Ecology
Pre-Test Questions
Course Introduction
Ecology is the scientific study of the interactions between organisms and their environments, encompassing both biotic (living) and abiotic (non-living) components. This course explores fundamental concepts such as energy flow, nutrient cycling, population dynamics, community structure, and ecosystem function. Students will examine how organisms adapt to their habitats, the relationships among species, and the impact of human activity on natural systems. Emphasis is placed on understanding ecological processes at different scales, from individuals and populations to communities and ecosystems, as well as applying ecological principles to contemporary environmental challenges.
Recommended Textbook
Environmental Science 12th Edition by Wright
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Page 2
Chapter 1: Science and the Environment
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Sample Questions
Q1) In the past,most Western ethics concerning our relationship to the natural environment have been based upon
A)the utility of the environment to humans.
B)conserving natural ecosystems without alteration.
C)the aesthetic value of natural systems.
D)reverence and respect for the spiritual aspects of the natural world.
Answer: A
Q2) Since about 1985,the world population has increased by about A)10%.
B)40%.
C)70%.
D)100%.
Answer: B
Q3) Excellent microscopes and telescopes are most commonly used to A)extend our senses.
B)help control experimental environments.
C)quickly measure great quantities.
D)manipulate large quantities of materials.
Answer: A
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Page 3
Chapter 2: Economics, Politics, and Public Policy
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Q1) As of 2012,it is clear that public opinion
A)strongly endorses the anti-environmental attitude of the current Congress.
B)trusts the EPA much more than Congress to oversee the national environment.
C)wants Congress to repeal the Endangered Species Act and disband the EPA.
D)views global climate change as a political hoax.
Answer: B
Q2) From a global sustainability perspective,economic production
A)is the sum of all photosynthesis in the biosphere and the resulting natural products.
B)consists of all of the natural products and natural resources in the world,which are available for harvesting by humans.
C)is the process of converting the natural world to the manufactured world.
D)represents the summed gross national products of all industrialized nations of the world.
Answer: C
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4
Chapter 3: Basic Needs of Living Things
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Q1) Without regular cleanups,the tendency of a home or dorm room to become increasingly messy generally reflects
A)the Law of Conservation of Energy.
B)an increase in entropy.
C)the loss of heat in any energy conversion.
D)the conversion of kinetic energy into potential energy.
Answer: B
Q2) Which one of the following is the most inclusive level of classification?
A)class
B)phylum
C)order
D)family
Answer: B
Q3) Most of the energy captured by photosynthesis is stored in chemical bonds in A)glucose.
B)oxygen.
C)carbon dioxide.
D)water.
Answer: A
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Page 5
Chapter 4: Populations and Communities
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Sample Questions
Q1) New genetic traits upon which natural selection can act usually arise from
A)mutations and crossover.
B)increases in cell size and shape.
C)the need to become adapted to a new environment.
D)the demands of the environment.
Q2) In short,different selective pressures in closely related species will produce
A)similar migration patterns.
B)similar reproductive strategies.
C)different adaptations.
D)new mutations.
Q3) Which one of the following is characteristic of a K-selected species?
A)fast reproductive rate
B)large body size
C)short life span
D)production of large numbers of offspring
Q4) The many factors listed above that can affect the squirrel population represent
A)environmental resistance.
B)the carrying capacity of the squirrel population.
C)the squirrel's life history.
D)the biotic potential of the squirrel population.
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Chapter 5: Ecosystems: Energy, Patterns, and Disturbance
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Q1) This region of Iceland once was covered with forests.However,humans logged the trees and grazed sheep on the logged regions,preventing natural regeneration.This situation,in which one ecosystem has now been converted to another,represents
A)a tipping point for this ecosystem.
B)the power of natural resilience mechanisms.
C)reverse ecological succession.
D)a sustainable approach to ecosystem management.
Q2) Energy is
A)lost in the form of heat as energy is passed up a food chain.
