VELAMMAL KNOWLEDGE PARK, PONNERI

BODHI CAMPUS – IIT/NEET ACADEMY

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IIT/NEET - WORK SHEET
Class: XII Subject: ZOOLOGY
Topic: ECOSYSTEM : STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION
MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS:
1. Which of these are examples of aquatic ecosystem?
(a) Pond (b) River (c) Estuary (d) All of these
2. Find out the incorrect statement.
(a) Biosphere is a global ecosystem.
(b) Transfer of energy in ecosystem explains in terms of food web and nutrient
cycle.
(c) Pond, lake and wetland are aquatic ecosystems.
(d) Ecosystem is structural not functional unit of ecosystem.
3. Pond is a
(a) Shallow fresh water body (b) Deep fresh water body
(c) Shallow marine water body (d) Deep marine water body
4. At the bottom of ponds the decomposers found are
(a) Fungi (b) Bacteria (c) Flagellates (d) All of these
5. The amount of biomass or organic matter produced per unit area over a period
of time by plants during photosynthesis is known as
(a) Primary production (b) Secondary production
(c) Net primary production (d) Net secondary production
6. NPP is equal to
(a) GPP + R (b) GPP – R (c) GPP × R (d) GPP ÷ R
7. Primary productivity depends on which of the following factors?
(a) Environmental factor (b) Photosynthetic capacity of plant
(c) Availability of nutrients (d) All the above
8. The unit of productivity is
(a) gm-2yr-1 (b) Kcal/m2/year (c) Both (a) and (b) (d) None
9. The annual net primary productivity of the whole biosphere is how much billion
tons (dry weight) of organic matter?
(a) 120 (b) 170 (c) 210 (d) 150
10. The productivity of ocean is less because
(a) It occupies 70 per cent of earth’s surface.
(b) Light is a major limiting factor which decreases with increase in water depth.
(c) It contains algae as a chief producer.
(d) All the above
11. Earthworms help in
(a) Breakdown of complex organic matter (b) Loosening of soil
(c) Both (a) and (b) (d) None of these
Decomposition
12. The important steps in the process of decomposition are
(a) Fragmentation (b) Leaching (c) Catabolism (d) All of these
13. Which of these are true about humus?
(a) Dark coloured amorphous substance (b) Colloidal in nature
(c) Reservoir of nutrient (d) All of these
14. Find out the total number of incorrect statements from the following:
(A) Decomposition is largely an anaerobic process.
(B) Fragmentation, leaching and catabolism occur simultaneously on detritus.
(C) Vertical distribution of different species occupying different level is called
stratification.
(D) Pond is a deep water body.
(E) The rate of decomposition is controlled by chemical composition of detritus
and climatic factors.
(a) 1 (b) 2 (c) 3 (d) 4
15. The rate of decomposition process is decreased by
(a) Aerobic environment
(b) Rich amount of lignin and chitin in detritus
(c) Worm and moist environment
(d) All the above
Energy Flow
16. PAR (Photosynthetically Active Radiation) from incident solar radiation is
(a) 50% (b) 30% (c) 70% (d) 20%
17. Which law is obeyed during energy flow in an ecosystem?
(a) First law of thermodynamics (b) Second law of thermodynamics
(c) Third law of thermodynamics (d) Both (a) and (b)
18. Primary producers in aquatic ecosystem are
(a) Phytoplankton (b) Algae
(c) Higher plant (d) All of these
19. Which of these is a common herbivores in aquatic ecosystem?
(a) Insect (b) Birds (c) Mammals (d) Mollusc
20. DFC (Detritus Food Chain) begins with
(a) Dead organic matter (b) Fungi
(c) Bacteria (d) Plant
21. Decomposers meet their energy and nutrient requirements by
(a) Phytoplanktons (b) Zooplanktons
(c) Detritus (d) Bacteria
22. Decomposers shows
(a) Intracellular digestion (b) Extracellular digestion
(c) Both intra and extracellular digestion (d) No digestion at all
23. Based on the source of their nutrient or food, organisms occupy a specifi c place
in the food chain that is known as their _________.
(a) Hierarchy position (b) Class
(c) Order (d) Trophic level
24. Plants are
(a) Producers (b) Primary consumers
(c) Secondary consumers (d) Tertiary consumers
 Nutrient Cycling
25. Stranding crop is measured in terms of
(a) Biomass/unit area (b) Number of organism/unit area
(c) Both (a) or (b) (d) None of these
26. What does A represent in the diagram?

