Answers to Coursebo0k questions
Unit 3 Living things in their
environment
Topic 3.1 Adaptations
1 A fish cannot get oxygen from the air, because it has
gills and not lungs. (Students may say that it cannot
‘breathe’ out of water, which should be accepted at
this level.) It cannot move on land, because it does
not have legs. The fish will dry out on land, because
it does not have a waterproof skin.
2 We cannot breathe under water. Our lungs would fill
with water, so we could not take in oxygen.
3 They would be too cold. They have only a very
thin covering of hair, so they will quickly lose heat.
(Some students may also say that they have a large
surface area from which heat can be lost – they
have long thin legs and a long neck, which increases
their surface area.) They would have nothing to eat,
because there are only a few plants that grow in the
Arctic. They probably wouldn’t be able to move
easily on snow and ice.
4 It has wings so that it can fly. It has a large, curved
beak to help it to capture, kill and eat its prey. It has
large feet with big, curved claws (talons) to help it
capture, kill and carry its prey. (Students may also
mention its eyes, which are able to see prey from a
long distance.)
Topic 3.2 Food chains
1 Sun → wheat → chicken → Amal
2 The answer will depend on the food that the student
ate. Check that the food chain begins with the Sun,
and that the arrows go in the correct direction.
3 Sun → plants → insects → bird (egg) → snake
4 a grass
b cricket, spider, small bird and hawk
c The direction that energy passes from one thing
to another.
5 a Various answers are possible, including the
following. Lions have strong, sharp claws and teeth
to kill and eat their prey. They have golden fur,
which can camouflage them against dry grasses.
They can run fast to catch prey. They have good
eyesight, hearing and sense of smell, which help
them to find their prey.
b Any three from growth, movement, reproduction,
excretion, sensitivity, nutrition and respiration.
c The most likely food chain that students will
draw is:
grass → zebra → lion
but others should be accepted if they relate to the
photograph.
d grass and trees
Copyright Cambridge University Press 2012
Topic 3.3 Humans and food
chains
1 Sun → grass → mammoth → human
2 They did not destroy animal populations because
they could only hunt with primitive weapons such as
bows and arrows. They could not kill many animals.
They did not destroy plant populations because they
were careful always to leave some plants to grow, so
there would be plenty for them in the future.
3 Answers will depend on where the student lives.
4 Answers will depend on where the student lives.
5 There are many possible answers. Students are
likely to describe how clearing land can remove
plants, so there is no food for animals further along
the food chain.
6 There are many possible answers. Students are likely
to describe the extra food for insects and other pests
that eat crops.
Topic 3.4 Pollution
1 More water will be added to the sea, so sea level
will rise.
2 If there are fewer trees, then less carbon dioxide
will be taken from the air. If the trees are burnt,
this will make more carbon dioxide which will be
released into the air. Both of these effects will cause
the carbon dioxide content of the atmosphere
to increase.
3 Acid rain is caused when sulfur dioxide dissolves in
rainwater. Sulfur dioxide is made when coal is burnt.
4 a If there is no sulfur in the coal, then no sulfur
dioxide will be produced when it is burnt.
b No, because burning coal will still produce carbon
dioxide and smoke.
Topic 3.5 Ozone depletion
1 In the atmosphere, about 25 km above the ground.
2 They can cause skin cancer and damage the eyes.
3 The ozone layer absorbs ultraviolet rays from the
Sun, so less of them reach the Earth’s surface.
4 a The images show that the amount of ozone over the
Antarctic in 1987 was less than in 1981. In 1999,
there was even less ozone over the Antarctic than in
1987 and the hole in the ozone layer was larger.
b The ozone hole is biggest over the Antarctic.
Australia and southern Chile and southern
Argentina are much closer to the Antarctic than
countries near the equator. The ozone layer over
the equator has not been affected.
