Biodiversity and why it keeps ecosystems steady
Grade 9 Science Worksheet - Building Confidence

Circle the best answer.
Read this first
A field note about one wildflower species (model data)
what is counted number versions (alleles) of one gene found among the plants 6 Ari reads a field note about one wildflower species. Which kind of diversity does the note count?
- Genetic diversity: the versions of a gene inside one species
- Ecosystem diversity: the number of different ecosystems in an area
- Species diversity: the number of kinds of species in the meadow
- Population size: the number of plants in the meadow
A field note about one nature area (model data)
what is counted number different ecosystems in the area: a pond, a meadow and a woodland 3 Bo reads a field note about one nature area. Which kind of diversity does the note count?
- Ecosystem diversity: the number of different ecosystems in an area
- Genetic diversity: the versions of genes inside one species
- Habitat size: how much land the area covers
- Species diversity: the number of kinds of species in the area
Plants counted in two meadows (model data)
species meadow A plants meadow B plants clover 10 25 yarrow 10 25 dandelion 10 0 plantain 10 0 Jun reads the table of plants in two meadows. Which meadow has more species, and how many?
- Meadow B, with 50 plants in total
- Meadow A, with 40 plants in total
- Meadow A, with 4 different species
- Meadow B, with 2 different species
Species found in two plots (model data)
plot species found number of species X oak, maple, birch 3 Y oak, maple, birch, elm, pine 5 Kira reads the table of species found in two plots. How many more species does plot Y have than plot X?
- 3 more species: the species in plot X
- 2 more species: 5 − 3
- 5 more species: the species in plot Y
- 8 more species: the two counts added
Trees counted in one woodland (model data)
species trees oak 12 maple 8 birch 5 elm 5 Luz reads the table of trees counted in one woodland. How many species are in the woodland?
- 12 species: the oak count
- 4 species: oak, maple, birch and elm
- 5 species: the birch count
- 30 species: the trees added up
Milo reads the graph. What was the growth of the one-species plot in year 2, the dry year?
- 800 grams per square meter: the start of both lines
- 600 grams per square meter: the many-species line
- 760 grams per square meter: the one-species line in year 3
- 400 grams per square meter
Noah reads the graph. Year 2 was a dry year. Which statement about year 2 is correct?
Plant growth in two plots over four years (model data). Year 2 was a dry year. Time (years) across, 1 to 4, a mark every 1. Plant growth (grams per square meter) up, 0 to 600, a mark every 100. Many-species plot joins (1, 500), (2, 375), (3, 490), (4, 500). One-species plot joins (1, 500), (2, 250), (3, 470), (4, 500) with straight pieces. Plant growth in two plots over four years (model data). Year 2 was a dry year. Time (years) across, 1 to 4, a mark every 1. Plant growth (grams per square meter) up, 0 to 600, a mark every 100. Many-species plot joins (1, 500), (2, 375), (3, 490), (4, 500). One-species plot joins (1, 500), (2, 250), (3, 470), (4, 500) with straight pieces. Plant growth in two plots over four years (model data) 1 2 3 4 0 100 200 300 400 500 600 Time (years) Plant growth (grams per square meter) Many-species plot One-species plot Year 2 was a dry year. - Just the one-species plot fell; the many-species plot stayed at 500
- Both plots fell, and the many-species plot fell further, to 375
- Both plots fell, and the one-species plot fell further, to 250
- Both plots fell by the same amount, 125
Growth in one many-species plot (model data)
time growth (grams per square meter) before the dry year 400 during the dry year 300 Ren reads the table for a plot with many species. How much growth did the plot lose during the dry year?
- 100 grams per square meter: 400 − 300
- 700 grams per square meter: 400 + 300
- 300 grams per square meter: the growth in the dry year
- 0 grams per square meter: a plot with many species does not change
Growth in two plots (model data)
plot species before the dry year during the dry year P 16 600 450 Q 1 600 300 Tala reads the table. Which plot lost more growth during the dry year?
- Plot P lost 0 grams, against 300 for plot Q
- The plots lost the same, 150 grams each
- Plot Q lost 300 grams, against 150 for plot P
- Plot P lost 450 grams, against 300 for plot Q
Growth in three plots (model data)
plot species before the dry year during the dry year A 1 500 250 B 4 500 350 C 16 500 400 Zee reads the table. Which plot lost the least growth during the dry year?
- Plot C, which lost 100 grams per square meter
- Plot A, which lost 250 grams per square meter
- Plot C, which lost 0 because it has the most species
- Plot B, which lost 150 grams per square meter