(a) Food (b) Heat (c) Water (d) CO2

27. A graphical representation known as _________ is required to express food or
energy relationship between organisms at different trophic levels.
(a) Ecological pyramid (b) Standing state
(c) Ecological quadrilateral (d) Standing crop
28. How many ecological pyramids are usually studied?
(a) 1 (b) 2 (c) 3 (d) 4
29. Which of the following pyramid is always upright?
(a) Energy (b) Biomass (c) Number (d) All of these
30. How much energy of sunlight is converted by primary producers into NPP in the
above energy pyramid?

(a) 2% (b) 10% (c) 1% (d) 110%

31. How many top-carnivores are supported in an above grassland ecosystem based
on production of nearly 6 million plants?

(a) 3 (b) 6 (c) 9 (d) 12

32. Find out the correct statement:
(a) Trophic level represents a functional level, not a species as such.
(b) A given species never occupies more than one trophic level in the same
ecosystem at the same time.
(c) In most of the ecosystems, producers are less in number and biomass than
the herbivores.
(d) Pyramid of energy can never be upright.
33. Which of the following may occupy more than one trophic level in the same
ecosystem at the same time?
(a) Lion (b) Sparrow (c) Snake (d) Frog
34. Which of the following organisms have no space in ecological pyramid although
they play vital role in the ecosystem?
(a) Birds (b) Snake (c) Bacteria and fungi (d) Frog
35. The entire sequence of communities that successively change in a given area are
called
(a) Extinction (b) Evolution (c) Succession (d) Sere
36. If succession occurs on bare rock, it is known as
(a) Primary succession (b) Secondary succession
(c) Tertiary succession (d) Quaternary succession
37. Secondary succession occurs in:
(a) Flooded land (b) Burned forest
(c) Abandoned farm land (d) All of these
38. What happened during succession?
(a) Extinction of some species
(b) Increase in number of some species
(c) Change in type of decomposer species
(d) All of these
39. In which succession is the climax reached faster?
(a) Succession on bare rock (b) Succession on burned forest
(c) Succession on newly cooled lava (d) All of these
40. Which is a pioneer species in primary succession on rocks?
(a) Algae (b) Lichens (c) Bryophyte (d) Pteridophyte
41. A. Lichens are pioneer species on rocks.
R. They secrete acids to dissolve rocks, it helps in weathering and soil
formation.
(a) A and R are both correct (b) A and R are both incorrect
(c) A is correct but R is incorrect (d) R is correct but A is incorrect
42. Find out the total number of true statements from the following.
(A) Primary succession is a very slow process, taking thousands of years for the
climax to be reached.
(B) All succession whether taking place in water or land, proceeds to a similar
climax community, the mesic.
(C) As succession proceeds, the number and types of animals and decomposers
also change.
(D) Saprophytes are not given at any place in the ecological pyramids even
though they play a vital role in the ecosystem.
 (a) 1 (b) 2 (c) 3 (d) 4
43. Nutrient cycling is known as
(a) Biogeochemical cycle (b) Calvin cycle
(c) Hatch–slack pathway (d) Krebs cycle
44. Standing state
(a) Vary according to the type of ecosystem
(b) Vary on seasonal basis
(c) Both (a) and (b) (d) None of these
45. The following elements shows gaseous type of nutrient cycles except
(a) Carbon (b) Nitrogen (c) Oxygen (d) Phosphorus
46. Which nutrients flows through the sedimentary cycle?
(a) Sulphur (b) Phosphorus (c) Both (a) and (b) (d) Carbon
47. How much carbon is fixed approximately in biosphere annually through the
process of photosynthesis?
(a) 4 × 1013 kg (b) 4 × 1010 kg (c) 4 × 108 kg (d) 4 × 1020 kg
48. Human activities mainly influence the
(a) Carbon cycle (b) Nitrogen cycle
(c) Phosphorus cycle (d) Sulphur cycle
49. Which of the following are the differences between carbon and phosphorus
cycle?
(a) Carbon cycle is sedimentary whereas phosphorus cycle is gaseous.
(b) Carbon cycle is not significantly affected by human activities whereas
phosphorus is significantly affected.
(c) Carbon has respiratory release but not phosphorus.
(d) All the above
50. A chart is given to represent the phosphorus cycle in a terrestrial ecosystem.
Find out what A, B, C and D represents in the flow chart.

