Q1.         Students investigated a food chain in a garden.
The students found 650 aphids feeding on one bean plant.
Five ladybirds were feeding on the aphids.

Photograph supplied by Hemera/Thinkstock
(a)     (i)      Draw a pyramid of biomass for this food chain.
Label the pyramid.
(2)
(ii)    The biomass in the five ladybirds is less than the biomass in the bean plant.
Give two reasons why.
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(2)

(b)     The carbon in dead bean plants is returned to the atmosphere via the carbon cycle.
Describe this part of the carbon cycle.
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(4)
(Total 8 marks)
 Q2.          The photograph shows what happens to some of the energy in the food that a cow eats.
                               
(a)     Calculate the percentage of the energy in the cow’s food that is transferred into new growth.
          Show clearly how you work out your answer.
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Answer = ................................................................%
(2)

(b)     The energy from the cow’s food which is not transferred into new growth is lost.
          Give three ways in which this energy is lost.
1 ..................................................................................................................................
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2 ..................................................................................................................................
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3 ..................................................................................................................................
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(3)

(c)     The animals that we raise for food are usually herbivores (plant eaters) rather than carnivores (flesh eaters).
          Explain why.
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(2)
(Total 7 marks)
Q3.          The diagram shows what happens to some of the energy in the food that a chicken eats.

(a)     Calculate the percentage of energy used for growth.
Show clearly how you work out your answer.
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Energy used for growth = ...................................... %
(2)
(b)     The energy that is not transferred into growth is lost.
Give three ways in which this energy is lost.
1 .................................................................................................................................
2 .................................................................................................................................
3 .................................................................................................................................
(3)

(c)     The pictures show two ways of keeping chickens to produce eggs.

Battery chickens produce more eggs per year than free-range chickens.
Suggest one reason why.
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(1)
(d)     The animals that we raise for food are usually herbivores (plant eaters) rather than carnivores (flesh eaters).
Explain why.
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(2)
(Total 8 marks)
 Q4.          Nitrate fertilisers are important in agriculture. They help to increase crop yields and so make food cheaper to buy. Some of the nitrate fertilisers run off into rivers and get into drinking water. The problem is that the nitrates can react with iron in our blood. This reduces the blood’s ability to carry oxygen. If the amount of nitrate in drinking water is too high, it can cause ‘blue baby syndrome’, in which babies look blue due to lack of oxygen.
          The table shows the amount of nitrate fertilisers used and the crop yield.
 
Nitrate fertilisers in kilograms per hectare of land	0	150	250	
Crop yield in tonnes per hectare of land 	5	8	7	
Use the information above to suggest what should be done, by farmers and government, to prevent ‘blue baby syndrome’. Explain the reasons for your suggestions.
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(Total 3 marks)
 Q5.          The diagram shows part of the carbon cycle.

(a)     Which letter, A, B, C or D, represents:
(i)      respiration                 .........................................
(1)
(ii)     photosynthesis?         .........................................
(1)

(b)     Local authorities are encouraging people to recycle vegetable waste by converting it into compost.
Compost is made by mixing the vegetable waste with soil in a large container.
(i)      Decay occurs more quickly if the container has holes in the sides.
Explain why.
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(2)
(ii)     Spreading compost on the soil between plants leads to better growth of the plants.
Explain why.
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(1)
(Total 5 marks)

Q6.         Lichens are sensitive to the amount of sulfur dioxide in the atmosphere. They are used as indicator species for the amount of air pollution. Air pollution is generally higher in town centres than in the countryside.
Students investigated the relationship between lichen species and distance from a town centre.
•        On a map, they drew a transect (line) from the centre of the town to the countryside.
•        They examined sites every 200 metres along the transect (line).
•        At each site, they recorded the lichen species growing on trees and walls up to a height of 2 metres.
The graph shows their results.
The lines on the graph indicate the range of each lichen species
(a)     Give one way in which the students could have obtained more accurate results.
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(1)
(b)    (i)       Which lichen species was found over the greatest range?
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(1)

(ii)     Which lichen species grows only in the least polluted air?
                                                                            ..................................	(1)
(c)     One student concluded ‘You can tell how much sulfur dioxide there is in the air by the amount of Lecanora growing’.
Give two reasons why this is not a valid conclusion.
1 .....................................................................................................................
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2 .....................................................................................................................
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(2)
(Total 5 marks)
Q7.         The diagram shows part of a carbon cycle in a habitat.

