1

1 The food web below shows the feeding relationships in an oak woodland.

sparrowhawk
(bird)

great tit carabid beetle

(bird) (insect)

13 12

speckled moth winter moth

larvae (insect) larvae (insect)

110 104

leaves of oak tree

990

= energy trapped
in tissues of
organisms / kJ

(a) Use the information in the food web to name:

a producer.........................................................................................................................

an organism that feeds on consumers. ............................................................................ [2]

(b) (i) Name the two secondary consumers in this food web.

1 .............................................................................................................................

2 ............................................................................................................................. [1]

(ii) Calculate the total amount of energy trapped in the tissues of these secondary
consumers.

....................................................... kJ [1]
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(c) The leaves of the oak tree are the only part of this food web capable of trapping energy by
photosynthesis.

Calculate the percentage of the energy trapped by the oak leaves which becomes part of the
tissues of the primary consumers.

Show your working. Give your answer as a percentage.

........................... % [3]

(d) Some sparrowhawks have not been able to produce young because their eggs have only very
thin shells. The tissues of these female sparrowhawks were found to contain high concentrations
of insecticide.

Sparrowhawks do not eat insects.

Suggest how high concentrations of insecticide could have built up in the bodies of the
sparrowhawks. Refer to the food web in your answer.

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[Total: 10]

2 Sewage treatment works use bacteria to digest the waste matter. Waste matter contains complex
organic compounds, such as starch, cellulose, protein and fat.

The diagram below shows a sewage works with an aerobic digestion tank.

The sewage works discharges clean water into a river. Downstream from the sewage works, water
is removed to be used as drinking water for a nearby village.
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collection
and
pumping
screens
sedimentation
grit tank tank

effluent

grit to solids
landfill removed

chlorination final aerobic

tank sedimentation digestion
tank tank

mixing
paddle air
river chlorine solids compressed
removed air

(a) Explain the roles of bacteria in the aerobic digestion tank shown in the diagram.

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(b) The diagram shows that chlorine is added to water before it leaves the sewage treatment
works.

Explain why chlorine is added to the water.

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[Total: 7]

3 Complete the sentences by writing the missing words in the spaces.

Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas. Greenhouse gases trap .................................................

in the atmosphere. Water vapour is the most common greenhouse gas in the atmosphere.

Another greenhouse gas is methane which is released from .................................................

and ................................................. . Carbon dioxide and methane released from human

activities over the past 200 years have contributed to the .................................................

greenhouse effect.

Other atmospheric pollutants can cause acid rain. One of these is

................................................. which is a waste gas from some power stations.

One source of pollution in both aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems is

................................................. plastics.

[6]

[Total: 6]
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4 When fertiliser is applied to fields, it can lead to eutrophication in lakes and rivers.

Describe and explain what happens in lakes when eutrophication occurs.

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[Total: 6]
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5 There are many threats to wildlife in the Galapagos.

Describe ways in which endangered species can be conserved.

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[Total: 5]

6 Some information about pollutants, their sources and their effects on the environment are shown
in the Table below.

pollutant source effect on the environment

heavy metals in
disrupts functioning of plants,
chemical waste
causes brain damage

phosphate eutrophication of streams, rivers

and lakes

sulfur dioxide damage to trees, e.g. death of

leaves

ionising radiation

DDT
pesticide sprays accumulates in tissues of animals

Complete the Table.

[5]
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[Total: 5]

7 Explain what happens in streams, lakes and rivers when eutrophication occurs.

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[Total: 5]

8 The government of a country introduced a law called the Endangered Species Act. It was hoped
that the Act would help to conserve species that were at risk from extinction.

The table shows the numbers of birds from different species before and after the Act was introduced.

number of birds
species
before the Act after the Act

bald eagle 416 9789

Kirtland’s warbler 210 1425

nene goose 400 1275

peregrine falcon 324 1700

whooping crane 54 513

(a) State which species in the table was the most at risk from extinction.

........................................................................................................................................... [1]
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(b) Calculate the percentage increase in the number of Kirtland’s warblers.

Give your answer to the nearest whole number.

.............................................. % [3]

[Total: 4]

9 Modern technology has increased food production.

The boxes on the left show types of modern technology.

The boxes on the right show how modern technology has improved production.

Draw five lines to link the type of modern technology with the way in which it has improved food
production.

[4]

[Total: 4]
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10 Pollution is the harm done to the environment by the release of substances from human activities.

The table shows the names of some pollutants, their sources and their effects on the environment.

pollutant source effect on environment

acid rain

carbon dioxide enhanced greenhouse effect

cattle and rice farming enhanced greenhouse effect

fertilisers crop farming eutrophication

Complete the table.

[4]

[Total: 4]

11 Some animals are farmed intensively.

Describe the negative impacts to an ecosystem of intensive livestock production.

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[Total: 4]
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12 A species becomes endangered when it is at risk of extinction.

Explain two ways in which a species could become endangered.

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[Total: 4]

13 The diagram below is part of a newspaper article about pollution.

State four sources of water pollution other than raw sewage.

1 ...............................................................................................................................................

2 ...............................................................................................................................................

3 ...............................................................................................................................................

4 ............................................................................................................................................... [4]
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[Total: 4]

14 Describe why it is important for humans to conserve species and their habitats.

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[Total: 4]

15 Describe how deforestation harms the environment.

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[Total: 4]
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16 Global warming is largely due to an increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide.

