Practice Exam 4
VCE Biology Units 1 & 2 | Biodiversity, Classification, Ecosystems & Introduction to Evolution
✎ Complete ALL questions on paper before opening the Model Answers lesson. No notes. Aim for 1 minute per mark.
MULTIPLE CHOICE
Question 1 (1 mark)
The correct order of taxonomic classification from most to least inclusive is:
✎ Circle your answer
A) Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species
B) Species, Genus, Family, Order, Class, Phylum, Kingdom
C) Domain, Kingdom, Genus, Species, Order
D) Kingdom, Class, Order, Phylum, Family
Question 2 (1 mark)
A keystone species is one that:
✎ Circle your answer
A) Has the largest biomass in an ecosystem
B) Has a disproportionately large effect on ecosystem structure relative to its abundance
C) Is found in every ecosystem
D) Is the most numerous species in a community
Question 3 (1 mark)
The role an organism plays in its community is called its:
✎ Circle your answer
A) Habitat
B) Niche
C) Biome
D) Population
Question 4 (1 mark)
Primary succession occurs:
✎ Circle your answer
A) After a forest fire on existing soil
B) On bare rock or new land with no prior life
C) When a dominant species is removed
D) Only in aquatic environments
Question 5 (1 mark)
Which best describes a food web?
✎ Circle your answer
A) A linear chain of feeding relationships
B) A complex network of interconnected food chains
C) The total biomass at each trophic level
D) Only predator-prey relationships
Question 6 (1 mark)
The binomial nomenclature system was developed by:
✎ Circle your answer
A) Darwin
B) Mendel
C) Linnaeus
D) Wallace
Question 7 (1 mark)
Approximately what percentage of energy is transferred from one trophic level to the next?
✎ Circle your answer
A) 1%
B) 10%
C) 50%
D) 90%
Question 8 (1 mark)
Which of the following is an example of mutualism?
✎ Circle your answer
A) A tapeworm in a human intestine
B) Nitrogen-fixing bacteria in legume root nodules
C) A lion eating a zebra
D) Mistletoe growing on a tree
Question 9 (1 mark)
Natural selection acts on:
✎ Circle your answer
A) Genotype directly
B) Phenotype (observable traits)
C) DNA sequence only
D) The entire species simultaneously
Question 10 (1 mark)
Endemic species are those that:
✎ Circle your answer
A) Are found worldwide
B) Are native to and found only in a particular geographic area
C) Are invasive species
D) Have become extinct recently
Question 11 (1 mark)
Which of the following most accurately describes a population?
✎ Circle your answer
A) All organisms in an ecosystem
B) All individuals of the same species in a defined area
C) All plants in a community
D) All producers in a food web
Question 12 (1 mark)
Convergent evolution occurs when:
✎ Circle your answer
A) Two species share a common ancestor
B) Unrelated species develop similar traits due to similar selection pressures
C) One species diverges into two
D) Genes flow between populations
Question 13 (1 mark)
Which of the following is a density-dependent limiting factor?
✎ Circle your answer
A) Flood
B) Fire
C) Disease
D) Drought
Question 14 (1 mark)
The IUCN Red List categories include, in order of increasing extinction risk:
✎ Circle your answer
A) Least Concern, Near Threatened, Vulnerable, Endangered, Critically Endangered
B) Extinct, Critically Endangered, Endangered, Vulnerable, Least Concern
C) Data Deficient, Vulnerable, Endangered
D) Near Threatened, Extinct in Wild, Vulnerable
Question 15 (1 mark)
Analogous structures are similar in:
✎ Circle your answer
A) Evolutionary origin
B) Function, but not evolutionary origin
C) Both function and evolutionary origin
D) DNA sequence only
Question 16 (1 mark)
The competitive exclusion principle states that:
✎ Circle your answer
A) Two species cannot coexist in the same habitat
B) Two species with identical niches cannot stably coexist
C) Competition always leads to extinction
D) Species share resources equally
Question 17 (1 mark)
Which type of speciation occurs when geographic barriers separate populations?
✎ Circle your answer
A) Sympatric
B) Allopatric
C) Parapatric
D) Polyploidy
Question 18 (1 mark)
Which describes a climax community?
✎ Circle your answer
A) The first community to colonise a new area
B) A stable, self-sustaining community at the end of succession
C) A community dominated by annuals
D) A community following a disturbance
Question 19 (1 mark)
Cladistics classifies organisms based on:
✎ Circle your answer
A) Overall similarity
B) Shared derived characteristics (synapomorphies)
C) Ecological roles
D) Geographic distribution
Question 20 (1 mark)
In a predator-prey cycle, what happens to prey numbers just after predator numbers peak?
✎ Circle your answer
A) Prey numbers also peak
B) Prey numbers begin to decline then recover
C) Prey numbers remain stable
D) Prey numbers immediately increase
SHORT ANSWER
Question 21 (4 marks)
Explain the concept of an ecological niche and describe how two species can coexist in the same habitat by occupying different niches.
✎ Write your answer on paper
Question 22 (4 marks)
Describe two types of interspecific relationships (other than predation) and explain how each affects the populations involved.
✎ Write your answer on paper
Question 23 (4 marks)
Explain how the 10% energy transfer rule limits the number of trophic levels in an ecosystem.
✎ Write your answer on paper
Question 24 (4 marks)
Describe three mechanisms that contribute to genetic variation in sexually reproducing organisms.
✎ Write your answer on paper
Question 25 (4 marks)
Explain how antibiotic resistance can evolve in bacterial populations.
✎ Write your answer on paper
Question 26 (4 marks)
Compare primary and secondary succession, giving one example of each.
✎ Write your answer on paper
Question 27 (4 marks)
Describe the biological species concept and explain two limitations of this definition.
✎ Write your answer on paper
Question 28 (4 marks)
Explain how introduced species can threaten native biodiversity. Give one Australian example.
✎ Write your answer on paper
EXTENDED RESPONSE
Extended Response 1
Question 29 (5 marks)
Extended Response 1 (a)
Explain the carbon cycle, describing how carbon moves between the atmosphere, living organisms, and the geosphere.
✎ Write your answer on paper
Extended Response 1
Question 30 (3 marks)
Extended Response 1 (b)
Explain what is meant by a trophic cascade and give an example.
✎ Write your answer on paper
Extended Response 2: Classification & Evolution
Question 31 (4 marks)
Extended Response 2: Classification & Evolution (a)
Explain the evidence that supports Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection.
✎ Write your answer on paper
Extended Response 2: Classification & Evolution
Question 32 (3 marks)
Extended Response 2: Classification & Evolution (b)
Describe the four conditions required for natural selection to occur.
✎ Write your answer on paper
✓ Finished? Open the next lesson – Model Answers – to mark your work.