(a) A—Producers, B—Detritus, C—Soil solution, D—Litter fall

(b) A—Litter fall, B—Soil solution, C—Detritus, D—Producers
(c) A—Detritus, B—Producers, C—Litter fall, D—Soil solution
(d) A—Soil solution, B—Litter fall, C—Litter fall, D—Detritus
51. Global GNP is about:
(a) 33 trillion US $ (b) 18 trillion US $
(c) 12 trillion US $ (d) 22 trillion US $
52. Which of the following are ecosystem services?
(a) Purification of air and water by forest
(b) Crop pollination (c) Nutrient cycling (d) All of these
53. Which of the following are the reservoir of gaseous cycle?
(a) Atmosphere (b) Earth crust
(c) Hydrosphere (d) Both (a) and (c)
54. Biotic community is
(a) Static (b) Dynamic
(c) Group of population of same species in a given area (d) All the above
55. Litter is decomposed by how many organisms among the following?
Earthworm, Bacteria, Fungi, Mites
(a) 1 (b) 2 (c) 3 (d) 4
56. In decomposition, complex organic compounds of detritus are converted to
which of the following substances by decomposers?
(a) Carbon dioxide (b) Water
(c) Inorganic nutrients (d) All of these
57. Frog, snake and eagle belongs to
(a) Three trophic levels (b) Two trophic levels
(c) Only one trophic level (d) None of these
58. Diagrammatic representation of different trophic levels of an ecosystem presents
(a) Energy flow (b) Mineral cycling
(c) Food chain and food web (d) Ecological pyramids
59. Which of the following statements is correct?
(a) Producers produce energy (b) Consumers consume energy
(c) Decomposers decompose energy (d) Producers transform energy
60. Biological equilibrium is maintained with the help of
(a) Producers and consumers (b) Consumers and decomposers
(c) Herbivores and carnivores (d) Photosynthesis and respiration
61. Cycling of material in ecosystem is entirely dependent upon
(a) Producers and consumers (b) Primary producers and herbivores
(c) Herbivores and carnivores (d) Producers and decomposers
62. Trophic levels are formed by
(a) Only plants (b) Only animals
(c) Only carnivores (d) Organisms linked in food chains
63. If 20 kJ energy is available at producer level, then how much energy will be
transferred to the lion in the food chain: producer → deer → lion?
(a) 0.2 J (b) 0.02 J (c) 0.002 J (d) 2 J
64. Select the correct match for the below given stages of succession.

(a) A: Phytoplankton, B: Submerged plant, C: Submerged free floating plant stage,