Explain how increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations contribute to global warming.

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[Total: 4]

17 The leaves of some crop plants are not eaten but are used to make paper. This reduces deforestation
because fewer trees are cut down for making paper. Deforestation has negative effects on soil
ecosystems.

Describe the negative effects of deforestation on soil ecosystems.

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[Total: 4]
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18 Explain why it is important for humans to carry out conservation of fossil fuels and water supplies.

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[Total: 4]

19 Fertilisers are washed into a lake.

A few weeks later large numbers of dead fish were found floating in the lake.

Explain how this addition of fertilisers caused the fish in the lake to die.

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[Total: 4]
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20 Greater food production has helped the human population of the world to increase.

Explain two different ways in which modern technology has resulted in greater food production.

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[Total: 4]

21 Loggers often cut down the tall trees in a forest.

Describe the effects on the forest ecosystem of cutting down trees.

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[Total: 4]
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22 Wheat is an important crop plant in many countries. Wheat can be infected by diseases leading to
total loss of the crop which results in famine.

Outline factors, other than plant diseases, that can cause famines.

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[Total: 3]

23 Modern technology has resulted in increased food production.

State three examples of modern technology that are used to increase food production.

1 ..............................................................................................................................................

2 ..............................................................................................................................................

3 .............................................................................................................................................. [3]

[Total: 3]

24 Improvements in food production have allowed human populations to increase.

Describe how modern technology has increased the production of crop plants.

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[Total: 3]
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25 State why fertilisers, herbicides and insecticides are used in farming.

fertilisers ...................................................................................................................................

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herbicides .................................................................................................................................

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insecticides ..............................................................................................................................

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[Total: 3]

26 Describe how endangered species can be conserved.

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[Total: 3]
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27 The photograph shows an area where the trees have been cut down.

State three human activities, other than cutting down large areas of trees, that can cause habitat
destruction.

1 ...............................................................................................................................................

2 ...............................................................................................................................................

3 ............................................................................................................................................... [3]

[Total: 3]
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28 Human activity can cause pollution of the environment.

The table shows some pollutants, the environment they pollute and some of the effects.

Complete the table.

pollutant environment effect of pollutant on the environment

methane air

herbicides kills non-targeted plants

water increased growth of water plants

[3]

[Total: 3]
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29 The photograph shows an area where the trees have been cut down.

List three undesirable effects of habitat destruction.

1 ...............................................................................................................................................

2 ...............................................................................................................................................

3 ............................................................................................................................................... [3]

[Total: 3]

30 The forests in Brazil contain many endangered species.

The table below shows the area of forest that was removed in Brazil each year between 2006–2010.

2
year area of forest removed / km

2006 14286

2007 12651

2008 11911

2009 7464

2010 7000
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(a) (i) Describe the trend in the data shown in the table.

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(ii) Suggest two reasons for the trend you have described in (i).

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2 ............................................................................................................................ [2]

[Total: 3]

31 Outline the steps in the treatment of raw sewage that make it safe to return to the environment.

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[Total: 3]

32 Outline the possible benefits of conserving a specific area of woodland.

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[Total: 3]

33 Humans are polluting the environment.

Complete the table below by naming two examples of pollutants in each part of the environment.
You should name different pollutants for each part of the environment.

part of the
pollutant
environment

1
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air
2
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1
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land
2
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1
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water
2
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[3]

[Total: 3]

34 Many amphibian species throughout the world are endangered.

Suggest three reasons why many amphibian species are endangered.

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[Total: 3]
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35 Some integrated farming systems involve making best use of all available resources without the
use of large inputs of energy in the form of fossil fuels.

A study looked at what happened to the light energy that was the major energy input to farms in
the Zhujiang delta in China. The farms are based on a dyke-pond system as shown in the diagram
below.

mulberry
trees

elephant
grass

vegetables
fish
phytoplankton

dyke pond

Elephant grass, vegetables and mulberry trees are grown on the dykes in between the ponds. The
elephant grass is grown and then cut to feed the fish. Vegetables and fish are used for human
consumption. Silkworms feed on the mulberry trees. Phytoplankton are the main producers in the
pond and are eaten by the fish.

Suggest the advantages to a farmer of including ponds stocked with fish in an integrated farming
system.

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[Total: 3]
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36 The human population is growing rapidly. This is increasing the pressure on the world food supply.

In Canada farmers are breeding fish in large nets because the wild stocks of fish are decreasing.
Below is a diagram of a salmon fish farm in the ocean. The salmon only eat the food provided by
the worker.

fish farmer
worker feeds salmon monitors water
with fish pieces from from boat
floating walkway

net

waste excreted from salmon

collects at the bottom of
excess fish pieces the ocean
pass into the ocean ocean floor

Explain the effects of the excess fish pieces and waste excreted from the salmon on the environment.

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[Total: 3]
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37 Describe the problems caused by non-biodegradable plastics in the environment.

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[Total: 3]

38 Herbicides are used by farmers to control weeds.

Explain the environmental damage that may be caused by herbicides.

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[Total: 3]

39 Describe the effects of acid rain on the environment.

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[Total: 3]
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40 Describe two negative impacts to an ecosystem of intensive livestock production.

1 ...............................................................................................................................................

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2 ...............................................................................................................................................

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[Total: 2]