B)added in the form of heat as energy is passed up a food chain.
C)lost in the form of carbon dioxide as energy is passed up a food chain.
D)added in the form of heat as carbon dioxide is passed down a food chain.
Q3) The type of forest fire in this photo
A)makes crown fires more likely in the burned regions.
B)significantly harms grasses and lodgepole pines in the burned regions.
C)increases the frequency of scrub oaks and other broad-leaved species in the burned regions.
D)promotes nutrient cycling in the burned regions.
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Chapter 6: Wild Species and Biodiversity
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Sample Questions
Q1) The world's wild species represent a warehouse of genetic diversity of instrumental value commonly called
A)the genetic bank.
B)the agricultural genome project.
C)a genome center.
D)a chromosome concentration.
Q2) Plants that can best resist a variety of environmental challenges are most likely
A)domesticated plants with little genetic variation.
B)cultivars with little genetic variation.
C)wild plants with high degrees of variation.
D)wild plants with low degrees of variation.
Q3) Passed in 1900,the most significant legislation to protect wildlife from illegal killing or sale is the
A)Endangered Species Act.
B)Lacey Act.
C)Threatened and Endangered Species Recovery Act.
D)Wildlife Protection Act.
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Chapter 7: The Use and Restoration of Ecosystems
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Sample Questions
Q1) The diversity and productivity or coral reefs is most similar to that of A)desert environments.
B)a natural prairie.
C)tropical rain forests.
D)a river system.
Q2) The reauthorization of the Magnuson Act now
A)requires an ecosystem-based approach to fisheries management.
B)limits catches of all commercial species to below maximum sustainable yield.
C)decreases the role of the Scientific and Statistical Committee,shifting data collection to the local fisherman.
D)encourages the collection of bycatch as a new source of revenue.
Q3) We can expect that as mangroves continue to be destroyed worldwide, A)coastal erosion will increase.
B)fish populations around the world will increase.
C)the pH of the oceans will increase.
D)the aquaculture of prawns will decrease.
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9
Chapter 8: The Human Population
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Sample Questions
Q1) The ability to feed the growing world population was addressed by the
A)Industrial Revolution.
B)Medical Revolution.
C)Green Revolution.
D)Environmental Revolution.
Q2) An isolated village of about 1,000 people in a developing nation may be hunting and raising only enough crops to feed themselves.Such a village may have fewer than half their children surviving to adulthood.This struggling village primarily reflects the result of which revolution?
A)Industrial Revolution
B)Medical Revolution
C)Green Revolution
D)Neolithic Revolution
Q3) Which revolutions relied most heavily on fossil fuels?
A)Medical Revolution and Industrial Revolution
B)Environmental Revolution and Medical Revolution
C)Green Revolution and Industrial Revolution
D)Neolithic Revolution and Environmental Revolution
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10
Chapter 9: Population and Development
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Sample Questions
Q1) China's one-child policy was adopted because
A)contagious disease was rampant in the 1970s and fewer people meant less contagion.
B)it was clear the nation could not live within the limit of its resources if the population continued to grow.
C)there were too few jobs and too many people.
D)the fertility rate was too low and the nation needed more people to populate vacant lands.
Q2) You are a newly appointed advisor in a government project to help move a developing country forward economically.With limited financial resources and staffing,which of the following would be your highest priority?
A)create new businesses by partnering with developed nations
B)help the government promote family planning throughout the country
C)shift the focus of agriculture to that which will produce the highest yields of nutritious foods
D)build up the ports of the country to increase the ability to import and export products
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11
Chapter 10: Water: Hydrologic Cycle and Human Use
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Q1) Which of the following is true?
A)Waste in water use and food production cancel each other out.
B)Bottled water is cheaper than trying to move water by pumping it long distances.
C)Conservation of water resources,energy and food production and distribution are linked.
D)The water needed to grow vegetables and grains is much greater than to produce beef.
Q2) Drip irrigation systems are
A)less efficient than traditional flood or center-pivot systems.
