Matter Cycling in Ecosystems

Question 1

Which of the following lists the organisms in the correct order for a simple food chain that starts with a plant producer and shows the flow of energy to a herbivore and then to a carnivore?

Accepted Answer

Grass → rabbit → fox

Answer

Grass → rabbit → rock

Answer

Grass → rabbit → mouse

Answer

Grass → rabbit → grass

Question 2

In a forest ecosystem, which statement correctly describes how matter moves among plants, animals, decomposers, and the environment?

Accepted Answer

Plants use sunlight, carbon dioxide, and water to make food; animals eat the plants, and when plants or animals die, decomposers break them down and return nutrients to the soil for plants to use again.

Answer

Animals eat plants and their waste instantly becomes new plants, without any role for decomposers.

Answer

Decomposers create new matter from nothing and give it directly to plants to grow.

Answer

Plants produce food and keep it inside themselves forever, so matter does not move to animals or decomposers.

Question 3

In a forest ecosystem, which of the following sequences best shows how matter moves after a leaf falls to the ground?

Accepted Answer

Leaf → decomposer (fungus) → soil → plant roots → plant → herbivore → carnivore → back to soil as waste

Answer

Leaf → plant → herbivore → carnivore → decomposer → back to soil as waste

Answer

Leaf → animal → soil → plant → decomposer → back to soil as waste

Answer

Leaf → soil → plant roots → plant → herbivore → carnivore → back to soil as waste

Try three questions

Which of the following lists the organisms in the correct order for a simple food chain that starts with a plant producer and shows the flow of energy to a herbivore and then to a carnivore?

In a forest ecosystem, which statement correctly describes how matter moves among plants, animals, decomposers, and the environment?

In a forest ecosystem, which of the following sequences best shows how matter moves after a leaf falls to the ground?

Keep going on this shelf