AP Environmental Science |APES Unit 1-9 Progress
Check: MCQ’s Complete Answered 100% correctly_
Spring 2023
APES Unit 1 Progress Check: MCQ
Six white-tailed deer and six sika deer were enclosed in a pasture for observation
during an eight-year study in central Texas. White-tailed deer are a native species
to central Texas, while sika deer are a nonnative species to central Texas. White-
tailed deer feed on flowering plants and the tips of trees and shrubs but do not
eat grass. Sika deer feed on flowering plants, the tips of trees and shrubs, and
grass. All other grazing animals were kept out of the pasture during the study.
The number of sika deer more than doubled after the eight years, while the
population of white-tailed deer decreased by 50 percent.
Which of the following statements best supports the results from the study?
The sika deer out competed the white-tailed deer in consuming flowering plants and
shrubs.
In reef ecosystems, corals often have microalgae living inside them. The algae
supply the corals with nutrients, and the coral give shelter to the algae. Which of
the following interactions best describes the relationship between the corals and
the algae?
Mutualism
Which of the following best describes an example of resource partitioning in an
ecosystem?
Two different bird species feed from the same oak tree; one eats acorns, and the other
eats insects in the bark.
Which of the following describes the most likely change to terrestrial biomes
resulting from warmer average global temperatures?
The global distribution of midlatitude biomes, such as grasslands and temperate rain
forests, would increase.
Which of the following terrestrial biomes has the highest net primary
productivity?
Tropical rain forest
Which of the following terrestrial biomes has the highest primary productivity per
unit area?
Tropical rain forest
This biome contains a nutrient-rich environment created by falling leaves and
trapped organic materials from the large trees, and it provides the ecosystem
service of filtering pollutants from water.
Freshwater wetlands
This biome is found in shallow waters off the coastline and is Earth's most
biologically diverse marine biome.
Coral reefs
,This freshwater biome is characterized by fast-flowing water that can originate
from underground springs or runoff, which carries sediment and organic
material.
Rivers
Which of the following biogeochemical cycles includes the processes of
buffering ocean pH and photosynthesis, as shown in the diagram?
The carbon cycle
Which of the boxes represents a carbon source?
(D) Burning of fossil fuels
Which box represents a carbon sink that holds carbon compounds for the
shortest period of time?
(A) Vegetation
Which of the following processes is illustrated by the downward arrows from the
atmosphere that show the conversion of nitrogen gas into usable forms available
to producers?
Nitrogen fixiation
Which of the following types of organisms are required to complete the nitrogen
cycle, including the process of denitrification?
Bacteria
The majority of the nitrogen on Earth can be found in which of the following
reservoirs?
The atmosphere
The diagram above best illustrates major processes in which of the following
biogeochemical cycles?
The phosphorus cycle
Which of the following statements is best supported by the diagram of the
phosphorus cycle?
The phosphates absorbed by animal tissue through consumption eventually return to
the soil.
Farmers in a suburban coastal town started using no-till agriculture, a practice
that reduces soil erosion from their farmland. Use the image above to determine
which of the following long-term effects no-till agriculture will have on the
ecosystem surrounding the farmland.
There will be less algal growth in the nearby ocean.
Based on the diagram, which of the following statements about the hydrologic
cycle is true?
Water from the ocean evaporates and condenses in the atmosphere.
Which of the following best identifies a key component of the hydrologic cycle
that powers the movement of water and is missing from the diagram?
The Sun
Which of the following smaller reservoirs of freshwater are missing from the
diagram?
Ice caps
The total rate of photosynthesis in a given area.
Gross primary productivity
, This rate of reaction can be measured in the dark by determining the amount of
oxygen gas consumed in a period of time.
Cellular respiration
The energy available to consumers determined by subtracting the energy used by
plants from the total energy transformed by the process of photosynthesis.
Net primary productivity
Which of the following best describes the flow of energy in most terrestrial and
near-surface marine ecosystems?
Producers use energy from the sun to make organic matter, such as sugars, from
carbon dioxide and water and are then consumed by organisms higher in the food
chain.
Which of the following best describes a terrestrial ecosystem that will have the
highest net primary productivity?
Warm temperatures, high rainfall, and consistent sunlight
Which of the following trophic levels represents a primary producer in an aquatic
food chain?
Phytoplankton
A temperate grassland biome has a gross primary productivity of
3,480kilocalories/meter2/year and a net primary productivity of
2,000kilocalories/meter2/year. Which of the following is the approximate number
of kilocalories/meter2/year available to herbivores in that biome?
200kilocalories/meter2/year
Energy is transferred along food chains from one stage to the next. Which
statement best explains how the energy is transferred?
If a primary producer stores 10,000kcal of energy, then a tertiary consumer will have
10kcal of energy available.
Which of the following best describes what is represented by the arrows in the
food web?
The flow of energy
Which trophic level has the least available energy in kilojoules in this food web?
Human
Based on the second law of thermodynamics, how much biomass of
phytoplankton would be needed to produce 1 kilogram (kg) of large fish in this
food web?
1,000kg (Assuming only approximately 10% of biomass is available to be transferred to
the next trophic level, 1,000kg of phytoplankton would be needed because of the four
different energy transfers in this food web. [1,000kg phytoplankton ×0.10=100kg
available to herbivorous zooplankton; 100kg zooplankton ×0.10=10kg available to small
fish; 10kg small fish ×0.10=1kg of large fish biomass])
Based on the food web shown above, which of the following correctly describes
the flow of energy through the trophic levels from producers to quaternary
consumers?
