Energy & Environment Management Multiple Choice Questions on “Food Chains”.
1. What is a food chain?
a) A long chain made of food
b) Process of preparing food
c) Food where locked by chain
d) Pathway that energy and nutrients flow through the ecosystem
Answer: d
Clarification: Energy living organisms need food to get energy and thus to survive. The food chain describes who eats whom in the wild. Different habitats and ecosystems provide many possible food chains that make up a food web.
2. Why organisms in food chains are grouped into categories?
a) To form community
b) To share the energy
c) To form trophic levels
d) To get more energy
Answer: c
Clarification: Trophic levels are the levels within the food chain where an organism obtains its energy. This energy depends on whether the organism is producers, consumers or decomposers. The number of trophic levels in food chains varies from three to five.
3. What role human plays in food chains?
a) Producers
b) Consumers
c) Humans do not involve in food chains
d) Decomposers
Answer: b
Clarification: Humans are consumers in the food chain. Humans depend on other organisms or plants for energy and they can’t generate own energy. Humans eat both plants and animals. Humans can be classified into both primary and secondary consumers based on food chain.
4. Why do all food chains start with plants?
a) Because plants are easily grown
b) Because plants are nutritious
c) Because plants can produce its own energy
d) Because plants do not require energy
Answer: c
Clarification: The whole food chain depends on the producers. Plants are the only producers. The plants are autotrophs, as they produce their own food by the process of photosynthesis. Food is the source of energy in living being, thus plants are required to start food chains.
5. How many types of ecological models are there?
a) One
b) Two
c) Three
d) Four
Answer: b
Clarification: There are two major types of ecological models which are used they are, analytic models and computational models. Analytic models are simple systems where computational models use numerical techniques to solve problems.
6. Food chains are often used in ecological modeling.
a) True
b) False
Answer: a
Clarification: Ecological model is a mathematical representation of an ecological system includes individual population and ecological community which are studied to better understand the real system. Ecosystem models provide a description of climate and stand metrics.
7. Which of the following food chain correctly describes the flow of energy in an ecosystem?
a) Grass->lion->human
b) Cow->grass->lion
c) Grass->goat->human
d) Leaf->bird->lizard
Answer: c
Clarification: Usually energy flows from one trophic level to the next higher trophic level. In the above answer, grass is the lowest trophic level and it is a producer. Goat eats grass to get energy. Goat is a primary consumer. Human eat goat for energy and human belongs to the secondary consumer.
8. If there is a shortage of deer in forest, what tiger might do?
a) Eat grassland leaves
b) Die due to starvation
c) Hunt for other animals
d) Fasting until they find deer
Answer: c
Clarification: In any food chain, one particular animal do not depend on another particular animal. Consumers depend on the producers for energy but that producer may not be particular for consumers all the time.
9. In the food relationship, where the tiger eats the deer and the deer eats plants. Which of the following conditions is true?
a) The tiger is the prey
b) The tiger is the primary consumer
c) The deer is the predator
d) The deer is the prey
Answer: d
Clarification: In the above relationship of food chain of the tiger and deer, the tiger is the predator and the deer is the prey. In other words, the tiger is the secondary consumer and the deer is the primary consumer.
10. Which of the following condition is true about food chain?
a) Provide more energy for next trophic level
b) Provides food for succeeding organisms
c) Consume energy from next trophic level
d) Do not pass energy to next trophic level
Answer: b
Clarification: In a food chain, the organisms provide food for succeeding organisms irrespective whether they are producers or consumers. Plants which are producer gives energy to the primary consumers like deer and this deer gives energy to secondary consumer say carnivores.
11. Carrot->rabbit->fox is an example of_______________________
a) Food web
b) Food chain
c) Food cycle
d) Food round
Answer: b
Clarification: Food chain is a linear sequence of links in a food web starting from producers to apex predators. In the above example carrot is a producer. Rabbit is primary consumer which eats producer and fox is secondary consumer which eats primary consumer.
12. Which of the following factor diminishing as food chain proceeds?
a) Pressure
b) Energy
c) Nutrition
d) Temperature
Answer: b
Clarification: During the transfer of energy of organic food from one trophic level to the next, only about 10% of the energy from organic matter is stored as flesh. The remaining is lost during transfer, broken down in respiration or due to incomplete digestion by higher trophic levels.
13. Which of the following organisms begins marine food chains?
a) Phytoplankton
b) Fishes
c) Zooplankton
d) Corals
Answer: a
Clarification: Marine food chain begins with phytoplankton. Phytoplankton is microscopic marine algae. Phytoplankton provides the foundation of the sea’s food chain in a balanced system. This phytoplankton captures the sun’s energy through photosynthesis.
14. We can find a marine ecosystem on a beach shore.
a) True
b) False
Answer: a
Clarification: Marine ecosystems are distinguished from freshwater ecosystem by the presence of dissolved compounds like salts. A beach shore is subject to the actions of the tide which is covered by salty sea water. Shores are considered intertidal zones of the marine ecosystem.