Spring Final review

Change over time: pages 274-317

1.

2.

What is the difference between a habitat and a microhabitat?

The specific place where an organism lives is its habitat.
A microhabitat is a very small, specialized habitat
A dichotomous key uses the ____________ characteristics of organisms for
identification purposes.
A. Genetic
B.

Physical

C. Main
D. Basic

3. Compare and contrast internal vs external stimuli. Be sure to include examples

of each.
An external stimulus is any stimulus that comes from outside the body of
an organism and that influences the behavior of the organism.
Temperature, sound, and light are some examples of external stimuli.
An internal stimulus is a stimulus that comes from inside an organisms
body. Hunger and thirst are internal stimuli that influence behavior.

4. What is biodiversity? Why is biodiversity important for ecosystems?

The number and variety of plants, animals, and other organisms living in
an area is defined as the biodiversity of an area. Biodiversity in an
ecosystem makes the ecosystem more stable when faced with an
environmental change.

5. Explain why our body needs to maintain homeostasis. What are some examples
of responses our body does to maintain homeostasis.
Homeostasis responses allow individual cells and complete body systems
to function properly. If the body cannot maintain homeostasis, illness or
disease may occur.

6. The ability of the environment to meet human needs indefinitely is __________.

A. Classification

C. Sustainability

B. Taxonomy

D. Biodiversity

7. The diagram below shows a population of adult giraffes over time. Letters A, B

and C represent three time periods.

Which process does this diagram best represent?
A Ecological succession

B Genetic engineering

C Natural selection D Selective breeding

8. A student used a microscope during science class. He saw this organism in a drop

of water. Which organism did he most likely see?

A. Paramecium
B. Vorticella

C. Euglena
D. Amoeba

9. The dichotomous key shown below can be used to identify birds W, X, Y and Z.
Which of the following is the correct classification for Bird X?

A. Certhidea
C. Camarhynchus

B. Geospiza
D. Platyspiza

10. Which of these is an internal stimulus that is most likely to cause a high fever in
a human.
A. going outside with wet hair

B. a virus in the bloodstream

C. exercising on a cold morning

D. eating an unhealthy diet

11. Organisms can usually detect and respond to changes that may disrupt their
homeostasis. These changes are called stimuli, and may occur in the internal or
external environment. Which of the following describes an organisms response to
an internal stimulus?
A plant wilts when it releases too much water.
sun comes up.
C A cat hisses when it meets a dog.

B A bird chirps when the

D A moth flies toward a light.

12. What role does biodiversity play in maintaining the stability of an ecosystem?
A. Biodiversity eliminates the smallest members of a species.

B. Biodiversity causes members of a species to develop characteristics that are

adapted to the environment.
C. Biodiversity decreases the chances that a population will survive if the ecosystem
experiences changes.
D. Biodiversity increases the chances that a population will survive if the
ecosystem experiences changes.
13. Create a comparison chart to show the similarities and differences between
Natural Selection and Artificial Selection.
The practice by which humans breed specific plants or animals for desired
traits is called selective breeding, or artificial selection. Natural selection
is the process by which organisms that inherit helpful traits tend to
reproduce more successfully than other organisms do.

Ecosystems: pages 328-407

14. In a diagram of a food chain, where does a producer, such as a tree, get the
energy it needs to survive?
A. from the air

B. from the sun

C. from the organisms it eats

D. from the remains of organisms

15. Plants use photosynthesis to meet their survival needs by enabling them to
A. convert radiant energy into chemical energy.
carbohydrates into proteins.
C. release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
water molecules.

B. change
D. capture oxygen from

16. The figure below shows a food chain that might exist in a meadow. In your own
words explain what the arrows in the food chain
represent.
The flow of energy.

17.

How is biodiversity beneficial to an ecosystem?

