Final Exam

This final exam is due on May 6th. Please email it to be at mark.mcginley@ttu.edu.

Each of these questions is worth 20 points. I expect that it should be possible to provide an excellant answer to each of these questins in less than two pages double spaced (per question). You may use the Ecology Reader, any notes you have, or any other source of information to help you prepare this exam (besides another class member). Please let me know if you have any questions.

Question 1. (20 points)

How would you respond if one of your student's parents asked you "Why should my students learn about evolution"?

Question 2. (20 points)

Why is exponential growth an unrealistic pattern for most species?

Question 3. (20 points)

List the major interspecific interactions that occur in a community? discuss the role that these interactions can occur in influencing population and community characteristics.

Question 4. (20 points)

Define natural selection. Why is this process important to biologists?

Question 5. (20 points)

Define, compare and contrast energy flow and nutrient cycling. (because of the difficulty in putting diagrams in Microsoft Word, you should be able to answer this question without using diagrams).