Deck 10: Cycles and Patterns in the Biosphere

Question 1

Which components are necessary for photosynthesis to occur?

A) carbon dioxide and light
B) carbon dioxide, light, and water
C) water, oxygen, and light
D) oxygen and light
E) water and light

Answer 1

B

Question 2

The end product of photosynthesis is (are) ________.

A) carbon dioxide
B) water
C) carbohydrates
D) light
E) unknown

Answer 2

C

Question 3

________ is the term for the total complex of plant and animal life in an area.

A) Ecosystem
B) Flora
C) Ecotone
D) Fauna
E) Biota

Answer 3

E

Question 4

For about the last ________ years, Earth has had about the same balance of chemical components that now persists.

A) 10,000
B) 100,000
C) 1 million
D) 500 million
E) 1 billion

Question 5

Which of the following is NOT an example of climatic influence on the biosphere?

A) moisture
B) edaphic conditions
C) temperature
D) wind
E) All of the above are examples.

Question 6

Photosynthesis is a main means of fixing ________ in the ecosystem.

A) benthos
B) oxygen
C) carbon dioxide
D) nekton
E) all of the above

Question 7

Considering all major biogeochemical cycles, the human input is

A) making major alternations in most cycles.
B) insignificant.
C) limited to the carbon cycle.
D) never likely to be important.
E) several times larger than the natural fluxes of mass and energy.

Question 8

Of the total solar energy reaching the Earth, ________ percent is fixed by photosynthesis.

A) 40
B) 10
C) 5
D) 1
E) <1

Question 9

The effects of soil on flora and fauna are called ________.

A) topographic
B) ecotonal
C) edaphic
D) biotic
E) transitory

Question 10

Net primary productivity is greatest in the oceans ________.

A) where nutrients are greatest
B) in the tropics
C) in the middle latitudes
D) in the polar latitudes
E) where nutrients are least

Question 11

Which of the following does not refer to life in the oceans?

A) vadose
B) plankton
C) nekton
D) benthos
E) food chain

Question 12

The pinebark beetle is killing many ________ in western North America.

A) cattle
B) birds
C) lodgepole pines
D) soil microorganisms
E) people

Question 13

If the biosphere is to function properly, its components must be ________.

A) replaced from space
B) replaced from the ocean
C) recycled
D) fully used up within biogeochemical cycles
E) arranged so that they don't become "fixed"

Question 14

The present binomial system of biological classification was devised by

A) Darwin.
B) Wallace.
C) Huxley.
D) Linnaeus.
E) Aristotle.

Question 15

In the concept of the food chain, the fundamental unit consists of ________.

A) bacteria
B) plants
C) humans
D) secondary consumers
E) predators

Question 16

The driving force behind all life cycles in the entire biosphere is

A) the Sun.
B) water.
C) nitrogen.
D) hydrogen.
E) oxygen.

Question 17

Of the main nutrients in the biosphere, the one that is "fixed" inside nodules in certain plant roots is ________.

A) carbon
B) nitrogen
C) oxygen
D) hydrogen
E) calcium

Question 18

The response of an organism to the amount of light it receives in a day is termed ________.

A) ecotone
B) photoperiodism
C) edaphic
D) photosynthesis
E) denitrification

Question 19

In the language of the food chain, herbivorous animals are called ________.

A) the apex
B) primary consumers
C) tertiary consumers
D) secondary consumers
E) dominant

Question 20

Carbon is fixed in the biosphere through ________ into carbohydrate compounds.

A) bacteria
B) biomes
C) photosynthesis
D) denitrification
E) transit

Question 21

The Linnaean classification system is based mainly on ________.

A) flower type
B) anatomical similarities
C) root depth
D) edaphic factors
E) all of the above

Question 22

Plant decomposition releases ________ into the atmosphere.

A) sulfur
B) oxygen
C) neon
D) carbon dioxide
E) nitrogen

Question 23

According to the food chain concept, it takes ________ kilograms of plankton to make one kilogram of weight gain for a human.

A) 1
B) 10
C) 100
D) 1,000
E) 1,000,000

Question 24

Organismic response to the length of exposure to light in a 24-hour period is called ________.

A) photosynthesis
B) photoperiodism
C) denitrification
D) biome
E) none of the above

Question 25

Of the sum total of environmental relationships affecting plant distributions, ________ is the least predictable.

A) topography
B) temperature
C) wildfire
D) edaphic influences
E) succession

Question 26

In the selva, the vegetation is ________.

A) resistant to long droughts
B) dominated by broadleaf evergreen trees
C) seemingly unrelated to the environmental "spheres"
D) short tundra grasses
E) usually damaged by nasty monkeys

Question 27

Over the last century and a half, the main source of increased atmospheric carbon dioxide has been ________.