B)cheaper,compared to traditional flood or center-pivot systems.
C)producing greater crop yields.
D)used for most irrigation of crops in the United States.
Q3) In the United States,over the past 30 years,the population has
A)increased,and the amount of water each person consumes has increased.
B)increased,but the amount of water each person consumes has leveled off.
C)decreased,but the amount of water each person consumes has increased.
D)decreased,and the amount of water each person consumes has decreased.
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Page 12
Chapter 11: Soil: Foundation for Land Ecosystems
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Sample Questions
Q1) The use of government rangelands for the grazing of cattle has
A)resulted in the increased productivity of these regions.
B)raised funds that are now available to replant these regions.
C)produced cooperative relationships between herders to sustainably manage these regions.
D)reduced productivity by at least 50% and lost the government money.
Q2) Burkina Faso and the Keita project in Niger demonstrate that
A)corrective measures can successfully reverse soil degradation.
B)sustainable soil conservation efforts are impossible once soils are degraded.
C)despite human efforts,natural climate cycles may prevent sustainable practices.
D)desertification is a natural result of climate variation.
Q3) Which of the following is true?
A)Only about 10% of the world's food comes from land-based agriculture.
B)Soil degradation is a problem unique to the past two centuries.
C)More than 20% of cultivated land was degraded between 1989 and 2003.
D)The Mayan Empire serves as a model for excellent soil management.
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Chapter 12: The Production and Distribution of Food
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Q1) The main cause of undernourishment and malnourishment in the world is A)lack of education.
B)poverty.
C)underproduction of food.
D)problems with global distribution of food.
Q2) War is most likely to contribute to famine
A)where food production and distribution is already problematic.
B)where rice is the main source of food.
C)in countries that are primarily exporters of grain.
D)in coastal regions that make great use of seafood.
Q3) Despite potential problems,the general trend in the production and use of transgenic organisms in Europe,the United States,and the developing world is towards
A)decreased production of bioengineered foods and nonfood crops.
B)increased production of bioengineered foods and nonfood crops.
C)decreased production of bioengineered foods but increased production of nonfood crops.
D)increased production of bioengineered foods but decreased production of nonfood crops.
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Chapter 13: Pests and Pest Control
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Q1) In any food web,biomagnification will result in the highest concentrations of toxins in the
A)lowest trophic level.
B)highest trophic level.
C)highest photosynthetic trophic level.
D)herbivores of the systems.
Q2) The sick tomato plant in this figure is devastated by tomato wilt,a type of fungus that infects the soil with spores and returns every year to attack more tomato plants.One effective way to combat this fungus using ecological/cultural pest control is to
A)keep dead tomato plants from the prior year around to try to divert the fungus to the dead plants.
B)spray a broad-spectrum insecticide over your garden before and after the crops come up.
C)plant something other than tomatoes in this part of the garden next year.
D)rake the soil before planting next year's tomatoes.
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Chapter 14: Energy From Fossil Fuels
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Sample Questions
Q1) The major fossil fuels differ in the amount of carbon dioxide they emit into the atmosphere when burned.From worst to least,these are
A)coal,natural gas,and oil.
B)coal,oil,and natural gas.
C)oil,natural gas,and coal.
D)natural gas,oil,and coal.
Q2) Over the next 20-30 years,
A)global oil supplies will decline and the OPEC nations will gain importance.
B)global oil supplies will decline and the OPEC nations will lose importance.
C)global oil supplies will increase and the OPEC nations will gain importance.
D)global oil supplies will increase and the OPEC nations will lose importance.
Q3) Because of the challenges associated with removing oil from the ground,
A)the first oil removed from a well is the most expensive to extract.
B)primary recovery of oil is more expensive than secondary recovery.
C)enhanced recovery of oil is more expensive than secondary recovery.
D)only about 60% of the oil in a well can be removed by just pumping.
