Grade 9 Eco lo gy Unit Test

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A successi on of organi sms i n an ecol ogi cal

communi ty that consti tutes a conti nuati on
What i s a f ood chai n? of f ood energy f rom one organi sm to
another as each consumes a l ower member
and i n turn i s preyed upon by a hi gher
member.

T he compl ex i nterconnecti on of f ood chai ns i n an ecosystem. H ow one chai n

What i s a f ood web?
connects to another.

A communi ty of organi sms and the non-l i vi ng physi cal envi ronment i n whi ch they
What i s an ecosystem? i nteract. Al l members of the communi ty are l i nked by the f l ow of energy and
nutri ents throughout the system.

What does bi oti c mean? E xampl es. T he l i vi ng components of an ecosystem. F eces, ani mal , pl ants, mi croorgani sms.

T he physi cal or non-l i vi ng components of an ecosystem. Sunl i ght, water, weather,

What does abi oti c mean? E xampl es.
cl ouds.

Organi sm that uses the energy f orm the sun to make i ts own f ood, typi cal l y through
What i s a producer? the process of photosynthesi s. T hei r energy i s stori ed as chemi cal energy i n the
f orm of sugars or carbohydrates. (aka, autotrophs).

What i s a consumer? An organi sm that obtai ns i ts f ood by eati ng other organi sms. (aka heterotrophs).

PRI M ARY CON SUM E R - F eeds di rectl y on pl ants. SE CON D ARY CON SUM E R -
Li st the three types of consumers.
F eed on organi sms that eat pl ants. T E RT I ARY CON SUM E R - T op carni vore.
 Grade 9 Eco lo gy Unit Test
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Carni vore - M eat/ani mal eater. H erbi vore - Pl ant eater. Omni vore - E ats both
What i s a carni vore, herbi vore and omni vore?
pl ants and ani mal s.

Scavenger - F eeds on the bodi es of l arger dead ani mal s. D etri vore - F eeds on the
bodi es of smal l er dead ani mal s, dead pl ant matter and ani mal dung. D ecomposer
What i s a scavenger, detri vore and decomposer?
- E ats dead or decayi ng organi c matter then rel ease nutri ents to be used by other
organi sms. (Such as worms).

Ref ers to an organi sm's posi ti on i n the f ood chai n. Producers l i ke autotrophs are
What are the trophi c l evel s?
al ways at the base and top carni vores (terti ary consumers) are al ways at the top.

(F rom bottom to top)

AUT OT ROPH S/PROD UCE RS (pl ants,
f ood/energy source)
Li st al l f our trophi c/f eedi ng l evel s. H E RBI VORE /H E T E ROT ROPH
(PRI M ARY CON SUM E R) (deer, squi rrel ,
rabbi ts, vegans)
CARN I VORE /SE CON D ARY CON SUM E R
(f ox, bears, meat eaters) T OP
CON SUM E RS (T E RT I ARY ) (Usual l y
omni vores), F eeds on everythi ng bel ow)
(humans, sharks, eagl es)
Autotroph/Producers, H erbi vores/H eterotrophs/Pri mary Consumers,
What are the f eeder types?
Carni vores/Secondary Consumers T op Consumers/T erti ary Consumers

A habi tat ref ers to the pl ace of type of pl ace where an organi sm most commonl y
What i s a habi tat?
occurs.

T he l argest popul ati on si z e of a gi ven speci es that an area can support wi thout
What i s a carryi ng capaci ty? reduci ng i ts abi l i ty to support the same speci es i n the f uture. Popul ati on si z e i s
stabl e when death : bi rth rati o equal .

1. M ateri al s and energy. T he amount of usuabl e energy f orm the sun and the suppl y
of water, carbon and other essenti al nutri ents. 2. F ood chai n. F ood suppl y
(popul ati on si z es or bi omass i n l ower trophi c l evel s) and predators (popul ati on
What are the three f actors that l i mi t carryi ng capaci ty?
si z es i n hi gher trophi c l evel s) 3. Competi ti on - I ntraspeci f i c competi ti on between
members of the same speci es. I nterspeci f i c competi ti on between di f f erent
speci es.
 Grade 9 Eco lo gy Unit Test
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1. D ensi ty dependant f actors are f actors that become more si gni f i cant as
What two categori es can l i mi ti ng f actors be di vi ded i nto? popul ati on i ncreases i n si z e. 2. D ensi ty i ndependent f actors are f actors taht l i mi t
the si z e of the popul ati on regardl ess of the i ts si z e.

Space, l i ght, predators, parasi ti sm, mi grati on, toxi c waste, di seases and f ood and
E xampl es of densi ty dependant f actors.
water suppl i es.

Weather, storms, f i res, earthquakes, drought, f reez es, hurri cane, f l oods, f orest
E xampl es of densi ty i ndependent f actors.
f i res.

