B i o l o g y f o r C a m b r i d g e I G C S E ® 2 nd E d i t i o n

Unit 19 Organisms and their

environment
PRACTICE QUESTIONS:
Multiple Choice Questions (1 mark each)
1A
2 A decomposers
3 A combustion and respiration
4 B the flow of energy between the organisms
5 D phytoplankton → mollusc larvae → small fish → tuna → humans
6 A compounds of nitrogen
7 D no limiting factors
8 A Biomass decreases less between primary consumers and secondary consumers than
between producers and primary consumers

Short Answer Questions

9 (a) pollen and nectar → flower beetles → kookaburras
arrows point from food to feeder ;
organisms are in the sequence as above ; [2]
(b) plant – producer ;
flower beetles – primary consumer ;
kookaburra – secondary consumer ; [3]
(c) population – all the organisms of the same species ;
male and females can breed together ;
living in the same area ;
at the same time ; [3]
(d) food ; predation ; disease ; [3]
(e) any four from the following:
increase in food available / better food available ;
less malnutrition ;
any example of improvements in agriculture ;
decrease in death rate ;
less importance of infectious diseases ;
improved medical facilities ;
drugs / antibiotics ;
vaccination ;
improved nutrition ;
better housing ;
better, sanitation / sewage treatment ;
drinking water treated / safe drinking water ;
better hygiene ; [4]

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 B i o l o g y f o r C a m b r i d g e I G C S E ® 2 nd E d i t i o n

10 (a) 480 – 0.9 = 479.1

479.1/480 × 100 ; 99.8% loss ; [2]
(b) much biomass is used up by green plants ;
not available for primary consumers ;
primary consumers / herbivores, use much of the biomass ;
in their respiration ;
some plant biomass is not edible ;
some plant biomass is not digestible ; [3]
the figures do not indicate the quantity of biomass eaten by herbivores ; herbivore
population may be small if much of the biomass is not edible
(c) water content differs between organisms ;
some are very dry / some are mostly water ;
water content of plants varies during the day / from season to season ;
because of rates of transpiration ;
energy comes from carbon compounds (carbohydrates, proteins and fats) not water ;
dry mass is better indication of energy available ; [3]
11 (a) (i) any two from e.g. starch ; cellulose ; protein ; fats ; [2]
(ii) large surface area ;
palisade cells arranged close together ;
packed with chloroplasts ;
much chlorophyll to absorb light ;
arrangement of leaves on the stem to maximise absorption of light ; [3]
(b) (i) e.g. growth of roots ;
absorption of ions by active transport ; [2]
(ii) 1/100 × 400 000 = 4000 kJ absorbed by plant ;
10/100 × 4000 = energy passed from plant to herbivore
400 ; kJ per m2 ; [3]
(c) respiration ; [1]
(d) antelope eats plants, cheetah eats meat ;
plants contain lots of indigestible material / almost all meat is digestible ;
e.g. lignin in xylem vessels in plants ;
antelope does not have any enzymes to digest this material ; [2]
(e) cheetah is top carnivore ;
a predator has not evolved that can outrun cheetahs ;
very little energy would be available to a predator of cheetahs ;
energy is lost along the food chain ;
e.g. respiration of antelopes ;
some predators may take young cheetahs or sick cheetahs, but nothing is adapted to
feed on them in the same way that cheetahs are adapted to feed on herbivores, such as
antelope ; [4]

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 B i o l o g y f o r C a m b r i d g e I G C S E ® 2 nd E d i t i o n

12 (a) (i) urea ; [1]

(ii) nitrate ions ; [1]
(iii) ammonia ; [1]
(iv) amino acids ; [1]
(v) nitrate ions ; [1]
(b) nitrogen fixation ;
bacteria absorb nitrogen gas (N2) ;
convert it to ammonia ;
many of these bacteria are in root nodules ;
of legumes ;
pass N-containing substances to host ;
when they die their N-containing compounds are released and recycled as nitrate ions for
absorption by plants ; [4]

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