(a)     Name the processes shown by arrows X and Y.
X .....................................................................
Y .....................................................................
(2)
(b)     Describe the part played by algae in this carbon cycle.
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(3)

(c)     In tropical rainforests process X is much faster than in most other habitats.
Suggest why.
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(2)
(Total 7 marks)
  Q8.  People have burned fossil fuels, eg. coal, in Britain for hundreds of years. Until about two hundred years ago the effects of this could only be seen in large towns where buildings became blackened with soot.
          Now we can see other effects. For example animals are being killed in lakes in country areas far from towns and cities. This is because the water there has become much more acidic.
Gases produced by burning fossil fuels are the cause of this.
(a)     Name two of these gases.
1 ..................................................................................................................................
2 ..............................................................................................................................(2)
(b)     These gases are produced in towns. Explain how they can make lakes much more acidic in country areas.
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..................................................................................................................................(2)

(c)     The effects of burning fossil fuels are much greater now than they were two hundred years ago. Explain why.
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(Total 6 marks)
 Q9.          Scientists have found the following food web in the Antarctic Ocean.

(a)     (i)      Write down the name of the producer in this web.
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(ii)     Write down the names of two organisms which are prey in this web.
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(3)
(b)     Humans are removing large numbers of the cod.
Some scientists argue that this could lead to a decrease in the numbers of squid and penguins.
Others argue that the numbers of squid and penguins will stay the same.
          Carefully explain each argument.
          Why they might decrease.
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          Why they might stay the same.
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(2)

c)     The following information is about the biomass of the organisms in one of the food chains in the web.

          Draw and label a pyramid of biomass for this chain.

 
 
(2)
(Total 7 marks)
 Q10.          Invertebrate animals are used to monitor pollution in streams. The photograph shows scientists collecting a sample of invertebrates from a stream.

Reproduced with the permission of John Graham
          This is the method that they use.
•        A 1 m2 area of the bed of the stream is marked out.
•        A net 1m wide is held by one person on the downstream side of the marked-out area.
•        The other person uses their boots to gently move stones in this area of the stream bed. They do this for three minutes. This dislodges invertebrates which are then caught in the net.
•        The invertebrates are then identified and counted.
(a)     Name two control variables (variables which must be kept the same) in this investigation.
1. .................................................................................................................................
2. ..............................................................................................................................(2)
(b)     Suggest two reasons why the results from a sample might not be accurate.
1. .................................................................................................................................
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2. .................................................................................................................................
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          The technique described above was used to investigate the effect of sewage on stream invertebrates.
•        Sample 1 was taken upstream of the point where the sewage entered the stream.
•        Samples 2–9 were taken at regular intervals downstream of the sewage inflow.
          The graph shows the results.

 (c)     What was the range of the number of blackfly larvae that could be found in sample 7?
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(1)
(d)     Describe, as fully as you can, how the number of water hoglice changed downstream from where sewage entered the stream.
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(2)

(e)     Which of the four invertebrates is the best indicator species for water which is not polluted by sewage?
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Give the reason for your answer.
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(2)
(Total 9 marks)

Q11.          Energy is stored in the materials that make up organisms. These materials are called biomass.
 
Organisms in food chain	 
Rose plant	 
→	 
Greenfly	 
→	 
Ladybird	 
→	 
Blackbird	
Biomass in g/m2	 
600	 	 
50	 	 
10	 	 
1	
 (a)     Complete the pyramid of biomass for this food chain. The rose plant has been done for you. You should draw the rest of the pyramid to the same scale. (5 small squares = 
50 g/m2.)

