Ecology and Ecosystems Quiz

Grade 10 · Science · Quiz

Test your understanding of ecosystems, food webs, energy flow, and ecological interactions.

Questions

1. A rabbit eats grass and is eaten by a fox. The rabbit is a:

   1. Producer
   2. Primary consumer
   3. Secondary consumer
   4. Decomposer
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   Answer: Primary consumer

   The rabbit eats grass (a producer), making it a primary consumer at trophic level 2.

2. Sunlight is an abiotic factor in an ecosystem.

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   Answer: True

   Sunlight is a nonliving energy source — an abiotic factor that drives photosynthesis and influences temperature in ecosystems.

3. Which ecological relationship benefits one organism while harming another?

   1. Mutualism
   2. Commensalism
   3. Parasitism
   4. Competition
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   Answer: Parasitism

   In parasitism, one organism (the parasite) benefits while the other (the host) is harmed — such as a tick feeding on a deer.

4. The maximum population an environment can support is called the ___.

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   Answer: carrying capacity

   Carrying capacity (K) is the maximum population size a habitat can support without degrading the resources needed for survival.

5. Which cycle is responsible for returning carbon from organisms back to the atmosphere?

   1. Nitrogen cycle
   2. Water cycle
   3. Carbon cycle
   4. Phosphorus cycle
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   Answer: Carbon cycle

   The carbon cycle moves carbon through living organisms, the atmosphere, oceans, and rocks via processes like respiration, photosynthesis, and decomposition.

6. An increase in a top predator population will typically cause prey populations to increase.

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   Answer: False

   More predators mean more prey are eaten, causing prey populations to decrease — this is the basis of predator-prey dynamics and trophic cascades.

7. Which of the following is an example of a decomposer?

   1. Oak tree
   2. Grasshopper
   3. Eagle
   4. Mushroom
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   Answer: Mushroom

   Mushrooms (fungi) are decomposers that break down dead organic matter, recycling nutrients back into the soil.

8. A diagram that shows all feeding relationships in an ecosystem is called a food ___.

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   Answer: web

   A food web shows the network of all feeding relationships in an ecosystem, unlike a simple food chain which shows only one linear pathway.

9. Invasive species can disrupt native ecosystems by outcompeting native organisms.

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   Answer: True

   Invasive species often lack natural predators in their new environment, allowing them to outcompete native species for food, space, and other resources.

10. If a producer captures 50,000 kJ of energy, approximately how much energy is available to secondary consumers?

    1. 5,000 kJ
    2. 500 kJ
    3. 50 kJ
    4. 5 kJ
    Show answer

    Answer: 500 kJ

    Using the 10% rule: producers have 50,000 kJ → primary consumers get 5,000 kJ → secondary consumers get 500 kJ.

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