Basic Science Practice Questions

1.    A __________ is a naturally occurring assemblage of plants and animals that occupy a common environment.

a. Society
b. Biosphere
c. Community
d. Population

2.    Because of the ban on hunting wolves, their population increased exponentially; within a few generations, their habitat had exceeded its __________ __________.

a. Carrying capacity
b. Food source
c. Population limit
d. Supply capability

3.    Name the four states in which matter exists.

a. Concrete, liquid, gas, and plasma
b. Solid, liquid, gas, and plasma
c. Solid, liquid, vapor, and plasma
d. Solid, fluid, gas, and plasma

4. In the periodic table of the elements, elements are arranged in order of their atomic  ______, which is the number of _______ found in their nucleus.

a. Mass, protons
b. Number, neutrons
c. Mass, neutrons
d. Number, protons

5.  A ______ ______ is a graphical description of feeding relationships among species in an ecological community.

a. Food web
b. Food chain
c. Food network
d. Food sequence

6. The depletion in the Ozone layer is caused by _____?

a. Chlorofluorocarbons.
b. Nitrous oxide.
c. Carbon dioxide.
d. Methane.

7. Which of the following is not an important characteristic of the Green Revolution?

a. Mechanized agriculture
b. Hybrid seeds
c. Monoculture
d. none of the above

1. C  Community
A community is a naturally occurring assemblage of plants and animals that occupy a common environment.

2. A Carrying capacity
An area’s carrying capacity is the maximum number of animals of a given species that area can support during the harshest part of the year.

3. B
The four states in which matter exists are solid, liquid, gas, and plasma.
The state of matter is determined by the strength of the bonds between the atoms that make up matter.

4.  D
In the periodic table of the elements, elements are arranged in order of their atomic  number, which is the number of protons found in their nucleus.

5.  A
A food web is a graphical description of feeding relationships among species in an ecological community.

Note:  A food web differs from a food chain in that the latter shows only a portion of the food web involving a simple, linear series of species (e.g., predator, herbivore, plant) connected by feeding links. A food web aims to depict a more complete picture of the feeding relationships, and can be considered a bundle of many interconnected food chains occurring within the community.

6. A
There is widespread concern that the ozone layer is deteriorating due to the release of pollution containing the chemicals chlorine and bromine. Such deterioration allows large amounts of ultraviolet B rays to reach Earth which can cause skin cancer and cataracts in humans and harm animals as well.