5 CFCs are gases that were used in air conditioners,
refrigerators and aerosol cans. (CFC is short for
chloro-fluorocarbon.)
Cambridge Checkpoint Science 7 1
 Answers to Coursebo0k questions: Unit 3

6 CFCs break down ozone, therefore thinning the
ozone layer.
7 CFCs break down ozone more when it is cold, which
is why the ozone layer is most damaged over the
Antarctic. (The ozone layer over the Arctic is also
affected, but to a lesser extent.)
CFCs break down ozone more quickly when the Sun
shines on them, which is why the ozone layer is more
affected in spring than in winter.
8 The CFCs that are already in the atmosphere will
stay there for about 100 years.
Topic 3.6 Conservation
1 Conservation means taking care of the environment,
and helping other kinds of living organisms to
survive.
2 Pollutants cannot escape through the waterproof liner,
so animals living near the site will not be harmed by
them. Water from the site is treated to make it safe.
Soil and grass cover the rubbish, preventing most
animals from coming into contact with it.
3 Cutting down forests destroys the habitats for which
plants and animals are adapted, so they may die or
have to move to another place. If the trees are burnt,
this will add carbon dioxide to the atmosphere, which
may make the Earth get warmer. Trees also take
carbon dioxide from the air to use in photosynthesis,
so fewer trees can also mean that there is more
carbon dioxide in the air.
4 Answers will depend on the student’s choice of habitat.
Topic 3.7 Energy resources
1 Any one of: fossil fuel, oil, coal, gas.
2 Answers could include energy-using cells and organs
in the student’s body (for example, heart beating,
muscles moving, brain thinking) and also things in
the environment that are using energy (such as lights,
heating or air conditioning, vehicles moving outside).
3 Fossil fuels are running out. Burning fossil fuels
releases carbon dioxide, which is making the Earth
get warmer.
4 There are various possible answers, which could
include their appearance, or the noise that they make.
5 There are various possible answers. Students could
answer the question using information given on this
page and in earlier topics, but they may also have
ideas of their own. The main advantages are that:
• wood is a renewable fuel
• people may be able to get it for free
• electricity or fossil fuels may not be available
everywhere.
The disadvantages are that:
• harvesting wood may damage the environment (by
damaging habitats, by removing trees that absorb
carbon dioxide, by increasing soil erosion)
• you need a lot of wood to produce enough energy
for cooking and heating
• it is very time-consuming to have to collect wood
for fuel rather than just turning on a switch on an
electric or gas cooker, or heater.
6 There are various possible answers. The main
advantages are that
• solar energy is free and renewable
• using solar energy avoids using fossil fuels, which
will eventually run out and which cause pollution.
The main disadvantages are that:
• the car will only work when the Sun is shining
• you need a large area for the solar cells to generate
enough energy, and are very expensive.
End of unit questions
3.1 a The direction of the energy (passing from one
organism to another). [1]
b grass [1]
c four [1]
d Accept any two features that can be seen in the
diagram and that could be adaptations to avoid
predation. Give one mark for each feature, and
another mark for an explanation. For example:
The frog is green [1]
which camouflages it / makes it more difficult
for the snake to see it. [1]
The frog has long hind legs [1]
so it can jump away from the snake. [1]
The frog has large eyes [1]
so it can see the snake and escape. [1]
3.2 a measuring cylinder [1]
b 18, 43, 25 [3]
for giving the correct units, °C [1]
c Any three of: the volume of the water, the
initial temperature of the water, the size of
the test tube, the distance she held the nut
from the tube. [3]
d She should compare the increase in temperature
in the water after burning each nut. The one
that produced the greater temperature increase
contained more energy. [2]
3.3 a a gas [1]
b Ozone absorbs ultraviolet light. Ultraviolet light
can cause skin cancer and damage eyes. [2]
c Gases called CFCs. These break down ozone. [2]

Copyright Cambridge University Press 2012 Cambridge Checkpoint Science 7 2