An i nteracti on between members of two di f f erent speci es that l i ve together i n

What i s a symbi osi s?
cl ose associ ati on.

A symbi oti c rel ati onshi p between two di f f erent speci es i n whi ch both speci es
What i s mutual i sm?
benef i t f orm the associ ati on.

a symbi oti c rel ati onshi p between two di f f erent speci es i n whi ch one speci es
What i s commensal i sm? benef i ts f rom the associ ati on whereas the other i s not adversel y af f ected or
harmed.

A symbi oti c rel ati onshi p between two di f f erent speci es i n whi ch one speci es
What i s parasi ti sm?
(cal l ed parasi te) benef i ts at the expense of the other speci es (cal l ed host).

An ecol ogi cal rel ati onshi p between two di f f erent speci es i n whi ch one captures
What i s predati on?
and f eeds on the other.
Grade 9 Eco lo gy Unit Test
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A negati ve ecol ogi cal i nteracti on i n whi ch the i ndi vi dual s i nhabi ti ng the same
What i s competi ti on?
geographi cal area requi re the same l i mi ted resources.

What are the f our speci es categori es? Keystone, chari smati c, domi nant and systems engi neer?

Speci es that are not abundant l i ke a domi nant speci es, but can be equal l y as
What i s a keystone speci es?
i mportant.

Speci es that are so abundant that they have the bi ggest bi omass of any communi ty
What i s a domi nant speci es? member. (I n T E RRE ST RI AL ecosystems, they are al ways pri mary producers because
consumer bi omass i s al ways l ess than producer bi omass).

Large ani mal speci es wi th wi despread popul ari ty that envi ronmental i sts uses to
What i s a chari smati c speci es? achi eve certai n goal s. Such speci es are the more "appeal i ng" or "attracti ve"
speci es.

T hese speci es cause such dramati c changes to l andscapes that they create a new
What i s a systems engi neer?
ecosystem.

E xampl e of a keystone speci es. Wol ves, j aguars, bees, el ephants, hummi ngbi rds. (A l ot are predators).

E xampl es of domi nant speci es. Any speci es that have the hi ghest bi omass i n thei r surroundi ng habi tat.
Grade 9 Eco lo gy Unit Test
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E xampl es of systems engi neer. Beaver.

E xampl es of chari smati c ani mal s. Gi ant panda, Pol ar bear, Si beri an T i ger

T he i dea that al l humans are responsi bl e f or l ooki ng af ter the bi osphere - a huge
What i s envi ronmental stewardshi p?
pi ece of property that bel ongs to al l l i vi ngs thi ngs.

What i s bi oremedi ati on? T he use of l i vi ng organi sms to cl ean up contami nated areas natural l y.

What i s bi oaugmentati on? T he use of l i vi ng organi sms to add essenti al nutri ents to depl eted soi l s.

What i s ecol ogy i nterdependence? T he understandi ng that the speci es on E arth cannot l i ve wi thout one other.

A natural source of energy that i s al so renewabl e. Sol ar power. Wi nd power.

What i s green energy? E xampl es.
H ydropower. Geothermal power. Bi of uel (bi odi esel and ethanol ). Bi omass.

An ecol ogi cal pyrami d that i s a graphi cal representati on desi gned to show the
What i s an energy pyrami d?
bi omass or bi omass producti vi ty at each trophi c l evel i n a gi ven ecosystem.
 Grade 9 Eco lo gy Unit Test
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Pyrami d of numbers. I nverted pyrami d of numbers. Pyrami d of bi omass. I nverted

Li st al l the types of energy pyrami d (l earned).
pyrami d of bi omass. Pyrami d of energy f l ow (can N E VE R get reverted)>

T he pyrami d of bi omass shows the rel ati ve amounts of bi omass (mass x number of
organi sms) at each trophi c l evel . An i nverted pyrami d of bi omass happens when the
What i s the pyrami d of bi omass and what i s the i nverted pyrami d of bi omass?
f ood source i n a trophi c l evel are l ess abundant than the organi sms that consume
them.

Pi ne beetl es are smal l er than the pi ne trees they f eed on, but one tree can support
E xampl e of an i nverted pyrami d of bi omass.
a l arge popul ati on of beetl es, causi ng an i nverted pyrami d of bi omass.

T he pyrami d of numbers shows the f eedi ng rel ati onshi ps and the rel ati ve
popul ati on si z es of organi sms at each l i nk i n the f ood chai n. An i nverted pyrami d
What i s a pyrami d of numbers and what i s an i nverted pyrami d of numbers?
of numbers happens when the densi ti es of parti cul ar ani mal s are not necessari l y
l ess than those of the pl ants that they eat. (i .e especi al l y i nsects).

