Biology · Environmental Studies

Ecosystem Nutrition and Energy Flow

1,093 Questions

Ecosystem nutrition and energy flow questions cover trophic levels, food chains, and biodegradable materials. These concepts frequently appear in general science sections of major competitive exams. Review these questions to build a solid understanding of ecological interactions.

Trophic levels conceptFood chain orderAutotrophic nutritionEnergy assimilationScavengers and decomposers

Ecosystem Nutrition and Energy Flow Questions

Multiple choice

A consumer whose carbon atoms have already passed through two species is a:

  1. primary consumer

  2. primary producer

  3. secondary consumer

  4. tertiary consumer
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

In a food chain, primary consumers eat producers (first species), secondary consumers eat primary consumers (second species), and tertiary consumers eat secondary consumers (third species). A secondary consumer is one whose food has passed through two species - producer then primary consumer.

Multiple choice

_________ make their own food.

  1. Plants

  2. Insects

  3. Humans

  4. Animals
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

Plants produce their own food through photosynthesis, a process where they use sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide to create glucose. Animals, insects, and humans cannot produce their own food and must consume other organisms for energy.

Multiple choice

Which of the following statements is incorrect?

  1. Some plants have two or more edible parts.

  2. Water constitutes of 70% of our body weight.

  3. Wheat and rice are rich in carbohydrates.

  4. Honey bees store their food in honey combs.

  5. Horse is an omnivores animal.
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
E Correct answer
Explanation

This is incorrect. Horse is a herbivore.

Multiple choice

Ten percent law of energy transfer at successive trophic levels in food chain was given by:

  1. Elton

  2. Haeckel

  3. Lindman

  4. Shimper
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

The 10% law of energy transfer states that only about 10% of energy is transferred from one trophic level to the next in a food chain. This ecological principle was proposed by Raymond Lindman in 1942. Elton is famous for the pyramid of numbers concept, Haeckel coined the term ecology, and Shimper contributed to plant geography.

Multiple choice

An autotroph is a being that can produce its own food from a variety of sources. Which among the following autotrops appears to resurrect from the dead and thus commonly known as resurrection fern?

  1. Selaginella Lepidophylla

  2. Corpse Lily

  3. Living Rocks

  4. Venus Fly Traps

  5. Ball Moss
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

Also called resurrection fern this autotroph is interesting in that it appears to resurrect from the dead. It lives in very dry climates and when there is a lack of water, it shrivels up into a grey ball and can stay like this for a number of years. When it finally rains, the resurrection fern grows and turns green. 

Multiple choice

Which of the following statements is/are correct?

a. In a grazing food chain, the first level starts with plants as producers and ends with herbivores as consumers at the last level. b. A detritus food chain is based on the decomposition or breaking down of organic wastes and dead matter derived from the grazing food chain. c. In a carnivorous food chain, the first level starts with carnivores as consumers and ends with top carnivores at the last level.

  1. a only

  2. b only

  3. c only

  4. a and c

  5. a, b and c
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

This statement is correct.

Multiple choice

Which of the following is a similarity between plants and animals?

  1. Both can prepare their own food.

  2. Both excrete waste materials.

  3. Both are highly sensitive to stimulus.

  4. Both grow throughout their life.

  5. -
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

This is the correct answer. Plants and animals both excrete their waste materials. Plants excrete latex and gum. Animals excrete undigested food.

Multiple choice

The absorptive heterotrophic mode of nutrition is observed in

  1. cyanobacteria

  2. pteridophytes

  3. fungi

  4. algae

  5. bryophytes
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

The true fungi or the eumycetes are special types of achlorophyllous thallophytic organisms living as parasitic or a saprophytic mode of existence. They are always heterophytes and never autophytes. They depend on others for food, but all other groups as algae, bryophytes and pteridophytes are chlorophyll containing green plants that are autotrophic.

Multiple choice

Which of the following statements is true for parasites?

  1. They utilize the energy of sunlight.

  2. They utilize the energy of inorganic compounds.

  3. They synthesize their own food.

  4. They feed upon other animals.
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

Parasites are organisms that live on or in another organism (the host) and feed upon it, benefiting at the host's expense. They do not utilize sunlight (that's autotrophs like plants), do not use inorganic compounds for energy (that's chemoautotrophs), and do not synthesize their own food (that's the definition of autotrophy).