Living Environment Regents Pre-Assessment for Student Growth Measurement

1. A stable ecosystem would not contain

(1) materials being cycled (3) decomposers

(2) consumers without producers (4) a constant source of energy

2. Abiotic factors that could affect the stability of an ecosystem could include

(1) hurricanes, packs of wolves, and temperature

(2) blizzards, heat waves, and swarms of grasshoppers
(3) droughts, floods, and heat waves
(4) species of fish, number of decomposers, and supply of algae

The diagram below represents a typical energy pyramid.

3. Which level in the pyramid includes autotrophs?

(1) A (3) C
(2) B (4) D

4. Which diagram best represents the relative locations of the structures in the list below?

A–chromosome
B–nucleus
C–cell
D–gene

1
 Living Environment Regents Pre-Assessment for Student Growth Measurement

Base your answer to question 15 on the information below and on your knowledge of biology.
The dodo bird inhabited the island of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean, where it lived undisturbed for
years. It lost its ability to fly and it lived and nested on the ground where it ate fruits that had fallen
from trees. There were no mammals living on the island. In 1505, the first humans set foot on
Mauritius. The island quickly became a stopover for ships engaged in the spice trade. The dodo was
a welcome source of fresh meat for the sailors and large numbers of dodos were killed for food. In
time, pigs, monkeys, and rats brought to the island ate the dodo eggs in the ground nests.

15. Which statement describes what most likely happened to the dodo bird within 100 years of the
arrival of humans on Mauritius?

(1) Dodo birds developed the ability to fly in order to escape predation and their population
increased.
(2) The dodo bird population increased after the birds learned to build their nests in trees.
(3) Human exploitation and introduced species significantly reduced dodo bird populations.
(4) The dodo bird population became smaller because they preyed upon the introduced species.

Base your answers to question 16 on the information below and on your knowledge of biology.

A biology student was given three unlabeled jars of pond water from the same source, each
containing a different type of mobile unicellular organism: euglena, ameba, and paramecium. The
only information the student has is that the ameba and paramecium are both heterotrophs and the
euglena can be either heterotrophic or autotrophic, depending on its environment.

16. State one way the euglena’s two methods of nutrition provide a survival advantage the other
unicellular organisms do not have.

Base your answers to questions 17 through 19 on the information and table below and on your
knowledge of biology.

The variety of organisms known as plankton contributes to the unique nutritional relationships in
an ocean ecosystem. Phytoplankton include algae and other floating organisms that perform
photosynthesis. Plankton that cannot produce food are known as zooplankton. Some nutritional
relationships involving these organisms and several others are shown in the table below.

2
 Living Environment Regents Pre-Assessment for Student Growth Measurement

17. Humans are currently overfishing codfish in the North Atlantic. Explain why this could endanger
both the shark population and the squid population in this community.

25. Base your answer to question 25 on the information below and on your knowledge of biology.

Help for Aging Memories

As aging occurs, the ability to form memories begins to decrease. Research has shown that an
increase in the production of a certain molecule, BDNF, seems to restore the processes involved in
storing memories. BDNF is found in the central nervous system and seems to be important in
maintaining nerve cell health. Researchers are testing a new drug that seems to increase the
production of BDNF. Design an experiment to test the effectiveness of the new drug to increase
the production of BDNF in the brains of rats. In your answer, be sure to:

• state the hypothesis your experiment will test

• describe how….

3
 Living Environment Regents Pre-Assessment for Student Growth Measurement

Name _______________________ Date: ______

Multiple-Choice Questions:

1. ____ 6. ____ 11. ____

2. ____ 7. ____ 12. ____

3. ____ 8. ____ 13. ____

4. ____ 9. ____ 14. ____

5. ____ 10. ____ 15. ____

Extended Response Questions:

16.________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
17._________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
18. _________________________________

19.

4
 Living Environment Regents Pre-Assessment for Student Growth Measurement

20.

22.________________________________________________________________________________
23. ________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
24. ________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________

25.
Hypothesis: _________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________

Control: ___________________________________________________________________________
Factor 1: ___________________________________________________________________________

Factor 2: ___________________________________________________________________________

Dependent Variable: _________________________________________________________________

5
 Living Environment Regents Pre-Assessment for Student Growth Measurement

Teacher Key

1. 2 6. 2 11. 3
2. 2 7. 2 12. 2
3. 4 8. 4 13. 4
4. 2 9. 3 14. 3
5. 3 10. 4 15. 3

16. Euglena can either consume other organisms for food/energy or produce its own food.
17. The sharks rely on codfish for food; they could see reduced numbers of sharks if codfish
populations decline. The squid also rely on codfish as a food source and could see declining
populations for the same reasons.
18. Small fish.
19.

20 & 21

6
 Living Environment Regents Pre-Assessment for Student Growth Measurement

22. As water depth increases, fish species found decreases.

23. White blood cells can both attack/kill pathogens and also produce antibodies that can destroy or
render pathogens ineffective.

24. A genetic advantage of sexual reproduction is genetic variability.

25. Hypothesis must state a prediction about the effectiveness of the drug (effective or ineffective)
relative to production of BDNF. Control group is the rats that do not receive the drug. Two factors
to be kept the same in both groups are the amount of food & water the rats receive. The
dependent variable is the production of BDNF.