Beyond the Sun: Energy Sources for Life Quiz

  • 7th Grade
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| Questions: 20 | Updated: Feb 20, 2026
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1. What is the most common of the energy sources for life found on Earth's surface?

Explanation

If most plants on the surface require light to produce their own food, and if almost all animals depend on those plants for survival, then sunlight is the primary energy source for surface life.

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About This Quiz
Beyond The Sun: Energy Sources For Life Quiz - Quiz

Photosynthesis isn't the only game in town. While most life on Earth runs on sunbeams, deep-sea creatures thrive on the volcanic heat and minerals from the planet's core. This energy sources for life quiz compares solar power with the "battery" of chemical energy.

2. In the context of sunlight and life processes, plants use light to turn water and carbon dioxide into sugar.

Explanation

If photosynthesis is the process of converting light into chemical energy, and if the inputs for this process are water and carbon dioxide, then the resulting output must be sugar (glucose).

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3. When comparing photosynthesis vs chemosynthesis, which one can happen in total darkness?

Explanation

If photosynthesis requires energy from light to function, and if chemosynthesis uses energy from chemical reactions instead of light, then chemosynthesis is the only one that can occur in dark environments like the deep ocean.

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4. Using chemical energy life processes, bacteria near underwater volcanoes turn hydrogen sulfide into food.

Explanation

If an organism lives at the bottom of the ocean where no light reaches, and if it uses the energy stored in chemical bonds to make food, then that process is defined as chemosynthesis.

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5. Why are hydrothermal vents important for understanding energy sources for life?

Explanation

If sunlight cannot penetrate the deep ocean, and if large communities of animals are found living near volcanic vents, then those vents must be providing an alternative energy source through chemical heat and minerals.

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6. All biology energy eventually comes from the Sun, even for animals that live in the deep, dark ocean.

Explanation

If some ecosystems are powered entirely by the Earth's internal chemical heat (chemosynthesis) without any light, then not all biological energy originates from the Sun.

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7. Which molecule is essential for sunlight and life processes in green plants?

Explanation

If a plant needs to capture light energy to start photosynthesis, and if chlorophyll is the specific pigment that absorbs sunlight, then chlorophyll is the essential molecule for this process.

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8. In environments with no light, chemical energy life is often powered by a gas called ________ sulfide.

Explanation

If bacteria at hydrothermal vents need a specific chemical to break down for energy, and if that chemical is a common volcanic gas that smells like rotten eggs, then it is hydrogen sulfide.

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9. Which of the following rely on photosynthesis vs chemosynthesis (specifically photosynthesis)?

Explanation

If photosynthesis requires sunlight, then plants like trees and grass, as well as algae like kelp and certain bacteria like cyanobacteria, qualify; however, tube worms rely on chemical-eating bacteria.

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10. What is the main goal of any biology energy process, whether it uses light or heat?

Explanation

If life requires energy to repair cells and grow, and if food is the way energy is stored, then the goal of any biological energy process must be to create that food or fuel.

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11. Energy sources for life can include the heat from radioactive decay inside a planet's core.

Explanation

If radioactive decay produces heat that drives volcanic activity, and if that volcanic activity releases chemicals that support chemosynthesis, then radioactive heat is a valid starting point for an energy chain.

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12. Organisms that can make their own food using chemical energy life are called ________.

Explanation

If an autotroph is an organism that creates its own food, and if "chemo-" refers to using chemicals, then the specific name for these organisms is chemoautotrophs.

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13. In the study of biology energy, what do we call animals that must eat other things to get their power?

Explanation

If autotrophs are "self-feeders" that make food from light or chemicals, and if animals cannot do this, then they must belong to the group that gets energy by consuming others, known as heterotrophs.

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14. The term sunlight and life processes refers only to the way plants grow and has nothing to do with animal vision.

Explanation

If vision requires light to hit the eye and be processed by the brain, and if this process is essential for the survival of most animals, then vision is a life process linked to sunlight.

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15. Which of the following are examples of energy sources for life?

Explanation

If life needs to extract power to do work, then light (solar), heat (geothermal), and chemical bonds (glucose/minerals) are usable sources; however, gravity and a vacuum do not provide fuel for life.

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16. When looking at photosynthesis vs chemosynthesis, what is the byproduct (leftover) usually released by plants?

Explanation

If plants take in carbon dioxide and water to make sugar using light, and if the extra atoms not used for the sugar are released into the air, then that byproduct is oxygen.

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17. The study of biology energy shows that most of the energy is lost as ________ when it moves from a plant to an animal.

Explanation

If an animal eats a plant, it uses some of that energy to move and grow, but a large portion is released into the environment as a waste product of work; if that waste is felt as warmth, then it is heat.

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18. How does the sunlight and life processes connection change as a planet gets further from its star?

Explanation

If light intensity follows the inverse-square law, then doubling the distance from a star reduces the light to one-fourth; if the light is reduced, then organisms have less energy available for photosynthesis.

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19. Chemical energy life is a more recent discovery than light-based life, found mostly in the late 20th century.

Explanation

If humans only discovered the diverse ecosystems around deep-sea vents in 1977, and if we knew about plants and sunlight for thousands of years, then chemical-based life is indeed a more recent discovery.

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20. Which of these are true about energy sources for life in the solar system?

Explanation

If moons like Europa have internal heat and chemicals but no light, and if Mars had water and sun in the past, and if Venus has extreme heat, then these are valid scientific observations about energy.

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What is the most common of the energy sources for life found on...
In the context of sunlight and life processes, plants use light to...
When comparing photosynthesis vs chemosynthesis, which one can happen...
Using chemical energy life processes, bacteria near underwater...
Why are hydrothermal vents important for understanding energy sources...
All biology energy eventually comes from the Sun, even for animals...
Which molecule is essential for sunlight and life processes in green...
In environments with no light, chemical energy life is often powered...
Which of the following rely on photosynthesis vs chemosynthesis...
What is the main goal of any biology energy process, whether it uses...
Energy sources for life can include the heat from radioactive decay...
Organisms that can make their own food using chemical energy life are...
In the study of biology energy, what do we call animals that must eat...
The term sunlight and life processes refers only to the way plants...
Which of the following are examples of energy sources for life?
When looking at photosynthesis vs chemosynthesis, what is the...
The study of biology energy shows that most of the energy is lost as...
How does the sunlight and life processes connection change as a planet...
Chemical energy life is a more recent discovery than light-based life,...
Which of these are true about energy sources for life in the solar...
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