Shrub, rabbit, snake, mountain lion
Check: MCQ’s Complete Answered 100% correctly_
Spring 2023
APES Unit 1 Progress Check: MCQ
Six white-tailed deer and six sika deer were enclosed in a pasture for observation
during an eight-year study in central Texas. White-tailed deer are a native species
to central Texas, while sika deer are a nonnative species to central Texas. White-
tailed deer feed on flowering plants and the tips of trees and shrubs but do not
eat grass. Sika deer feed on flowering plants, the tips of trees and shrubs, and
grass. All other grazing animals were kept out of the pasture during the study.
The number of sika deer more than doubled after the eight years, while the
population of white-tailed deer decreased by 50 percent.
Which of the following statements best supports the results from the study?
The sika deer out competed the white-tailed deer in consuming flowering plants and
shrubs.
In reef ecosystems, corals often have microalgae living inside them. The algae
supply the corals with nutrients, and the coral give shelter to the algae. Which of
the following interactions best describes the relationship between the corals and
the algae?
Mutualism
Which of the following best describes an example of resource partitioning in an
ecosystem?
Two different bird species feed from the same oak tree; one eats acorns, and the other
eats insects in the bark.
Which of the following describes the most likely change to terrestrial biomes
resulting from warmer average global temperatures?
The global distribution of midlatitude biomes, such as grasslands and temperate rain
forests, would increase.
Which of the following terrestrial biomes has the highest net primary
productivity?
Tropical rain forest
Which of the following terrestrial biomes has the highest primary productivity per
unit area?
Tropical rain forest
This biome contains a nutrient-rich environment created by falling leaves and
trapped organic materials from the large trees, and it provides the ecosystem
service of filtering pollutants from water.
Freshwater wetlands
This biome is found in shallow waters off the coastline and is Earth's most
biologically diverse marine biome.
Coral reefs
,This freshwater biome is characterized by fast-flowing water that can originate
from underground springs or runoff, which carries sediment and organic
material.
Rivers
Which of the following biogeochemical cycles includes the processes of
buffering ocean pH and photosynthesis, as shown in the diagram?
The carbon cycle
Which of the boxes represents a carbon source?
(D) Burning of fossil fuels
Which box represents a carbon sink that holds carbon compounds for the
shortest period of time?
(A) Vegetation
Which of the following processes is illustrated by the downward arrows from the
atmosphere that show the conversion of nitrogen gas into usable forms available
to producers?
Nitrogen fixiation
Which of the following types of organisms are required to complete the nitrogen
cycle, including the process of denitrification?
Bacteria
The majority of the nitrogen on Earth can be found in which of the following
reservoirs?
The atmosphere
The diagram above best illustrates major processes in which of the following
biogeochemical cycles?
The phosphorus cycle
Which of the following statements is best supported by the diagram of the
phosphorus cycle?
The phosphates absorbed by animal tissue through consumption eventually return to
the soil.
Farmers in a suburban coastal town started using no-till agriculture, a practice
that reduces soil erosion from their farmland. Use the image above to determine
which of the following long-term effects no-till agriculture will have on the
ecosystem surrounding the farmland.
There will be less algal growth in the nearby ocean.
Based on the diagram, which of the following statements about the hydrologic
cycle is true?
Water from the ocean evaporates and condenses in the atmosphere.
Which of the following best identifies a key component of the hydrologic cycle
that powers the movement of water and is missing from the diagram?
The Sun
Which of the following smaller reservoirs of freshwater are missing from the
diagram?
Ice caps
The total rate of photosynthesis in a given area.
Gross primary productivity
, This rate of reaction can be measured in the dark by determining the amount of
oxygen gas consumed in a period of time.
Cellular respiration
The energy available to consumers determined by subtracting the energy used by
plants from the total energy transformed by the process of photosynthesis.
Net primary productivity
Which of the following best describes the flow of energy in most terrestrial and
near-surface marine ecosystems?
Producers use energy from the sun to make organic matter, such as sugars, from
carbon dioxide and water and are then consumed by organisms higher in the food
chain.
Which of the following best describes a terrestrial ecosystem that will have the
highest net primary productivity?
Warm temperatures, high rainfall, and consistent sunlight
Which of the following trophic levels represents a primary producer in an aquatic
food chain?
Phytoplankton
A temperate grassland biome has a gross primary productivity of
3,480kilocalories/meter2/year and a net primary productivity of
2,000kilocalories/meter2/year. Which of the following is the approximate number
of kilocalories/meter2/year available to herbivores in that biome?
200kilocalories/meter2/year
Energy is transferred along food chains from one stage to the next. Which
statement best explains how the energy is transferred?
If a primary producer stores 10,000kcal of energy, then a tertiary consumer will have
10kcal of energy available.
Which of the following best describes what is represented by the arrows in the
food web?
The flow of energy
Which trophic level has the least available energy in kilojoules in this food web?
Human
Based on the second law of thermodynamics, how much biomass of
phytoplankton would be needed to produce 1 kilogram (kg) of large fish in this
food web?
1,000kg (Assuming only approximately 10% of biomass is available to be transferred to
the next trophic level, 1,000kg of phytoplankton would be needed because of the four
different energy transfers in this food web. [1,000kg phytoplankton ×0.10=100kg
available to herbivorous zooplankton; 100kg zooplankton ×0.10=10kg available to small
fish; 10kg small fish ×0.10=1kg of large fish biomass])
Based on the food web shown above, which of the following correctly describes
the flow of energy through the trophic levels from producers to quaternary
consumers?
Shrub, rabbit, snake, mountain lion
