Ecology assignment
Grade – 10 A
Name: _Roselyn Trixie M.______
I. Multiple choice questions:
1. The diagram below shows a food web associated with a mango tree.
Which animals would be most affected if pollination of the mango tree flowers did not take place?
A. Beetles
B. Caterpillars
C. Flies
D. Squirrels
Answer: B
2. When you eat a carnivorous fish, you are a _________________________________
A. Decomposer
B. Primary consumer
C. Secondary consumer
D. Tertiary consumer
Answer: D
3. The size of each trophic level in the diagrams below represents the number of producers, primary
consumers and secondary consumers in a particular food chain.
Which diagram shows the pyramid of numbers for the following food chain:
Grass plants rabbits parasitic flies?
Answer: B
4. The diagram below shows a food web.
Which one of the following organisms is a secondary consumer?
A. Aphid
B. Caterpillar
C. Small Bird
D. Snake
Answer: C
5. Which of the following pyramids represents the biomass of the organisms in the food chain below?
Tree aphid bird
Answer: B
6. Producers are organisms that __________________________
A. Break down dead organic matter
B. Can convert light energy into chemical energy
C. Live on or in the body of another organism
D. Obtain energy from other organisms on which they feed
Answer: B
7. Carbon dioxide is removed from the atmosphere by ______________________
A. Combustion
B. Decomposition
C. Photosynthesis
D. Respiration
Answer: C
II. Structured questions:
1. Answer the following questions:
a) Define the following terms, giving one example in each case: habitat and food chain
__A habitat is the place where an organism lives for example dolphins live in the ocean. Food chain is
a series of organisms where energy is transferred in the form of food for example grass rabbit
snake hawk. _______
b) Name the major components of an ecosystem
____Producers such as plants, algae and photosynthetic bacteria( organisms that can make their own
food by photosynthesis , Consumers such as primary ,secondary and tertiary consumers are organisms
that are not able to make their own food and Decomposers such as bacteria and fungi feed on
decaying organic matter___________________________________
c) Name the process by which energy enters an ecosystem.
___________________________________________________________________________________
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d) How does a producer differ from a consumer?
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2. Consider the following food chains:
a) Grass plants - rabbits -snakes - hawks
b) Oak tree - insects - small birds - owls
For each food chain, draw a diagram to represent the pyramid of biomass and another diagram to
represent the pyramid of numbers.
3. Study the food web below and answer the following :
a) Name the secondary consumers in the food web.
____ladybirds and humans___________________________________________________
b) Why is the cereal plant known as a producer?
____The cereal plant is a known as a producer because it can make its own food by photosynthesis, it
converts light energy into chemical energy, they synthesise glucose from carbon dioxide and water
and they produce oxygen from photosynthesis. It affects the rabbits because they provide them with
energy and oxygen. _______________________
c) Draw a pyramid of numbers for the food chain shown below.
Cereal plants cattle humans mosquitoes
Mosquitoes
Humans
Cattle
Cereal Plants
4. The pyramid of biomass for a forest is shown below. The width of each band represents the biomass
of each trophic level.
a) What is the correct unit to record biomass?
_______grams per meter squared (g/m2)__________________________________________
b) Why are pyramids of biomass more useful when studying a particular ecosystem than pyramid of
numbers?
_____ The biomass of organisms in each trophic level is measured and presented in a pyramid of
biomass. It is more accurate as the organism's size is taken into account, it is constructed based on the
standing mass, the dry mass of organisms in each tropic level at one time. As the pyramid of numbers
only compare the number of organisms. _____________________
c) From the pyramid of biomass, identify
i) The producer and
___________________________________________________________________________________
ii) The secondary consumer
___________________________________________________________________________________
d) Insecticide was sprayed onto the trees to control the number of caterpillars. After a few years,
scientists noticed that there was a decline in the number of eagles in the forest. Suggest two reasons
for the decline.
___________________________________________________________________________________
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5. The diagram shows the energy pathway and nutrient pathway in a food chain.
a) What nutrient is illustrated in the nutrient pathway?
___________________________________________________________________________________
b) How does the producer take in energy from the Sun?
___________________________________________________________________________________
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c) Why do the arrows representing the energy pathway decrease in size from the Sun to the carnivores?
___________________________________________________________________________________
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d) From the diagram, state one difference between the energy pathway and nutrient pathway.
___________________________________________________________________________________
e) A carbon sink is an area that stores carbon compounds for an indefinite period. Name two natural
places on Earth that can be considered as carbon sinks.
___________________________________________________________________________________
III. Free response questions:
1. How is carbon cycled within an ecosystem?
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2. In a pond, fluctuations in the populations of producers and primary consumers and the amount of
dissolved mineral salts were measured over a period of two years. The results are shown in a graph.
a) Which of the curves X,Y and Z represent the primary consumer and producer respectively? Give
reasons for your answer
___________________________________________________________________________________
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b) Which curve represents the amount of mineral salts? Explain your answer.
___________________________________________________________________________________
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3. Answer the below questions
a) Define what a carbon sink is and state two examples.
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b) What is the role of carbon sink in global warming?
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4. Explain the nitrogen cycle with diagram
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