food web is diagrammed below.

Which of the following will most likely result if all of the primary consumers are removed from this

ecosystem?

A. Prairie rattlesnakes will become herbivores.

B. Golden eagle and kit fox populations will decrease.

C. Sagebush grasshoppers will consume soil bacteria.

D. Silk grass and sand sagebush populations will decrease.

14. About 70 years ago, cane toads were introduced to Australia. The toads are toxic to some species of

snakes, such as Dendrelaphis Punctulatus. The longer an individual snake is, the greater its chance of

survival after eating a cane toad. Which of the following did scientists most likely in the snake

population as a result of the presence of the cane toads?

A. The entire population was killed by the toads.

B. The entire population became resistant to the toads.

C. The average body length in the population increased.

D. The average body length in the population decreased.

15. Which of the following describes plant cells but not animal cells?

A. The nucleus contains the chromosomes.

B. The ribosomes assist in protein synthesis.

C. Plastids store starch made during photosynthesis.

D. Mitochondria produce energy through respiration.

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16. The size of a bird population increased by two percent in one year. Which of the following could have

contributed to the population increase?

A. A decrease in the death rate of baby birds.

B. An increase in the number of the birds’ predators.

C. An increase in the average number of parasites per bird.

D. A decrease in the immigration of birds of the same species.

17. When locust populations grow too large for an area, the individual locusts are crowded and food

becomes scarce. In response to these conditions, some of the locusts leave the area and find a new

habitat. Which of the following terms best applies to the response of the locusts that leave for the new

habitat?

A. Commensalism

B. Emigration

C. Hibernation

D. Mutualism

18. In traditional landscaping, leaves are raked off the ground and bagged. In which of the following ways

does this practice most significantly disrupt natural nutrient cycling?

A. It carries away microorganisms that can perform nitrogen fixation.

B. It reduces the rate of oxygen and carbon cycling via photosynthesis.

C. It prevents carbon, oxygen, and nitrogen from being returned to the soil.

D. It increases the amount of carbon dioxide that is released to the atmosphere.

19. In the past 100 years, levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide have increased as the result of the burning of

fossil fuels. Other processes in the carbon dioxide have absorbed some of the carbon released by this

combustion. Which of the following most likely have absorbed excess carbon released by combustion?

A. Animals

B. Glaciers

C. Plants

D. Rocks

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20. The Asian shore crab invaded parts of the Eastern coast of the United States about 15 years ago. The

Asian shore crab preys on blue mussels. In the time since the Asian shore crab arrived, the average shell

thickness has increased in the blue mussel population. Which of the following is the most likely reason

that this increase in shell thickness has occurred?

A. Blue mussels with thick shells attract more crabs than mussels without thick shells.

B. Blue mussels with thick shells grow in larger colonies than mussels without thick shells.

C. Blue mussels with thick shells catch more food per day than mussels without thick shells.

D. Blue mussels with thick shells survive and reproduce more successfully than mussels without thick

shells.

21. The graph below shows changes in the sizes of four animal populations over a 16-year period.

In which population was birthrate most likely greater than death rate from year 8 to year 12?

A. Population 1

B. Population 2

C. Population 3

D. Population 4

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22. The northern spotted owl is listed under the Endangered Species Act as a threatened species in its

primary range of Washington, Oregon, and California. Which of the following most likely contributed to

the northern spotted owl’s population decline?

A. Increases in rodent populations

B. Loss of trees from forest habitat

C. Prevention of wildfires in forests

D. Decreases in mountain lion populations

23. To investigate selective pressures on fish populations, researchers set up three identical tanks, labeled X,

Y, and Z. Each tank contained 1000 fish of the same species. Before the fish reproduced each

generation, the researchers removed fish from some of the tanks. The graph below shows the changes in

the mean weight of the fish in each tank over four generations.

Based on the graph, what did the researchers most likely do to tank Z each generation?

A. The researchers removed the 900 smallest fish.

B. The researchers removed the 900 largest fish.

C. The researchers removed 900 fish at random.

D. The researchers removed none of the fish.

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24. A small part of a food web for a forest ecosystem is shown below.

A) Classify each of the five organisms in the food web as a producer, a primary consumer, a secondary

consumer, or a tertiary consumer.

B) Identify the type of ecological relationship between salamanders and birds in this food web.

C) Suppose there is a significant decrease in the bird population. Based on the relationships in the food

web, explain why it would be difficult for ecologists to predict what would happen to the size of the

salamander population.

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25.

A. 1

B. 2

C. 3

D. 4

26. Which method of fly control would be most harmful to other organisms in the environment?

A. Spraying broad-range insecticides

B. Using fly traps

C. Planting carnivorous plants

D. Releasing sterilized male flies

27. In an experiment, the height of several plants was recorded daily in millimeters. Which tool would be

the most accurate and appropriate for this measurement?

A. Digital scale

B. Graduated cylinder

C. Yardstick

D. Metric ruler

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28.

A. Manatee

B. Walrus

C. Right whale

D. Bottlenose dolphin

29. Data about the climate in an ecosystem were collected for 30 years. Which hypothesis about a

population of eagles could be made based on the climate data collected?

A. Eagle chick survival is directly related to annual rainfall amounts.

B. An outbreak of disease in 1987 killed 82% of the eagle population.

C. Eagles remain with the same mate throughout their lifetime.

D. Mortality of eagles from pesticides after 1992 was less than 5%.

30. As part of their training, biologists learn the history of developments in their field of interest. Which best

explains the importance of this education?

A. It allows scientists to rule out models that have already been tested.

B. It narrows their field of research because most important discoveries in biology have already been

made.

C. It gives biologists an understanding of their field so they can expand on earlier knowledge.

D. It provides background information since most conclusions from before 1950 have been disproven.

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31. Bivalves, such as clams, are found in salt water. The clam captures food particles from water that flows

over its gills. Which of these is the best classification of the clam?

A. A filter feeder

B. A grazer

C. A chunk feeder

D. A decomposer

32. In an aquatic habitat, an example of organisms from the pioneer community would be…

A. Water reeds

B. Water lilies

C. Grass

D. Algae

33. If transpiration stopped completely, how would a plant’s homeostasis first be affected?

A. More carbon dioxide molecules would be taken in by leaves.

B. Fewer sugars stored in roots and stems would diffuse into the soil.

C. Carbohydrates would no longer be formed.

D. Water molecules would not be released from leaves.

34. Some plant roots grow with mycorrhizal fungi. The fungi absorb water and minerals and pass them on to

the plant and receive carbohydrates from the plant. This is an example of…

A. Predation

B. Mutualism

C. Competition

D. Parasitism

35. Which of the following is most effective in helping rain forest plants trap sunlight so that light energy

can be converted to chemical energy?

A. Large leaf size

B. Large root size

C. Small stem

D. Small seed size

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36.

A. Tundra

B. Marsh

C. Desert

D. Savanna

37. Which of these would be measured to determine the density of the polar bear population in Canada?

A. The number of nears per square kilometer.

B. The total number of bears seen per day.

C. The mass of the bears at the Arctic Circle.

D. The total number of bears minus the juvenile bears.

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38.

A. Herring

B. Snapper

C. Bluefish

D. Seal