A) volcanoes
B) photosynthesis
C) photoperiodism
D) rock decomposition
E) burning of fossil fuels

Question 28

Which of the following is a key environmental constraint on biota?

A) light
B) soil
C) moisture
D) temperature
E) all of the above

Question 29

Seasonal behavior in plants and animals is stimulated by ________.

A) photoperiodism
B) photosynthesis
C) temperature
D) edaphic influences
E) wildfire

Question 30

Most atmospheric free nitrogen is cycled to Earth by means of ________.

A) assimilation
B) weathering
C) rain
D) mining
E) none of the above

Question 31

Humans fit into the food pyramid as ________.

A) primary consumers
B) primary producers
C) secondary producers
D) herbivores
E) the apex of the pyramid

Question 32

In most organisms, ________ is the most plentiful substance.

A) nitrogen
B) water
C) carbon dioxide
D) oxygen
E) solid material

Question 33

Atmospheric nitrogen which can be assimilated by plants is ________ nitrogen.

A) legume
B) denitrified
C) juvenile
D) fixed
E) liberated

Question 34

Net primary productivity is greatest on land ________.

A) where nutrients are greatest
B) in the tropics
C) in the middle latitudes
D) in the polar latitudes
E) where nutrients are least

Question 35

Net primary productivity is measured in ________ per year.

A) watts
B) watts per square meters
C) kilograms per square meter
D) kilograms
E) centimeters

Question 36

Animals or plants living on the sea bottom are ________.

A) fish
B) benthos
C) nekton
D) xerophytes
E) part of the lithosphere

Question 37

Animal wastes on the ground form a part of the ________ cycle.

A) oxygen
B) carbon
C) phosphorous
D) nitrogen
E) copper

Question 38

Amongst the biogeochemical cycles, which one can be said to operate rapidly?

A) nitrogen
B) carbon dioxide
C) oxygen
D) helium
E) rock

Question 39

In nutrient cycles in general, minerals tend to be dispersed through ________.

A) plant action
B) surface and subsurface runoff
C) evaporation
D) assimilation
E) conduction

Question 40

Most of the carbon near Earth's surface is held in ________.

A) geologic deposits
B) forests
C) glaciers
D) animals
E) lakes

Question 41

Which of the following is the form of nitrogen that is readily available for plants?

A) nitrates
B) nitrites
C) nitrous oxide
D) solid nitrogen
E) liquid nitrogen

Question 42

Wildfire can be said to ________.

A) be catastrophic to some ecosystems
B) be beneficial to some ecosystems
C) be capable of changing the composition of biota
D) cause some seeds to open
E) accomplish all of the above

Question 43

Which of the following is another term for a tropical rainforest?

A) flora
B) steppe
C) fauna
D) savanna
E) selva

Question 44

Which of the following does NOT describe the Linnaean biological taxonomy?

A) formulated in the 1700s
B) hierarchical
C) comprehensive
D) losing acceptance
E) binomial

Question 45

Animals which eat plants are also known as ________.

A) predators
B) carnivores
C) secondary consumers
D) herbivores
E) final consumers

Question 46

Which of the following does NOT belong with the others?

A) topographic influences
B) light
C) edaphic influences
D) oxygen cycle
E) wind

Question 47

________ is (are) a common feature of the hydrology of tropical rainforests.

A) Swamps
B) Lakes
C) Streams running part of the year
D) Few streams
E) Water in life rather than in streams

Question 48

Concerning oxygen, which of the following is FALSE?

A) It was scarce in Earth's early atmosphere.
B) It helped produce the first life on Earth.
C) Most life cannot function without oxygen.
D) Most oxygen has a biological origin.
E) Photosynthesis produces oxygen.

Question 49

The effect of winds on life is

A) almost always negative.
B) almost always positive.
C) mostly negative.
D) mostly positive.
E) a mix of positive and negative.

Question 50

Which of the following does NOT belong with the others?

A) plankton
B) nekton
C) terrestrial biota
D) benthos
E) oceanic biota

Question 51

A(n) ________ is another way in which a food chain can be conceptualized.

A) sedimentary cycle
B) open system
C) food pyramid
D) final link at the apex
E) way of gaining energy at every step

Question 52

In studying environmental relationships, which of the following is true?

A) Interspecific relationships need to be considered.
B) Intraspecific relationships need to be considered.
C) Neither interspecific nor intraspecific relationships need to be considered.
D) Neither interspecific nor intraspecific relationships study is at the scale of the biome.
E) Both interspecific and intraspecific relationships need to be considered.

Question 53

The energy source for the biosphere is

A) heat from volcanoes.
B) reflected energy from the moon.
C) radioactivity in rocks.
D) light from the Sun.
E) all of the above

Question 54

Approximately how many species of plants are in existence?

A) 1,500
B) 6,000
C) 150,000
D) 600,000
E) 6,000,000

Question 55

In which type of environment does the number of species tend to be the greatest?