D: Reed swamp stage, E: Marsh-meadow stage, F: Scrub stages
(b) A: Marsh-meadow stage, B: Submerged free floating plant stage, C: Scrub
stages, D: Phytoplankton, E: Submerged plant, F: Reed swamp stage
(c) A: Scrub stages, B: Marsh-meadow stage, C: Phytoplankton, D: Reed swamp
stage, E: Submerged plant, F: Submerged free floating plant stage
(d) A: Scrub stages, B: Phytoplankton, C: Reed swamp stage, D: Marsh-meadow
stage, E: Submersed free floating pant stage, F: Submerged plant
ASSERTION AND REASON QUESTIONS
Read the assertion and reason carefully to mark the correct option out of the options
given below:
(a) If both the assertion and the reason are true and the reason is a correct explanation
of the assertion.
(b) If both the assertion and reason are true but the reason is not a correct explanation of
the assertion.
(c) If the assertion is true but the reason is false.
(d) If both the assertion and reason are false.
65. Assertion: Forest, grassland and desert are examples of terrestrial ecosystem.
Reason: Ecosystem is a functional unit of nature.
66. Assertion: Secondary productivity is defined as the rate of formation of new
organic matter by producers.
Reason: Secondary productivity = GPP – R.
67. Assertion: Of the incident solar radiation is less than 50 per cent of its PAR.
 Reason: Plant captures 2 to 10 per cent of the PAR.
68. Assertion: Pyramid of energy is always upright.
Reason: Energy flow is unidirectional and some energy is always lost as heat at
each step.
69. Assertion: Secondary succession is faster than primary succession.
Reason: Some soil or sediments are present.
70. Assertion: Length of food chain is limited.
Reason: Energy hypothesis explain it because of inefficiency of energy transfer
along the chain.
71. Assertion: Despite occupying about 70% of surface, the productivity of oceans is
only 55 million to us.
Reason: Light and minerals are limiting factor for productivity of ocean.
72. Assertion: The energy pyramid is always upright.
Reason: Some energy is always lost as heat at each step when energy flows from
a particular trophic level to the next trophic level.
73. Assertion: Amount of nutrient present in the soil at any given time, in a given
ecosystem is referred as the standing state.
Reason: Each trophic level has a certain mass of living material at particular
time is known as the standing crop.
PREVIOUS YEAR QUESTIONS
74. Which of the following is a characteristic feature of cropland ecosystem?
[NEET - I, 2016]
(a) Absence of soil organisms (b) Least genetic diversity
(c) Absence of weeds (d) Ecological succession
75. The term ecosystem was coined by: [NEET - I, 2016]
(a) E. P. Odum (b) A.G. Tansley (c) E. Haeckel (d) E. Warming
76. Which of the following is correctly matched? [NEET - II, 2016]
(a) Age pyramid-Biome
(b) Parthenium hysterophorus – heart to biodiversity
(c) Stratification-Population (d) Aerenchyma-Opuntia
NCERT EXEMPLAR QUESTIONS
77. Decomposers like fungi and bacteria are
i. Autotrophs ii. Heterotrophs
iii. Saprotrophs iv. Chemoautotrophs
Choose the correct answer:
(a) i and iii (b) i and iv (c) ii and iii (d) i and ii
78. The process of mineralization by microorganisms helps in the release of
(a) Inorganic nutrients from humus.
(b) Both organic and inorganic nutrients from detritus.
(c) Organic nutrients from humus.
(d) Inorganic nutrients from detritus and formation of humus.
79. Productivity is the rate of production of biomass expressed in terms of
i. (kcal m–3) yr–1 ii. g–2 yr–1
iii. g–1 yr–1 iv. (kcal m–2) yr–1
(a) ii (b) iii (c) ii and iv (d) i and iii
80. An inverted pyramid of biomass can be found in which ecosystem?
(a) Forest (b) Marine (c) Grassland (d) Tundra
81. Which of the following is not a producer?
(a) Spirogyra (b) Agaricus (c) Volvox (d) Nostoc
82. Which of the following ecosystems is more productive in terms of net primary
production?
(a) Deserts (b) Tropical rain forests
(c) Oceans (d) Estuaries
83. Pyramid of numbers is
(a) Always upright (b) Always inverted
(c) Either upright or inverted (d) Neither upright nor inverted
84. Approximately how much of the solar energy that falls on the leaves of a plant is
converted to chemical energy by photosynthesis?
(a) Less than 1% (b) 2 to 10%
(c) 30% (d) 50%
85. Among the following, where do you think the process of decomposition would be
the fastest?
(a) Tropical rain forest (b) Antarctic
(c) Dry arid region (d) Alpine region
86. How much of the net primary productivity of a terrestrial ecosystem is eaten and
digested by herbivores?
(a) 1% (b) 10% (c) 40% (d) 90%
87. During the process of ecological succession the changes that take place in
communities are
(a) Orderly and sequential (b) Random (c) Very quick
(d) Not influenced by the physical environment
88. Climax community is in a state of
(a) Non-equilibrium (b) Equilibrium
(c) Disorder (d) Constant change
89. Among the following biogeochemical cycles which one does not have losses due
to respiration?
(a) Phosphorus (b) Nitrogen (c) Sulphur (d) All of the above
90. The sequence of communities of primary succession in water is
(a) Phytoplankton, sedges, free-floating hydrophytes, rooted hydrophytes,
grasses and trees.
(b) Phytoplankton, free-floating hydrophytes, rooted hydrophytes; sedges,
grasses and trees.
(c) Free-floating hydrophytes, sedges, phytoplankton, rooted hydrophytes,
grasses and trees.
(d) Phytoplankton, rooted submerged hydrophytes, floating hydrophytes, reed
swamp, sedges,meadow and trees.
91. The reservoir for the gaseous type of biogeochemical cycle exists in
(a) Stratosphere (b) Atmosphere
(c) Ionosphere (d) Lithosphere
92. Which of the following type of ecosystem is expected in an area where
evaporation exceeds precipitation and the mean annual rainfall is below 100
mm
(a) Grassland (b) Shrubby forest (c) Desert (d) Mangrove
93. The zone at the edge of a lake or ocean which is alternatively exposed to air and
immersed in water is called
(a) Pelagic zone (b) Benthic zone (c) Lentic zone (d) Littoral zone
94. If the carbon atoms fixed by producers already have passed through three
species, then the trophic level of the last species would be
(a) Scavenger (b) Tertiary producer
(c) Tertiary consumer (d) Secondary consumer
95. Edaphic factor refers to
(a) Water (b) Soil (c) Relative humidity (d) Altitude
96. Which of the following is an ecosystem service provided by a natural ecosystem?
(a) Cycling of nutrients (b) Prevention of soil erosion
(c) Pollutant absorption and reduction of the threat of global warming
(d) All of the above

Answer Keys

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
d d a d a b d c b b c d d b b
16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
a d d d a c b d a c b a c a c
31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45
a a b c a a d d b b a d a c d
46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60
c a a c a b d d d d d d d d d
61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75
d d a a b c b a a a a a b b b
76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90
b c a c b b b c b a b a b d b
91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105
b c c b d a