Science Grade 8 checkpoint 1 2019-2020

1. Science Grade 8 checkpoint 12019-2020

2. Which of the following is NOT an example of how biotic factors interact with abiotic factors in an ecosystem? • A lion preys on a herd ofgazelle. • Plantsremovecarbondioxidefromtheairandaddoxygen. • Animals cause erosion by digging in thedirt. • AlizardraisesitsbodytemperaturebyusingheatfromtheSun. GOON

3. 2. The Guam rail is a flightless bird found on the island of Guam. It builds a shallow nest on the ground and lays eggs throughout the year. There are no native species of snakes on Guam, so the Guam rail had no experience with snake predators until the brown tree snake was accidentally introduced sometime between 1944 and 1952. These snakes, which eat a wide variety of animal species, quickly established a large population onGuam. HowwastheGuamrailmostlikelyaffectedbytheintroductionofthebrowntreesnake? Thebrowntreesnakeateonlyspeciesthatlivedintrees,soithadnoeffectontheGuamrail. TheGuamrailquicklydevelopedtheabilitytoflyinordertoescapefromthebrowntreesnake. ThepopulationoftheGuamraildeclined,andthespeciesnearlybecameextinct. JThe Guam rail began to build its nests intrees.

4. 3 Which of these human activities is most likely to cause the excessive growth of phytoplankton in the world’soceans? Theuseofchemicalfertilizersthatarecarriedbyrunoffintorivers The logging of old-growth forests, which results inerosion Thesprayingofchemicalherbicidesthatreducecarbondioxideintheair The mining of fossil fuels, which requires digging undergroundtunnels GOON

5. 4 After researching the diets of several birds inhabiting a nearby pond, a student goes on a field investigation to observe the feeding habits of the birds. The student records information from research and observations in thetable. The student observes a great blue heron catching fish near the edge of the pond. Based on the information the student collected, which bird will compete with the great blue heron for the same hunting spots and similarprey? Themallard,becauseithuntsforfishwhilewadingneartheedgeofthepond Thepied-billedgrebe,becauseitdivesinopenwatertogetcrayfishonthebottomofthepond Thegreategret,becauseithuntsinwaterneartheedgeofthepondforfishandotherprey JNone ofthese

6. The Exxon Valdez oil spill occurred in Prince William Sound, Alaska on March 24, 1989. An oil tanker owned by Exxon Shipping Company struck a reef. The ship spilled 10.8 million gallons of crude oil over the next few days. The oil covered 1,300 miles of coastline of which then affected the local environment. Whichofthefollowingwouldnotbeawaytheoilspillaffectedthelocalcommunity? • Decrease in localtourism • Increase in localtemperatures • Oil got in the feathers ofbirds • Block light from getting to ocean plantlife GOON

7. 6. The Prairies Region and the Cross Timbers are located in north-central Texas. The graph below shows information about eating habits of white-tailed deer in theseregions. A Cross Timbers rancher is concerned about competition between the ranch animals and the deer. Based onthegraph,whichranchanimalscompeteforthemostfoodwithwhite-taileddeer? Cattle that eat grass andfeed Goats that eat weeds andshrubs Turkeys that eat seeds andfruit JHogs that eat fruit, seeds, andfeed

8. 7 Before the Industrial Revolution in England, the peppered moth was commonly found on tree trunks that had light-colored lichen on the bark. Most of the peppered moths were a light gray-brown color similar to thatofthelichen.Afewofthemothshadamutationthatmadethemadarkgray-browncolor. During the Industrial Revolution, coal-burning factories produced black soot that covered the trees and killed the lichen in and near cities. In these areas the number of dark peppered moths increased, while the numberoflightpepperedmothsdecreased.Whatcontributedtothischange? The soot-covered trees camouflaged the dark moths. The dark moths preyed on the light moths. Bird populations increased in the areas near thefactories. The dark moths laid fewer eggs than the light moths. GOON

9. 8TheTexasblindsalamanderlivesexclusivelyinSanMarcos,Texasandhasthefollowingcharacteristics.8TheTexasblindsalamanderlivesexclusivelyinSanMarcos,Texasandhasthefollowingcharacteristics. WhichabioticresourceisnotlikelypresentintheTexasblindsalamander’senvironment? Oxygen Water Plants JLight GOON

10. 9 The house sparrow was first introduced to New York in 1851. It is now distributed across most of North America. As the species expanded its range, it began to live in environments that were different from its original habitat. The birds now vary in size, depending on their geographic location. The map shows the distribution of house sparrows bysize. Whatisthemostlikelyexplanationforthebody-sizedistributionofhousesparrowsshownonthemap? Cold temperatures in the North favored the survival of populations of larger sparrows over populations of smallersparrows. High elevations in the West provided a survival advantage for populations of larger sparrows over populations of smallersparrows. Warm temperatures in the South allowed populations of larger sparrows to survive over populations of smallersparrows. Coastal environments in the East tended to give a survival advantage to populations of larger sparrows over populations of smallersparrows. Page8 BE SURE YOU HAVE RECORDED ALL OF YOUR ANSWERS ON YOUR ANSWERDOCUMENT STOP

11. 10 Large forest fires, started by lightning, have been common in parts of the Western and Northwestern United States in the past few years. The forest ecosystem is changed by this natural disaster. In addition tothelossofproperty,thereareotherwaysthatforestfiresaffecttheenvironment. Whichofthefollowingisaresultofalargeforestfire? Wildlife populations will increase in thearea. Wildlife populations will decrease in the area. HNew plant growth will decrease for many years. JAll new organisms will populate thearea.