| Answer Key The Ingredients of Life | |
| 1. How would building a mall in the middle of a habitat affect the four factors necessary for survival? | |
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Answer: Building a mall would reduce space in which animals can move, may change water flow thus reducing available water, may disrupt migration patterns, reduce available food, and destroy nesting grounds.
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| 2. What would happen if decomposers were removed from Earth? | |
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Answer: Nothing would rot; nothing would be returned to the nutrients that need to recycle.
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| 3. In ten words or less, explain how photosynthesis is responsible for life on Earth. | |
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Answer: Photosynthesis captures sunlight, converts it to glucose, which others consume.
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| 4. How would the teeth of herbivores, carnivores, and omnivores differ? | |
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Answer: Herbivores would have flat teeth for grinding, carnivores need sharp teeth for tearing, and omnivores would need both types.
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| 5. If plants disappeared completely, which of the three groups would be the first to disappear? Why? | |
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Answer: Herbivores would disappear first, as their only food source disappears. The other two groups can eat the herbivores or other carnivores and omnivores.
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| 6. If you were to chart the populations of a predator prey relationship over many years, what might it look like? | |
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Answer: The chart would have two separate curves. If the prey increases, the predator increases some time later; conversely, if the prey population decreases, the predator population decreases sometime after. The populations are always fluctuating.
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| 7. If scavengers disappeared from the relationship, what might happen? | |
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Answer: Nothing would clean the carcasses and the decomposers would have more work.
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| 8. If you were a creature looking for Waldo, what characteristics would you use to locate him quickly? | |
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Answer: Students should look for colors, stripes, and height.
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| 9. Which of the five senses might predators use to locate camouflaged prey? | |
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Answer: A predator would use smell, sight, and hearing to locate prey.
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| 10. What limits the size and length of a food chain? | |
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Answer: Producers and consumers in the habitat, the ecosystem or biome available, and the correct animals that will eat or be eaten by other organisms in the biome will all limit a food chain.
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| 11. Where can humans fit into food chains? | |
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Answer: Humans are almost anywhere, except for producer or decomposer.
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| 12. Why does the food web have so many arrows? | |
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Answer: The arrows show that animals can eat many different types of animals of plants.
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| 13. Why would organisms choose to be a part of a relationship that is harmful to them? | |
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Answer: Scientists may not see the benefits, or the organism may have no choice.
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| 14. If you had a chance to be a part of a symbiotic relationship, which one would it be? Why? | |
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Answer: Answers will vary depending on student’s preference. Some will want to live off of others - so they will be parasites. Others will want to live together with both benefiting, so they would like to live in commensalisms.
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| 15. Which biome do you live in? | |
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Answer: Answer will vary depending on where students live. Some things to consider will be plant and animal life, temperature, amount of sunlight, and amount of rain.
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| 16. In which biome would you like to live? Why? | |
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Answer: Answer will vary depending on the student’s preference, but should detail why the biome selected best suits their preference.
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