CSEC Biology

Section A: Living Organisms and the Environment

Assignment 1: Classification, Ecological Study and Soil

1. a) State the FIVE (5) kingdoms of life and give ONE example of an organism present in each
kingdom. ( 5 marks)

b) What are the four classes of arthropods? Give ONE distinguishing feature and TWO examples
of organisms found in each class. (5 marks)

2. Terrence carried out an ecological study of a garden. The table below shows a record of the
organisms he found.
ORGANISM CHARACTERISTICS ORGANISM CHARACTERISTICS

millipede woodlice

centipede cat

butterfly ladybird

lizard blackbird

grass flower

grasshopper snail

Table 1: Organisms found in a garden

a) Complete the table above to show TWO distinguishing characteristics of each organism found.
(12 marks)
b) i) Identify FIVE sampling methods that Terrence may have used to study the organisms he found
in the garden. ( 5 marks)
ii) Which sampling methods would be the most appropriate to study the species
density/population of the snails? (2 marks)

iii) Terrence carried out the quadrat method to study one species of plants in the garden using a
1m2 quadrat. Table 2 shows the results he obtained from five quadrat throws.

Plant Species Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q5
A 12 7 4 0 0
Table 2: Number of plants found per quadrat

Calculate the species density of the plant species. (3 marks)

3. a) Distinguish between the following pairs of terms giving examples:
i) Population and community (2 marks)
ii) Biotic and abiotic factors (2 marks)

b) Outline FOUR reasons why soil is important to living organisms. (4 marks)

c) Describe THREE differences between sandy soils and clay soils, and explain why neither soil
is ideal for planting crops. (5 marks)

TOTAL: 45 marks