Question

Match the items given in Column I with Column II and select the correct option.

Column I	Column II
a. Earthworm	i. Aquatic Ecosystem
b. Zooplankton	ii. Detritivore
c. Phytoplankton	iii. Pyramid of Biomass in Sea
d. Inverted pyramid	iv. Primary Producer

• A. a-i, b-ii, c-iii, d-iv
• B. a-ii, b-iii, c-iv, d-i
• C. a-ii, b-iv, c-i, d-iii
• D. a-ii, b-i, c-iv, d-iii

Hint:

Earthworm is a detritivore, zooplankton live in aquatic ecosystems, phytoplankton are producers, and the sea shows an inverted biomass pyramid.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is D

Step 1: Match each item with its feature:
Earthworm feeds on dead and decaying matter in soil, so it is a detritivore (ii).
Zooplankton are tiny animals floating in water, so they belong to the aquatic ecosystem (i).
Phytoplankton make food by photosynthesis, so they are the primary producers (iv).
In the sea, producers are small and short lived but are eaten very fast, so the standing biomass of producers is less than that of consumers. This gives an inverted pyramid of biomass (iii).

Step 2: Write the matched pairs:
The pairs are a-ii, b-i, c-iv and d-iii.

Step 3: Check the options:
Option (A) pairs earthworm with aquatic ecosystem, which is wrong, since a-i is not correct.
Option (B) pairs zooplankton with the pyramid of biomass in sea (b-iii) and inverted pyramid with aquatic ecosystem (d-i), both wrong.
Option (C) pairs zooplankton with primary producer (b-iv), but zooplankton are consumers, so it is wrong.
Option (D) matches all four pairs correctly.

Final Answer:
The correct match is a-ii, b-i, c-iv, d-iii, which is option (D).