Practice - 1.3 Roles in an Ecosystem: Producers, Consumers, Decomposers
Practice Questions
Test your understanding with targeted questions
Which ecological role is often referred to as the "foundation" of a food chain?
- Answer: Producers (Autotrophs).
- Hint: They are the only ones that "make" the food using sunlight.
💡 Hint: They are the only ones that "make" the food using sunlight.
What is the difference between a herbivore and a carnivore?
- Answer: A herbivore (primary consumer) eats only plants, while a carnivore (secondary/tertiary consumer) eats only other animals.
- Hint: Think about what they "consume."
💡 Hint: Think about what they "consume."
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Interactive Quizzes
Quick quizzes to reinforce your learning
Which term describes an organism that can create its own food using sunlight?
- Type: mcq
- Options: A) Heterotroph, B) Saprotroph, C) Autotroph, D) Detritivore
- Correct Answer: C
- Explanation: Autotrophs (producers) use photosynthesis to make their own energy.
- Hint: "Auto" means self; "troph" means feeder.
💡 Hint: "Auto" means self; "troph" means feeder.
True or False: Energy is recycled in an ecosystem just like nutrients are.
- Type: boolean
- Options: True, False
- Correct Answer: False
- Explanation: Energy flows in one direction and is lost as heat; only matter (nutrients) is recycled.
- Hint: Does the sun get its energy back from the earth?
💡 Hint: Does the sun get its energy back from the earth?
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Challenge Problems
Push your limits with advanced challenges
The Energy Pyramid: In a specific forest, there are 10,000 units of energy available at the Producer level. Using the 10% rule (where only 10% of energy moves to the next level), calculate how much energy is available to a Tertiary Consumer.
- Solution:
- Primary Consumers: 1,000 units (10% of 10,000)
- Secondary Consumers: 100 units (10% of 1,000)
- Tertiary Consumers: 10 units (10% of 100)
- Hint: Move the decimal point one place to the left for each step up.
💡 Hint: Move the decimal point one place to the left for each step up.
Ecosystem Design: You are designing a self-sustaining terrarium. You have plants (producers) and crickets (primary consumers). What essential role are you missing to ensure the terrarium can survive for years without you adding new soil or fertilizer? Justify your answer.
- Solution: You are missing Decomposers (like soil bacteria or fungi). Without them, the dead cricket bodies and fallen leaves would never break down. The plants would eventually use up all the nutrients in the soil and die because no new nutrients were being recycled back into the ground.
- Hint: Who "cleans up" and "refills" the soil?
💡 Hint: Who "cleans up" and "refills" the soil?
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