A) very cold places
B) very warm places
C) places with moderate temperatures
D) places where cellular water occasionally freezes
E) Species number is unrelated to temperature.

Question 56

The effects of wildfire

A) are always negative for plant life.
B) seldom change the composition of the biota.
C) are usually temporary.
D) are to permanently prohibit the existence of biota.
E) are relatively rare on Earth.

Question 57

In terms of broad distribution patterns, ________ and ________ have a particularly close correlation.

A) soil, climate
B) soil, vegetation
C) climate, vegetation
D) wildfire, soil
E) fur-bearing animals, climate

Question 58

Which cycle has been significantly altered by humans?

A) carbon
B) oxygen
C) nutrient
D) nitrogen
E) all of the above

Question 59

Which of the below is cycled in minor amounts compared to the other substances on the list?

A) water
B) phosphorous
C) nitrogen
D) oxygen
E) carbon dioxide

Question 60

Earth has ________ species of animals compared to the number of plant species.

A) many fewer
B) about 100 fewer
C) about 100 more
D) many more
E) about the same number of

Question 61

Compared to the spheres, which of the following has "the hardest boundaries to pin down"?

A) atmosphere
B) biosphere
C) lithosphere
D) hydrosphere
E) All of the above: they are equally imprecise.

Question 62

The biogeochemical cycles are considered to have been in a planetwide steady-state condition for the last ________ years.

A) ten
B) one thousand
C) one million
D) one billion
E) one trillion

Question 63

What do investigators hope will be very productive for producing biodiesel fuel?

A) wheat
B) soybeans
C) kelp
D) trees
E) algae

Question 64

________ is the term for the physical amount of plant material at a location.

A) Biomass
B) Intraspecific composition
C) Biota
D) Biome
E) Biology

Question 65

Which of the following terms is the LEAST specific?

A) species
B) flora
C) fauna
D) benthos
E) biota

Question 66

The conversion of recyclable components within the biosphere takes place ________.

A) using energy
B) continually
C) sometimes over hundreds of millions of years
D) sometimes in less than a decade
E) in all of the above ways

Question 67

The geographic study of living organisms is ________.

A) geomorphology
B) biology
C) phytology
D) biogeography
E) limnology

Question 68

Fires are necessary to recycle ________.

A) water
B) oxygen
C) rocks
D) energy
E) nutrients

Question 69

At almost any scale, the most prominent environmental constraints on biota are exerted by various ________ factors.

A) edaphic
B) soil
C) topographic
D) air pollution
E) climatic

Question 70

Planetwide, a balance of chemicals is maintained by ________.

A) negative feedbacks
B) cycles
C) seasonal patterns
D) solar radiation
E) decomposition

Question 71

Perhaps the greatest problem in growing crops for fuel is

A) the immense amount of ozone released.
B) it is physically impossible.
C) the ethics of producing fuel rather than food.
D) that it must all be accomplished underwater
E) the fuel has never been able to power automobiles.

Question 72

In the devastating Yellowstone fires of 1988, what was the impact on wildlife?

A) Most of it was destroyed.
B) Most of it survived.
C) Most of the large animals perished.
D) Large animals were completely driven from the park.
E) None of the wildlife was harmed.

Question 73

Before Yellowstone's massive fires of 1988 much of the park was covered by ________.

A) sequoia trees
B) Great Plains grasslands
C) eastern hemlock forest
D) lodgepole pine forest
E) tundra

Question 74

Which of the following is (are) important concerning edaphic influences on plants?

A) soil texture
B) relative abundance of soil organisms
C) nutrient supply
D) moisture supply
E) all of the above

Question 75

The conversion of nitrates into free nitrogen ________.

A) does not happen in nature
B) is called "fixing" of nitrogen
C) is accomplished by bacteria
D) happens in the process of photosynthesis
E) is not correctly described above

Question 76

The availability of moisture to plants is largely determined by ________.

A) precipitation
B) evaporation
C) precipitation versus evaporation
D) light
E) all of the above

Question 77

The relationship between climates and fauna is ________.

A) non-existent
B) important and obvious
C) unknown
D) important
E) just as distinct as with their floral counterparts

Question 78

Concerning the biosphere, the geographic viewpoint is most often concerned with ________.

A) taxonomy
B) specific plants
C) specific animals
D) distributions and relationships
E) none of the above

Question 79

What is true of the 1988 Yellowstone fires?

A) They were caused by arsonists.
B) They permanently killed all the animals.
C) They were unique to the world.
D) They will have more positive than negative effects.
E) All of the above are true.

Question 80

In terms of producing biofuels, corn

A) cannot be engineered to produce biofuel.
B) does not produce more energy than used for production.
C) seems to be the cure-all.
D) has never been tested as a biofuel.
E) has been made illegal to use as a biofuel in the United States.