High biodiversity in an ecosystem will help the ecosystem be more stable

if the environment were to change.
18. Geotropism and Turgor Pressure are examples of forces that affect
organisms. In your own words describe both Geotropism and Turgor Pressure.
Phototropism is a plants response to light. Geotropism is a plants
response to gravity.

19.
Create a venn digram to compare and contrast pioneer species vs. climax
species.
The first organisms to live in an uninhabited area are called pioneer
species. They grow on rock and help form soil in which plants can grow.
Climax species live in a fully established ecosystem.

20.
Create a venn digram to compare and contrast Primary Succession vs.
Secondary Succession.
Primary: Begins in a place without any soil, only rock
Secondary: Begins in a place that already has soil and was once the home
of living organisms

21. In your own words explain what is composting.

Compost is matter being decomposed and recycled as a fertilizer or soil
supplement for plants.

22. How does biomass decay in a compost bin?

A compost bin is designed to allow air to circulate through the compost to
aid in the breaking down of the biomass
23. Describe how different types of catastrophic events impact ecosystems such as
floods, hurricanes, or tornadoes.

24. Radiant energy from the Sun is transformed into chemical energy through the
process of photosynthesis. Draw an illustration of this process and describe how this

takes place in plants.

Energy from the Sun is necessary to begin the process. Radiant energy
from the Sun, in the form of light, begins photosynthesis.

Impact of Human and Natural Events: pages

25. Define the following terms:
Weathering: Breakdown of rock into smaller pieces
Erosion: moving of rock material from one place to a new location
Deposition: laying down of sediment that has been transported by a
medium such as wind, water, or ice
26. Describe the effects of weathering, erosion, and deposition on the environment.
Natural processes, such as weathering, erosion, and deposition, are
constantly changing the environment within ecoregions

27. In your own words describe the effects of human activity on groundwater and
surface water in a watershed. Human activity can contaminate water
resources in a variety of ways. Excess nutrients, such as nitrogen and
phosphorous found in fertilizers and human waste, can lead to large algal
blooms, which quickly lower the oxygen levels of a body of water creating
dead zones. Excessive pumping of groundwater from aquifers can cause
subsidence, or sinking of Earths surface.

28. Describe Physical and Chemical Weathering: Give an example of each

Physical: Breakdown of rock into smaller pieces without any change in the
chemical composition of its minerals
Chemical: Chemical reactions break down the bonds holding the rocks
together, causing them to fall apart.
29. What are the six different Ecoregions of Texas? Give a description of each.
The Gulf Coast Prairies and Marshes ecoregion includes the coastline of
Texas. It forms a band of land about 100 miles wide. In northern Texas, the
High Plains ecoregion and the Rolling Plains ecoregion extend into the
Panhandle. The South Texas Plains ecoregion borders Mexico. A woodland
is an ecosystem in which trees are the main form of plant life. The plateau
ecoregion is located in Central Texas. It is also called the Edwards Plateau.
The desert/montane woodland ecoregion is also called the Trans-Pecos.
Humans in Space pages 617-652.
30. Explain how interactions of the sun and Earth allow life to exist on Earth.
Earths rotation allows most regions of Earth to receive sunlight regularly.
Regular sunlight allows plants to grow in almost all places on Earth.
Earth's rotation also protects areas on Earth from temperature extremes.
31. Create a Venn diagram comparing Life on Earth with Life in Space.
The basic necessities of life are air, water, a source of energy, and a
habitat to live in.
32. Why Earths atmosphere is conducive (important) to human life?
As the suns radiation reaches Earth, some of it is reflected back into
space, some is absorbed by atmospheric gases, and some is absorbed by
Earths surface
33. Explain the importance of the ozone layer to living things on Earth.
Earth has a protective ozone layer that blocks most ultraviolet radiation
before it reaches Earth's surface.

34. Identify the accommodations, considering the characteristics of our solar

system, that has helped humans to explore space.
A space suit is an accommodation that allows people to be outside a
spacecraft in space.

Space suits protect people from the lack of oxygen and severe
temperatures that exist in space.