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Chapter 15: Nuclear Power
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Sample Questions
Q1) Your doctor orders X-rays taken of your upper chest and back.As you lay down and prepare for the X-ray to be taken,a lead blanket is rested over your lower abdomen.The assistant placed the lead blanket on your abdomen to
A)reflect the X-rays to your shoulder.
B)shield your gonads from irradiation.
C)push you firmly against the table for a clear photo of your chest.
D)steady you,so that you do not move as they take the X-ray image.
Q2) Head restraints on the back of the seats of most automobiles can prevent whiplash in an accident.Most of these head restraints are large enough that they function without any adjustment.These head restraints are an example of A)inherent design flaws.
B)active safety.
C)passive safety.
D)reverse engineering.
Q3) Fission and fusion reactions
A)convert a tiny amount of the mass of the nuclear materials to energy.
B)convert energy to the mass of the nuclear materials.
C)release energy without a change in the mass of the nuclear materials.
D)invest energy to generate nuclear materials.
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Page 17
Chapter 16: Renewable Energy
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which one of the following would provide the greatest energy benefit to a home in the United States with cold winters and hot summers? A homeowner has large glass windows facing south.In front of these windows the homeowner should plant
A)nothing
B)tall oak trees.
C)bushes that only grow up to the bottom of the windows.
D)a flower bed below the windows,but no trees.
Q2) Solar thermal systems would be least expensive to build and most effective to heat
A)a cabin in Alaska in the winter.
B)a swimming pool in Arizona in the winter.
C)a home in South Dakota in the fall.
D)water in a home in Oregon in the spring.
Q3) Unlike solar and wind facilities,coal-burning and nuclear power plants
A)can be constructed more quickly.
B)can be added gradually as demand grows.
C)can consistently generate electricity at night.
D)do not pose as great a security risk.
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Chapter 17: Environmental Hazards and Human Health
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Q1) Even if people cannot easily spread bird flu from person to person,how might bird flu virus spread in the world?
A)Vaccines against bird flu might spread the disease all over the world.
B)Antibiotics against bird flu will stop working.
C)Migrating birds might spread the flu widely.
D)Hunters shooting the birds and eating the meat might be infected.
Q2) The Centers for Disease Control employs many people who study epidemiology.These people might be interested in
A)identifying new types of infectious disease.
B)the prevention of infectious disease.
C)the worldwide distribution of infectious disease.
D)identifying,tracking the spread of,and preventing infectious disease.
Q3) A new food preservative has been discovered and the company that makes it needs to determine if it poses any health risk.Experiments are planned to test the effects of the new preservative on mice.These experiments represent a type of
A)respiratory assessment.
B)chemical identification.
C)hazard assessment.
D)risk characterization.
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Page 19
Chapter 18: Global Climate Change
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Q1) Which of the following would most likely have the greatest impact on the ocean conveyor system in the Atlantic Ocean?
A)doubling the size of the Panama Canal
B)increased volcanic activities in the Pacific Ocean
C)complete melting of the polar ice cap
D)doubling the number of ships that cross from North America to Europe using fossil fuels
Q2) The general pattern in this figure reveals increasing levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere over the past fifty years.Why is the red line wavy and the blue line steadily increasing?
A)The red line drops in the winter when photosynthesis decreases.
B)The red line increases in the summer when people are more likely to run their air conditioners.
C)The blue line reflects changes in temperature while the red line represents changes in carbon dioxide levels.
D)The red line reflects changes in the ocean levels that occur when carbon dioxide levels are higher.
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Chapter 19: Atmospheric Pollution
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Sample Questions
Q1) Lakes that suffer from environmental acidification typically have
A)fewer animals and higher levels of aluminum and heavy metals.
B)more animals and lower levels of aluminum and heavy metals.
C)more plants,fewer animals,and slightly higher levels of aluminum and heavy metals.
D)fewer plants,more animals,and slightly lower levels of aluminum and heavy metals.
Q2) Ozone levels can increase in the troposphere when
A)VOCs are present.