(3)
(b)     What proportion of the energy in a rose plant is transferred to greenfly?
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Proportion = ......................................
(2)
(Total 5 marks)
Q12.          (a)     Use the words in the box to fill in the gaps in the diagram. You may use each word once or not at all.
 
carbon             burning             decay                eaten
nitrogen           oxygen          pollution             respiration	

(4)

(b)     (i)      Why are fungi called decomposers?
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(1)
(ii)     Give one other type of decomposer.
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(1)
(Total 6 marks)
 Q13.          Each autumn, many trees lose their leaves.
(a)     Describe how carbon compounds in the leaves can be recycled so that they can be used again by the trees.
          To gain full marks in this question you should write your ideas in good English. Put them into a sensible order and use the correct scientific words.
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(b)     Give two environmental conditions which speed up the processes that you have described in part (a).
1 ..................................................................................................................................
2 ..................................................................................................................................
(2)
(Total 6 marks)
Q14.          Improving the quality of life for everyone without damaging the planet for the future is known as sustainable development.
One problem is the rapid growth in the Earth’s population of humans during the last 500 years. This is shown by the graph.

(a)     When the Earth’s population was much smaller, the effects of human activities on forests were usually small and local.
In the past 500 years there has been large-scale deforestation in some areas. Give two reasons for this.
1 ..................................................................................................................................
2 ..................................................................................................................................
(2)

(b)     Look at the bar chart. It shows the average amount of energy used by each person in one year in the USA, Japan and Bangladesh.

(i)      Suggest one reason why so much more energy is used per person in the USA than in Bangladesh.
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(1)

(ii)     Using a lot of resources for energy harms the Earth.
Explain why.
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(2)
(c)     As we are using more resources, waste management is becoming more important. In the UK much of the solid waste is still being dumped in landfill sites. In 1996, the UK government introduced a landfill tax because landfill sites were being used up. However, the year after the landfill tax was introduced it was estimated that 18 million tonnes of landfill waste was not reported. The government was trying to encourage other forms of waste management, such as:
•        reduce waste
•        reuse waste
•        recycle waste

(i)      Explain the main problem caused by the landfill tax.
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(2)
(ii)     Describe one example of how each of the different forms of waste management can be put into practice.
Reduce waste ....................................................................................................
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Reuse waste ......................................................................................................
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Recycle waste ...................................................................................................
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(3)
(Total 10 marks)

Q15.         The diagram shows part of the carbon cycle.

(a)     Letter A represents respiration.
Which two other letters represent respiration?
 
	and		
(1)
(b)     Other than carbon dioxide name two carbon compounds found in plants.
1 .....................................................................................................................
2 ..................................................................................................................... (2)
(c)     Gardeners use compost heaps to decay dead plants. Decayed compost is then spread onto the soil in a garden.
Explain why gardeners spread decayed compost onto the soil.
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(Total 5 marks)
 M1.         (a)      (i)     triangular pyramid with 3 layers
may be as blocks or as triangle
ignore food chains and arrows
1
layers appropriately labelled:
      bean / plant
     aphid,
     ladybird
labelled in food chain order must not contradict correct pyramid
allow correctly labelled inverted pyramid for 2 marks
1

(ii)     any two from:
(for aphid / ladybird)
ignore energy
•        not all digested / faeces
•        loss in urine
•        loss of CO2
ignore loss of CO2 from bean plant
•        not all eaten
if none of first 3 points given then allow waste (materials) / excretion for 1 mark
2
(b)     microorganisms / microbes / bacteria / fungi / decomposers / detritivores /named
do not accept germs
allow mould
ignore aphids
1

decay / breakdown / digest / decompose / rot (bean plant)
ignore eat
1
respiration (of microorganisms etc / aphids)
allow burning / combustion
1
carbon dioxide released (from respiration of microorganisms etc / aphids)
allow carbon dioxide released / produced (from burning / combustion)
ignore other parts of the carbon cycle
ignore formation of fossil fuels
1
[8]
 M2.          (a)     4
award both marks for correct answer, irrespective of working.
allow 125/3125 (× 100) or 0.04 for 1 mark
2
(b)     any three from:
•        excreted / urine / urea(*)
•        not digested / faeces(*)
(*) if neither of these marks is awarded then waste gains 1 mark
•        methane
•        respiration
do not allow for respiration
•        movement / named internal / external movement
allow sound
•        heat / temperature control / sweating
allow milk production
allow active transport
3
(c)     any two from:
•        no / less biomass / energy lost (by intermediate) or examples of losses
herbivores contain more energy is insufficient
•        shorter food chain
•        cheap(er) to feed herbivores
ignore reference to carnivores being dangerous
2
[7]
 M3.          (a)     8.3 or 8.3 recurring or 8
award both marks for correct answer, irrespective of working
7 / 84 × 100 or equivalent for 1 mark
2

