Online Assessment Instructions 1) Type in your first and last name in the
“Name” box in the top-left corner. 2) Next type in your teacher’s name in
the “ID” box. 3) Then type in your school’s name in the
“Email” box. 4) Select the best answer for each question. 5) When you
are finished click the “Grade and Submit” button. 6) The grade will be emailed
to your teacher.
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1.
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NOTE: If your teacher’s last
name is not Elliott, then you are doing the wrong assessment. ---This assessment is only for
students of other teachers. ---If your teacher is Mr. Elliott, then please go back to the website
and click on the first assessment link instead. Thanks!
Plants, animals, and other organism exist in interconnected webs in fragile
ecosystems that can be damaged by pollution. One example of this kind of food web is shown
below.
Food
Web | | Pollutants can harm each organism in a food web.
Step 1: Harmful chemicals leak into the ground water from a
nearby factory.
Step 2: Plants absorb this water pollution.
Step 3:
Herbivores eat these plants, and the harmful chemicals are absorbed into their
bodies.
Step 4: Carnivores that eat these herbivores absorb the pollution into their
bodies.
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Which of the following choices
accurately describes how water pollution in a food web could decrease
biodiversity.
a. | Water pollution can increase biodiversity by causing
harmful mutations to appear in organisms. | b. | Pollutants are
absorbed by lower organisms and are passed on to the organisms that eat
them. | c. | Life forms such as mammals easily avoid water pollution
due to their superior intelligence. | d. | Water pollution
may kill predators such as hawks and rattlesnakes, but it will not affect prey animals such as
rabbits or mice. |
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2.
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Many people depend on food caught in the ocean for
employment and/or for sustenance. Which action best helps people maintain the oceans as
a food source?
a. | adding garden fertilizers to
oceans | b. | preventing a loss of biodiversity in oceans | c. | exploring new parts of
oceans | d. | building more sport-fishing areas near
oceans |
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3.
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DDT, a powerful insecticide, was effectively used
in the 1940s and 50s to kill mosquitos. This reduced human deaths from diseases such as malaria and
typhus. However, this chemical often washed into streams, creeks, rivers, ponds, and lakes where it
caused significant damage to the local food webs.
How could an insecticide reduce the
biodiversity of higher life forms such as fish and other animals?
a. | Insecticides are designed to kill insects and not higher
life forms. Therefore these type of chemicals will not harm fish, otters, or
birds. | b. | If fish eat the poisoned mosquitoes, they will suffer
and/or die. If birds or raccoons eat these fish, they too will suffer and possibly
die. | c. | Biodiversity is increased when we use insecticides like
this because more humans are spared from dying from malaria | d. | Biodiversity of higher life forms is reduced when wildlife habitats are
destroyed. |
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4.
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Forests are often preserved to protect
biodiversity. This helps preserve the unique characteristics of the organisms that live there.
Sometimes these forests are divided into separate sections that are spread out instead of one
continuous forest. This is known as forest fragmentation.
Which types of organisms
will be the least likely to be affected by forest fragmentation?
a. | herbivorous mammals that are dependent upon specific
plants for food | b. | herbivorous birds
that are able to migrate great distances | c. | omnivores that
hibernate in winter in order to conserve energy | d. | omnivores that
burrow underground deep in to the soil. |
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5.
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In the United States, Kudzu vines from Japan were
planted next to highways to control erosion starting during the 1930s. These vines grow quickly and
rapidly spread out to cover large areas. Kudzu vines smother other plants by blocking sunlight and
occupying most of the good soil.
Kudzu
Vine (Pueraria montana) | | |
Kudzu vines reduce biodiversity for flora (plants), but they also
reduce biodiversity for fauna (animals) and other organisms. Which choice below correctly
describes how Kudzu reduces biodiversity for fauna?.
a. | Kudzu is beneficial to the soil because it increases the
amount of nitrogen in the ground. | b. | We have discovered
that anti-inflammatory medicine can be made from Kudzu plants. | c. | When Kudzu eliminates native plants, then the animals that eat these plants
are also effected. | d. | Kudzu vines reduce
biodiversity by covering other plants which blocks sunlight and kills
them. |
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6.
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The cutting down of redwood trees has led to a
decrease in biodiversity in the western United States.
One potential
consequence of deforestation such as this is...?
a. | more robust and healthy ecosystems for the forest
wildlife. | b. | a decrease in the erosion of
topsoil | c. | the loss of plants with potential medical
uses. | d. | an increase in the amount of oxygen in our atmospheric
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7.
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During the early settlement of the United States,
pioneers cut down large tracts of forests on the east coast to use for home construction, for
firewood, and to create cleared spaces to plant crops. What was the most likely effect
of this kind of action?
a. | decreased plant and animal
diversity | c. | increased organism
biodiversity. | b. | decreased carbon
dioxide production | d. | decreased human
populations |
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8.
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Many people depend on food caught in the ocean.
Which of the following human practices would be most likely to negatively affect the
populations of ocean species?
a. | breeding fish on farms that
simulate ocean conditions | b. | building more sport-fishing areas near oceans | c. | preventing invasive species from reaching new
habitats | d. | snorkeling in marine reef
habitats |
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9.
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If deforestation continues unchecked in the Amazon
rain forest, certain trees, birds, and other forest dwellers such as jaguars may go extinct.
Which choice below correctly describes the consequence of this decrease in
biodiversity?
a. | native people will have less food sources, and the food
web will be disrupted | b. | an increase in the
number of producers after a herbivore population boom | c. | disturbances in weather patterns, leading to a higher average global
temperatures | d. | a decrease in the
number of herbivores due to a lack of natural predators |
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10.
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In many states the population of white-tailed deer
has increased dramatically in the last 10 years, resulting in unbalanced ecosystems. Deer now often
overgraze on young plants in some forests, making it difficult for these forests to grow and
regenerate. This is reducing biodiversity in these forests.
What is one way that humans have
contributed to deer overpopulation?
a. | eliminating diseases in deer has increased the deer
population | b. | by killing off
predators such as wolves, bears, and mountain lions | c. | reducing biodiversity by planting more types of trees in the forests where
deer live | d. | humans keeping deer as pets has contributed to deer
overpopulation |
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