Pi ne beetl es are smal l er than the pi ne trees, but one pi ne tree can hol d numerous
E xampl e of an i nverted pyrami d of numbers.
pi ne beetl es, causi ng a reversi on.

T he pyrami d of energy f l ow shows the decrease i n energy that i s avai l abl e at each
What i s the pyrami d of energy f l ow?
successi ve trophi c l evel .

Because i n the pyrami d of energy the 1st(bottom l evel ) passes on 10% of the
energy to the next, and that l evel passes onl y 10% of the energy to the 3rd l evel . I f
i t was i nverted i t woul d be i mpossi bl e to pass up energy up because there woul d
Why can't the pyrami d of energy f l ower be i nverted?
be al most no energy to begi n wi th theref ore maki ng i t i nef f i ci ent. T he amount of
avai l abl e energy becomes l ess and l ess, whi ch i s why there real l y can't be more
than f our trophi c l evel s. Law of T hermodynami cs.

I t takes energy to create new organi sms, grow, breathe, di gest f ood, etc. Y ou burn
H ow i s energy l ost between f eedi ng l evel s? cal ori es (energy) j ust by sl eepi ng. Any ef f ort made by an organi sm of heat gi ven of f
i s energy l ost. Al so, an enti re trophi c l evel i s not consumed by the next l evel .
 Grade 9 Eco lo gy Unit Test
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What are three al ternati ve f uel types?
What are the pros and cons of ethanol ?
Pros and cons of methane gas.
Pros and cons of veggi e oi l .
Producers act as essenti al gateways f or whi ch nutri ents to enter the ecosystem?
E xpl ai n the carbon cycl e.
E xpl ai n the phosphorus cycl e.
E xpl ai n the ni trogen cycl e.
E thanol , methane and vegetabl e oi l .
PROS : Reduces ai r pol l utants, al ready used to power cars, economy growth. CON S
: Costl y, wi l l need to use agri cul tural l and f or ethanol producti on.
PROS: E nvi ronmental l y f ri endl y. Avai l abl e technol ogy. E ndl essl y renewabl e. CON S
: N ot enough to power anythi ng.
PROS: Al gae consumes C02 so better f or envi ronment, two bi rds wi th one stone, non
toxi c and renewabl e, technol ogy i s avai l abl e. CON S: Al gae requi res speci f i c
speci al condi ti ons. A l ot of l and i s requi res. Al gae can be easi l y contami nated.
N i trogen and Carbon.
Carbon i s rel eased i nto the ai r, absorbed by pl ants. Pl ants photosynthesi z e.
Carbon di oxi de + Water = Oxygen and Sugars. Pl ants rel ease thi s oxygen. Ani mal s
breathe i n the oxygen and breathe out carbon di oxi de and the cycl e conti nues.
D ue to water and erosi on, phosphorus i nsi de the rocks wi l l seep out i nto the water.
T he pl ants absorb i t and the ani mal s eat i t, resul ti ng i n the phosphorus getti ng
contai ned i nto thei r bodi es. T he ani mal s/pl ants then di e and the phosphorus
returns back i nto the soi l .
N i trogen f rom the atmosphere i s f i xed through ni trogen f i xati on or ni tri f i cati on.
N i trogen f i xati on f i xes the ni trogen and pl ants are abl e to absorb i t, then other
speci es eat the pl ants and gets contai ned i n thei r bodi es. N i tri f i cati on i s when
the decayi ng organi c matter rel eases ni trate and ni tri tes that turns i nto ammoni um,
whi ch seeps back i nto the soi l . T he thi rd way ni trogen gets cycl ed i s
deni tri f i cati on - a chemi cal process that converts ni trates back i nto mol ecul ar
ni trogen.
 Grade 9 Eco lo gy Unit Test
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Aeri al photography and satel l i tes show i n vi vi d detai l the resul ts of l ayi ng waste
to vast areas of f orest and the harm done by poi sons that humans have been
pumpi ng i nto the water and ai r duri ng the century and a hal f si nce the begi nni ng of

What i s the human i mpact on the bi osphere? the I ndustri al Revol uti on. An al armi ngl y l arge hol e i n the E arth’s protecti ve
coveri ng of atmospheri c oz one appears over the Antarcti c. T oxi c haz es settl e over
maj or ci ti es. Once f erti l e areas of the pl anet become desert, never to be green
agai n wi thi n our l i f eti mes. D ue to moderni z ati on, we are destroyi ng the ecosystem
very qui ckl y.

T he venomous cane toads are i nvasi ve speci es brought to Austral i a i n hope of

control l i ng thei r destructi ve cane beetl e speci es. I nstead, the cane toads
What are cane toads?
reproduced remarkabl y rapi dl y and soon became out of control . D ue to i ts
poi sonous nature, i t has caused the rapi d depl eti on of Austral i a's natural speci es.