(b)     any three from:
•        heat
allow keeping warm
•        respiration
not for respiration
•        movement or example of movement eg exercise / kinetic
•        faeces / waste / urine / excretion / urea
ignore eggs / sound
3

(c)     any one from:
•        less / no movement
allow examples of movement
•        less / no heat loss
•        reference to selective breeding
•        reference to controlled / better / more feeding
1

(d)     any two from:
•        less steps in food chain
•        less losses of biomass / energy / examples of losses
•        cheaper to feed herbivores
allow dangerous to keep carnivores
herbivores contain more energy is insufficient
2
[8]
 M4.          use less nitrate / fertiliser
accept use none
use a different fertiliser is neutral
prevent nitrate fertiliser run off is neutral
1
any two from:
          explanation that with less or none the crops still grow
          make more land available to grow more crops
          monitoring of water
          legislation
          organic farming / manure
          genetically modified crops
          give babies bottled water
2
[3]
 M5.          (a)     (i)      D
1
(ii)     A
1

(b)     (i)      air / oxygen (can enter)
ignore other factors entering or leaving
1
         for (aerobic) respiration
do not accept anaerobic respiration
1
(ii)     (more) minerals / nutrients /salt(s) / ions
         Or          named mineral / element available
ignore fertility / fertiliser
allow symbols
allow eg mulching / reducing weeds or retain water   1
[5]
 M6.         (a)     any two from:
•     shorter distance between samples
ignore repeat investigation /measurements
•     sample to greater height
•     specify the size of each site
ignore longer transect
1
(b)     (i)     Parmelia
1
(ii)     Evernia
1
(c)     any two from:
•        Lecanora does not extend over whole range of transect / does not grow everywhere /does not grow in town centre / does not grow in countryside
•        Lecanora grows in a range of sulfur dioxide concentrations or Lecanora only grows in limited range of sulfur dioxide concentrations or Lecanora lives over large range of sulfur dioxide concentrations
•        other factors eg different pollutant might also influence growth of Lecanora
•        sulfur dioxide / pollutant concentration was not measured
ignore Lecanora does not give accurate measure of sulfur dioxide concentration
•       amount of Lecanora not measured
2
[5]
 M7.         (a)     X respiration
correct order only
allow decay / decomposition / rotting
ignore breakdown / disintegrate
1
Y combustion / burning
1
(b)     any three from:
•        photosynthesise / absorb carbon dioxide
accept are producers or produce / make biomass / glucose / other named
do not accept photosynthesis releases CO2
•        release carbon dioxide / respire
•        eaten by animals
•        fed on / decayed by microorganisms
ignore eaten by microorganisms              3
(c)     any two from:
(in tropical rainforest conditions are)
•        warm(er) / hot
•        damp / moist / wet / humid
ignore rain
•        a lot of microorganisms
•        a lot of material to decay
allow warm(er) so enzymes work faster for 2 marks
2
[7]
 M8.          (a)     
•        sulphur dioxide / SO2
•        nitrogen oxide(s) / NO / NO2 / NO2  (allow N2O4)
          (do not credit carbon dioxide)
for 1 mark each
2
(b)     idea that
•        gases blown by the wind / spread into the air / atmosphere
•        (not rise / go into the air / atmosphere)
•        dissolve / mixes with rain / water droplets (not water alone)
•        or makes rain acidic
•        rain falls on / runs into these lakes / river or it rains or comes down in rain
any two for 1 mark each
2
(c)     idea that
•        because more people / industry / vehicles / towns
•        burning more fossil fuels
•        idea of accumulative effect of carbon dioxide / CO2
          (reference to ozone layer is incorrect)
any two for 1 mark each
2
[6]
 M9.          (a)     (i)      (tiny green) plants / phytoplankton
for 1 mark
1
(ii)     
•        penguin
•        shrimp
•        cod
•        squid
any two for 1 mark
1
(b)     Decrease: seals will eat more squid and penguins
for 1 mark
1
          Stay the same: 
•        more shrimp for squid and penguins
•        squid and penguins increase balances the extra eaten by seals
•        seals find other prey [allow shrimps]
any two for 1 mark each
2

c)        
 
          allow           
•        correct / shape (designs need to be to scale)
•        correctly labelled with organisms
          (if wholly correct but inverted then credit 1 mark)
each for 1 mark
          
