[UCSB] EEMB 2 – MIDTERM 1 EXAM 2026-2027
VERIFIED QUESTIONS AND CORRECT
ANSWERS GRADED A+
What is ecology?
The distribution and abundance of organisms and WHY (what factors, interactions,
etc.)
What book did Aristotle write that contributed to ecology? What did he contribute?
Historia Animalium; he was able to explain 'divine' events with natural processes
What book triggered the environmental movement of the 60's, and the first time
ecology was seen as rigorous and serious?
Silent Spring by Rachel Carson
Any environment is made up of its ________________ and ________________
components.
Biotic and abiotic
What are abiotic components? Give examples.
,Nonliving components of an environment, e.g. temperature, soil composition, etc.
What are biotic components? Give examples.
Living components of an environment, e.g. competition, predation, etc.
We learn less and less as we move (lower/higher) on the biological scales.
Higher
What is a population?
Two or more individuals of the same species in a defined geographical location
What is a community?
Two or more populations of two or more different species living in a defined
geographical location
What is an ecosystem?
A collection of communities and their physical environment
What 3 'spheres' make up the biosphere?
Lithosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere
,We gain _________ but lose ___________ when making experiments to study
ecology (rather than studying ecology out as it is naturally)
We gain accuracy but lose authenticity
What is the purpose of ecology?
To predict, manage, and control the environment
How do we use statistics to estimate the size of a population?
By taking a random sample to act as a small representative subset and basing our
estimate off of that
P-value
The probability value; how much 'confidence' we have in our conclusions (if less
than 5%, generally acceptable)
What do we use frequency distribution for?
To find probability
Is biological data generally distributed in a 'normal' curve?
, Yes
What does the Z-test in statistics tell us?
How much above or below the mean something is
What is Graunt the father of?
Demography (1662)
What kind of growth was Leeuwenhoek interested in?
Population growth (ie, insects) (1687)
What did Malthus believe? Was he right or wrong?
That populations grow exponentially but food grows linearly, this was wrong
(1798)
What did Quetelet believe?
That growth (population, food, etc.) is somehow controlled by the environment
(logistic growth)
What did Verhulst do?
VERIFIED QUESTIONS AND CORRECT
ANSWERS GRADED A+
What is ecology?
The distribution and abundance of organisms and WHY (what factors, interactions,
etc.)
What book did Aristotle write that contributed to ecology? What did he contribute?
Historia Animalium; he was able to explain 'divine' events with natural processes
What book triggered the environmental movement of the 60's, and the first time
ecology was seen as rigorous and serious?
Silent Spring by Rachel Carson
Any environment is made up of its ________________ and ________________
components.
Biotic and abiotic
What are abiotic components? Give examples.
,Nonliving components of an environment, e.g. temperature, soil composition, etc.
What are biotic components? Give examples.
Living components of an environment, e.g. competition, predation, etc.
We learn less and less as we move (lower/higher) on the biological scales.
Higher
What is a population?
Two or more individuals of the same species in a defined geographical location
What is a community?
Two or more populations of two or more different species living in a defined
geographical location
What is an ecosystem?
A collection of communities and their physical environment
What 3 'spheres' make up the biosphere?
Lithosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere
,We gain _________ but lose ___________ when making experiments to study
ecology (rather than studying ecology out as it is naturally)
We gain accuracy but lose authenticity
What is the purpose of ecology?
To predict, manage, and control the environment
How do we use statistics to estimate the size of a population?
By taking a random sample to act as a small representative subset and basing our
estimate off of that
P-value
The probability value; how much 'confidence' we have in our conclusions (if less
than 5%, generally acceptable)
What do we use frequency distribution for?
To find probability
Is biological data generally distributed in a 'normal' curve?
, Yes
What does the Z-test in statistics tell us?
How much above or below the mean something is
What is Graunt the father of?
Demography (1662)
What kind of growth was Leeuwenhoek interested in?
Population growth (ie, insects) (1687)
What did Malthus believe? Was he right or wrong?
That populations grow exponentially but food grows linearly, this was wrong
(1798)
What did Quetelet believe?
That growth (population, food, etc.) is somehow controlled by the environment
(logistic growth)
What did Verhulst do?
