The Organism in the Environment Practice Questions

Question 1

4 marks

A school pond contains frogs, water beetles, pondweed and sticklebacks.

(a)

Define the term population.

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(b)

Write these four levels of organisation in order, starting with the smallest.

community ecosystem organism population

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(c)

Give one abiotic factor in the pond.

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Question 2

3 marks

A rock pool on a rocky seashore contains seaweed, limpets, shore crabs and small fish.

(a)

Complete the table by placing a tick (✓) in one box in each row to show whether the factor is abiotic or biotic.

factor	abiotic	biotic
the temperature of the water in the pool
shore crabs eating small fish
the light intensity reaching the seaweed
limpets competing for space on the rock

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(b)

Seagulls feed on the shore crabs in the rock pool.

Name the biotic factor this describes.

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Question 3

4 marks

A student used a quadrat to estimate the number of dandelion plants growing on a school field.

(a)

Describe how the student could make sure that the quadrats were placed randomly on the field.

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(b)

Give one reason why random sampling is used.

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(c)

The table shows the student's results.

quadrat	1	2	3	4	5
number of dandelion plants	4	7	3	6	5

Calculate the mean number of dandelion plants per quadrat.

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Question 4

4 marks

Oxpeckers are birds that perch on the backs of buffalo. The oxpeckers eat the ticks that live in the buffalo's skin. This is an example of mutualism.

(a)

State what is meant by mutualism.

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(b)

State one benefit to the oxpecker and one benefit to the buffalo of this relationship.

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(c)

Nitrogen-fixing bacteria living in the root nodules of pea plants are another example of mutualism.

State what the bacteria gain from the pea plant.

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Question 5

4 marks

A student used a pooter to collect small invertebrates from leaf litter in a woodland.

The figure shows a pooter.

(a)

Explain why a gauze filter is placed across the end of tube A.

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(b)

The table shows the invertebrates the student collected.

invertebrate	number collected
woodlouse	12
springtail	20
beetle	5
centipede	3

Calculate the percentage of the invertebrates collected that were woodlice.

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(c)

Give one reason why a pooter could not be used to collect slugs from the leaf litter.

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Question 0

7 marks

Bladder wrack and channel wrack are two types of seaweed that grow on rocky shores.

A scientist used a belt transect to investigate the distribution of the two seaweeds from the low water mark up the shore.

The table shows the results.

distance up the shore from low water mark (m)	mean percentage cover of bladder wrack (%)	mean percentage cover of channel wrack (%)
0	45	0
5	38	0
10	20	8
15	5	30
20	0	42

(a)

Describe how the scientist could have used a belt transect to obtain these results.

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(b)

Describe the distribution of channel wrack shown in the table.

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(c)

Explain why bladder wrack is not found at the top of the shore.

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Question 0

5 marks

A student estimated the number of buttercup plants in a field of area $1200 \text{ m}^2$ .

The student placed a quadrat of area $0.25 \text{ m}^2$ at 10 random positions in the field.

The table shows the results.

quadrat	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
number of buttercup plants	2	4	1	3	5	2	3	4	3	3

(a)

Calculate the mean number of buttercup plants per quadrat.

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(b)

Estimate the total number of buttercup plants in the field.

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(c)

Give one reason why this value is only an estimate.

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Question 0

5 marks

Fleas live in the fur of dogs and feed on the dog's blood.

(a)

Explain why the relationship between the flea and the dog is an example of parasitism.

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(b)

Tapeworms are parasites that live in the intestine of humans.

Explain why a person with a tapeworm may lose mass.

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(c)

Suggest why most parasites do not kill their host quickly.

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Question 0

5 marks

A meadow community contains grass, clover, rabbits, bees and foxes. The rabbits eat the grass, the foxes eat the rabbits and the bees pollinate the clover flowers.

(a)

Explain what is meant by interdependence in a community.

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(b)

A disease kills most of the rabbits in the meadow.

Explain the effect this has on the population of foxes.

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(c)

Suggest the effect that the loss of the rabbits has on the grass in the meadow.

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Question 0

6 marks

Algae are microscopic photosynthetic organisms that live in lake water.

Scientists measured the light intensity and the number of algae at different depths in a lake.

The table shows their results.

depth (m)	light intensity (arbitrary units)	mean number of algae per $\text{cm}^3$
0	100	800
2	62	1200
4	35	950
6	12	300
8	4	40

(a)

Describe the relationship between depth and light intensity.

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(b)

Explain why the number of algae at a depth of 8 m is low.

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(c)

Suggest why there are fewer algae at the surface (0 m) than at 2 m.

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(d)

Name one other abiotic factor that could affect the number of algae in the lake.

/ 1

Question 0

5 marks

A factory that processes copper ore releases dust containing copper into the air.

A scientist measured the concentration of copper in the soil and the number of plant species growing at different distances from the factory. At each distance the scientist placed one $1 \text{ m}^2$ quadrat.

distance from factory (m)	copper in soil (mg/kg)	number of plant species in the quadrat
50	420	1
150	260	3
300	110	6
500	40	9

(a)

Describe the patterns shown in the table.

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(b)

Explain why few plant species grow close to the factory.

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(c)

Suggest one improvement the scientist could make to this method.

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Question 0

8 marks

A student thinks that trampling by pupils reduces the number of daisy plants growing on a school field.

The student plans to compare a well-trampled strip of the field beside a footpath with an untrampled area in the middle of the field.

(a)

Devise a plan the student could use to find out whether trampling reduces the number of daisy plants.

Your plan should give valid results.

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(b)

In the trampled area the student recorded a mean of 2.4 daisy plants per quadrat, using a quadrat of area $0.25 \text{ m}^2$ .

The trampled area has a total area of $60 \text{ m}^2$ .

Estimate the total number of daisy plants in the trampled area.

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Question 0

6 marks

Barn owls feed on voles. Scientists recorded the number of voles and the number of barn owls in a large area of grassland over six years.

year	number of voles (thousands)	number of barn owls
1	12	40
2	20	52
3	8	64
4	5	38
5	11	26
6	19	34

(a)

Explain the change in the number of voles between year 2 and year 4.

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(b)

Explain why the number of barn owls begins to increase again in year 6.

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Question 0

6 marks

A student investigated the number of plantain plants growing in two lawns of the same area, $250 \text{ m}^2$ .

Lawn A is mown every week. Lawn B is mown twice a year.

The student used a $0.25 \text{ m}^2$ quadrat and took 10 random samples in each lawn.

lawn	mean number of plantain plants per quadrat
A (mown weekly)	1.8
B (mown twice a year)	6.2

(a)

Calculate how many more plantain plants there are in lawn B than in lawn A.

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(b)

The student concluded: 'Mowing a lawn every week reduces the number of plantain plants.'

Evaluate this conclusion.

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Key Concepts in Biology

Cells & Control

Genetics

Natural Selection & Genetic Modification

Health, Disease & the Development of Medicines

Plant Structures & their Functions

Animal Coordination, Control & Homeostasis

Exchange & Transport in Animals

Ecosystems & Material Cycles

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