B)PANs react with atmospheric nitrogen to form ozone.
C)VOCs release ozone when they are broken apart by solar energy.
D)more carbon dioxide is available to contribute additional oxygen for ozone formation.
Q3) Which of the following illustrates an anthropogenic form of pollution?
A)a large plume of ash from an erupting volcano
B)large clouds of smoke from a forest fire caused by lightning
C)sulfur dioxide released from a coal burning power plant
D)sea salt aerosols in the air above an ocean
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Chapter 20: Water Pollution and Its Prevention
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Q1) People with home septic systems often flush several cups of a powdered substance down their toilets every month or two to keep their systems healthy.These powdered substances most likely contain
A)bacteria and enzymes that help break down wastes.
B)chlorine and other disinfectants that help to prevent soil contamination.
C)chemicals that bind to heavy metals to keep them from leaching into the soil.
D)acids that help to clean the insides of the walls of the pipes and septic tank.
Q2) Anaerobic conditions will most likely be generated in a natural water system with
A)high levels of DO that is contaminated by pollutants with high BOD values.
B)low levels of DO that is contaminated by pollutants with high BOD values.
C)high levels of DO that is contaminated by pollutants with low BOD values.
D)low levels of DO that is contaminated by pollutants with low BOD values.
Q3) Although the use of wastewater effluents for irrigation can be very beneficial,it is essential that the effluents are
A)treated and free of pathogens.
B)mixed in with large amounts of phosphorus.
C)mixed in with large amounts of calcium carbonate.
D)not used in regions contacted by humans.
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Chapter 21: Municipal Solid Waste: Disposal and Recovery
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Q1) Which of the following strategies is the least costly and most environmentally sound way to address MSW management?
A)recycle MSW as much as possible
B)promote MSW reduction strategies
C)compost organic components of MSW
D)burn as much MSW as possible in WTE facilities
Q2) Now,these students need to make a decision about what sort of towels they should purchase,again,in an attempt to generate the least amount of MSW.They agree that if they purchase paper towels,they will buy the thick,quilted brand.The best strategy,to generate the least amount of MSW,would be to purchase
A)5 bulk packages of 10 paper towels,for a total of 50 rolls of paper towels,and 10 garbage bags.
B)10 bulk packages of 5 paper towels,for a total of 50 rolls of paper towels,and 10 garbage bags.
C)25 packages of 2 paper towels each,for a total of 50 rolls of paper towels,and 10 garbage bags.
D)one bag of 5 rags (about the size of 5 rolls of paper towels)that they can wash out and reuse.
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Chapter 22: Hazardous Chemicals: Pollution and Prevention
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Q1) The chemistry professor warned the students that you never store acids in metal containers because acids demonstrate a high level of A)ignitability.
B)toxicity.
C)reactivity.
D)corrosivity.
Q2) By design,the molecules that resist biodegradation and include some of the most problematic persistent organic pollutants are the A)synthetic organic compounds.
B)inorganic compounds.
C)recycled organic compounds.
D)chlorinated heavy metals.
Q3) Which one of the following hazardous-waste disposal methods includes large amounts of evaporation into the air?
A)a secure landfill
B)a deep-well injection
C)an on-site surface impoundment
D)a best-demonstrated available technology
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Chapter 23: Sustainable Communities and Lifestyles
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Q1) In the more livable modern cities of the world,you are now less likely to see
A)parking lots.
B)automobiles.
C)highways.
D)parking lots,automobiles,and highways.
Q2) Urban sprawl is associated with
A)low residential density.
B)high physical separation between homes,work,and shopping.
C)congested traffic due to inadequate road networks.
D)low residential density,high physical separation between homes,work,and shopping,and congested traffic due to inadequate road networks.
Q3) The main financial problems for a city experiencing urban blight result from A)a declining tax base.
B)increasing industrial growth.
C)the need to build new schools.
D)increasing use of public transportation.
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