2
[7]
 M10.          (a)     any two from:
control variables from information given
•        area of bed sampled
•        sampling time
•        size of net
•        kicking action
•        net position
2

(b)     any two from:
must be ideas related to a sample
•        some animals not dislodged
ignore reliability etc
•        some animals missed / through / escaped net
•        invertebrates difficult to identify
•        invertebrates from outside area
2

(c)     10 to 99 or 10 – 99 or 99 to 10 or 99 – 10 
1

(d)     any two from:
•        increased / goes up
allow increase implied from all data described
•        0 at sample 4
•        to (more than) 100
2

(e)     mayfly
1
          because not found downstream of point where sewage enters stream
or only in the unpolluted water
1
[9]
 M11.          (a)     all bars correct for greenfly, ladybird (± one square) and blackbird
(less than one square)
1
bars are centred
do not accept pyramid shape if all to left or right of centre
1
bars are labelled (in correct sequence)
1

(b)     or 8.3% or 1:12
if answer is incorrect accept correct
working out (eg  ) for 1 mark 
accept 12 or 12:1 for 1 mark
accept 8.3 for 1 mark (without %)
2
[5]
 
M12.          (a)     1 mark for each

4

(b)     (i)      digests or breaks down or decays
dead (organic) material
accept rots for digests
accept plants for dead organic material
do not accept ‘live on’ or ‘decompose’
1
(ii)     bacteria or worms or maggots
accept microbes but not germs or viruses
1
[6]
 M13.          (a)     Quality of written communication:
ideas given in a sensible order
broken down
giving products (could be CO2, minerals or gas)
(used by trees)
Q  or Q 
1
          any three from:
•        microorganisms / bacteria / fungi / saprotrophs
•        accept saprophytes / saprobionts / detritivores (named)
•        digest / break down organic matter / leaves / decompose / reference
decomposers / decay / rot
•        use of enzymes / correct named example
•        absorption by diffusion / active   transport
•    must be of breakdown products
•        respiration / combustion
•        release of carbon dioxide
CO2 can be used (by trees) in photosynthesis
do not accept CO2 taken in by roots
3

b)     any two from:
•        warmth / suitable temperature
do not accept heat / hot weather
•        damp / water / rain / humid / moisture
•        oxygen
•        suitable pH
2
[6]
 M14.          (a)     any two from:
          agriculture
accept land to grow crops or graze cattle
          buildings
          roads
          any 2 different uses for wood for 1
mark each
accept wood for burning (energy)
accept timber for wood
2

(b)     (i)      (USA has) more wealth / technology /
devices / need for electricity
1
(ii)     damage done
e.g. pollutant / mining / non-renewable / deforestation
1
         linked effect
e.g. greenhouse effect / visual pollution / run out of resources / flooding
1
(c)     (i)      Problem – because some people did not want to pay the (landfill) tax
1
         Waste dumped elsewhere
1
(ii)     named example of
         Reduce – such as less packaging / repairing
1
         Reuse – such as glass bottles / shopping bags / ink jet cartridges
1
         Recycle – such as metals, glass, paper
Mark as a whole
1
[10]
 M15.          (a)     B and D
both required in any order
1
(b)     any two from:
do not accept compounds restricted to animals
•        carbohydrate / named example
allow 2 marks for 2 named examples
do not allow a general name and a named example for 2 marks (eg award 1 mark only for carbohydrate and starch)
•        protein / enzyme
allow 2 marks for 2 named examples
•        amino acid
•        hormone / named plant hormone
•        lipid / fat / oil / wax
•        chlorophyll
•        DNA
•        vitamin(s)									2

(c)     contains minerals / salts / ions / nutrients / named
ignore ‘food’ 
do not allow vitamins / glucose / energy etc
1

(needed by plants) for health / better growth
for / help plant growth is insufficient
ignore moisture retention / soil structure
ignore more plants
allow examples linked to mineral eg contains magnesium to make chlorophyll for 2 marks
1
[5]