Which of the following is NOT one of the spheres of Earth’s environment?

1. biosphere

2. atmosphere

3. lithosphere

4. hydrosphere

5. luminosphere

3.1

Which of the following is NOT one of the spheres of Earth’s environment?

1. biosphere

2. atmosphere

3. lithosphere

4. hydrosphere

5. luminosphere

3.1

Which of the following is NOT true about photosynthesis?

1. Photosynthesis is a process that occurs in many types of green plants and other producers.

2. The raw materials of photosynthesis include carbon dioxide and water.

3. Kinetic energy from the sun is captured to form glucose sugar with the release of oxygen gas.

4. During the process, entropy increases because this is what naturally happens in nature.

5. During the process, entropy decreases, but it requires solar energy.

3.2

Which of the following is NOT true about photosynthesis?

1. Photosynthesis is a process that occurs in many types of green plants and other producers.

2. The raw materials of photosynthesis include carbon dioxide and water.

3. Kinetic energy from the sun is captured to form glucose sugar with the release of oxygen gas.

4. During the process, entropy increases because this is what naturally happens in nature.

5. During the process, entropy decreases, but it requires solar energy.

3.2

Which of the following aquatic ecosystems has very high annual net primary productivity but covers little of the globe?

1. swamps and marshes

2. temperate evergreen forests

3. continental shelf zones

4. open ocean

5. all of the above

3.3

Which of the following aquatic ecosystems has very high annual net primary productivity but covers little of the globe?

1. swamps and marshes

2. temperate evergreen forests

3. continental shelf zones

4. open ocean

5. all of the above

3.3

Why doesn’t any wild animal make its living exclusively from eating lions?

1. Lions fight back.

2. The energy required to subdue and kill a lion would be very great.

3. The amount of energy available in the body of a lion is insufficient to match the energy required to kill it.

4. There are relatively fewer lions than there are gazelles and zebras.

5. All of the above are true.

3.4

Why doesn’t any wild animal make its living exclusively from eating lions?

1. Lions fight back.

2. The energy required to subdue and kill a lion would be very great.

3. The amount of energy available in the body of a lion is insufficient to match the energy required to kill it.

4. There are relatively fewer lions than there are gazelles and zebras.

5. All of the above are true.

3.4

How is the carbon cycle like the nitrogen cycle but different from the phosphorus cycle?

1. Nutrients are passed from one trophic level to the next.

2. There is a large reservoir of the element in the atmosphere.

3. Plants are able to incorporate the element directly from its atmospheric form into plant compounds.

4. Bacteria are involved in converting one chemical form of the substance to another.

5. It is formed naturally due to the breakdown of sedimentary rocks.

3.5

How is the carbon cycle like the nitrogen cycle but different from the phosphorus cycle?

1. Nutrients are passed from one trophic level to the next.

2. There is a large reservoir of the element in the atmosphere.

3. Plants are able to incorporate the element directly from its atmospheric form into plant compounds.

4. Bacteria are involved in converting one chemical form of the substance to another.

5. It is formed naturally due to the breakdown of sedimentary rocks.

3.5

Which of the following is NOT true about the phosphorus cycle? 1. It has both natural and human-

influenced steps.

2. The natural source of phosphorus is the breakdown of rock and soil.

3. Phosphorus can be fixed naturally by soil-dwelling bacteria.

4. Because phosphorus is formed slowly, it is often a limiting nutrient in natural ecosystems.

5. When agricultural phosphorus leaches into water, algae and phytoplankton populations can grow very quickly.

3.6

DRMercer©

Which of the following is NOT true about the phosphorus cycle? 1. It has both natural and human-

influenced steps.

2. The natural source of phosphorus is the breakdown of rock and soil.

3. Phosphorus can be fixed naturally by soil-dwelling bacteria.

4. Because phosphorus is formed slowly, it is often a limiting nutrient in natural ecosystems.

5. When agricultural phosphorus leaches into water, algae and phytoplankton populations can grow very quickly.

3.6

DRMercer©

“The Value of the World’s Ecosystem Services and Natural Capital” by Robert Costanza and others (Nature 387: 253–260, 1997)1. was written as an attempt to allow market economies to

understand how we benefited from the products and services of natural ecosystems.

2. was an attempt to place a dollar amount on the value of all harvested timber and forest products.

3. was widely accepted by market experts and politicians.

4. evaluated natural services at about half the U.S. gross national product.

5. supported the human welfare benefit of converting forests in Thailand to shrimp farms to support the world’s growing appetite for seafood.

3.7

“The Value of the World’s Ecosystem Services and Natural Capital” by Robert Costanza and others (Nature 387: 253–260, 1997)1. was written as an attempt to allow market economies to

understand how we benefited from the products and services of natural ecosystems.

2. was an attempt to place a dollar amount on the value of all harvested timber and forest products.

3. was widely accepted by market experts and politicians.

4. evaluated natural services at about half the U.S. gross national product.

5. supported the human welfare benefit of converting forests in Thailand to shrimp farms to support the world’s growing appetite for seafood.

3.7

Which is a natural service NOT provided by a forest?

1. It provides habitat for numerous plant, animal, and microbe species.

2. It protects soil from erosion.

3. It reduces flooding due to rapid runoff of water.

4. It reduces the amount of precipitation on local scales.

5. It ties up carbon that might otherwise form carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas.

3.8

Which is a natural service NOT provided by a forest?

1. It provides habitat for numerous plant, animal, and microbe species.

2. It protects soil from erosion.

3. It reduces flooding due to rapid runoff of water.

4. It reduces the amount of precipitation on local scales.

5. It ties up carbon that might otherwise form carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas.

3.8

Which of the following is true about the roles of energy and nutrients within natural ecosystems?

1. Energy but not nutrients can be passed from one trophic level to another.

2. Nutrients can be cycled through an ecosystem, whereas energy passes one-way through the ecosystem.

3. Both nutrients and energy are assimilated at near 100% efficiency at each trophic level.

4. Fourth- and fifth-order consumers are very common in ecosystems.

5. Decomposers and detritus feeders are dispensable components of natural ecosystems.

3.9

Which of the following is true about the roles of energy and nutrients within natural ecosystems?

1. Energy but not nutrients can be passed from one trophic level to another.

2. Nutrients can be cycled through an ecosystem, whereas energy passes one-way through the ecosystem.

3. Both nutrients and energy are assimilated at near 100% efficiency at each trophic level.

4. Fourth- and fifth-order consumers are very common in ecosystems.

5. Decomposers and detritus feeders are dispensable components of natural ecosystems.

3.9

All of the following are true about global nitrogen EXCEPT

1. the main reserve of nitrogen is in the atmosphere.

2. nitrogen is cycled naturally among inert, insoluble, and soluble forms by soil bacteria.

3. the Haber–Bosch process allowed conversion of atmospheric nitrogen to forms that plants could use.

4. the overall level of fixed nitrogen remains the same.

5. high levels of anthropogenic fixed nitrogen are changing natural plant communities.

3.10

All of the following are true about global nitrogen EXCEPT

1. the main reserve of nitrogen is in the atmosphere.

2. nitrogen is cycled naturally among inert, insoluble, and soluble forms by soil bacteria.

3. the Haber–Bosch process allowed conversion of atmospheric nitrogen to forms that plants could use.

4. the overall level of fixed nitrogen remains the same.

5. high levels of anthropogenic fixed nitrogen are changing natural plant communities.

3.10