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Section B The living world

Answer all questions in this section.

Question 2 The living world

Study Figure 6, which shows a food web for a small scale ecosystem in the UK.

Figure 6

Tertiary
consumers Sparrowhawk Fox Tawny owl

D
E
Secondary C
consumers Small birds Mole Mouse Badger O
M
P
O
Primary S
Caterpillar Rabbit Beetle Vole
consumers E
R
S

Primary Plants
producers

Photosynthesis

Sunlight

0 2 . 1 Using Figure 6, which one of the following statements is true?

Shade one circle only.

[1 mark]
A Sparrowhawks eat plants.

B Voles eat moles.

C Moles eat beetles.

D Badgers eat small birds.

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0 2 . 2 Suggest what would happen in the food web shown in Figure 6 if foxes became
extinct.
[2 marks]

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0 2 . 3 State one role of decomposers in an ecosystem.

[1 mark]

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Question 2 continues on the next page

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Study Figure 7, a graph showing the biomass at different levels of a food chain.

Figure 7

Number Example
(weight of biomass)

Tertiary consumer 1 Sparrowhawk

Secondary consumer 300 Small bird

Primary consumer 12 000 Caterpillar

Primary producer 100 000 Deciduous tree leaves

Biomass is the total quantity or weight of organisms in a given area.

0 2 . 4 Calculate the percentage loss in biomass between the primary consumer and
secondary consumer levels.

Shade one circle only.

[1 mark]
A 2.5%

B 97.5%

C 25.2%

D 95.5%

0 2 . 5 Give two reasons why the biomass changes between each level in the
food chain.
[2 marks]

1 _____________________________________________________________________________

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2 _____________________________________________________________________________

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Study Figure 8, a diagram showing the structure of the tropical rainforest.

Figure 8
40 40
Emergent layer
35 35 (trees widely spaced)

30 30
Height
25 25 Upper canopy
above
ground (medium-spaced
20 20 trees)
(m)
15 15
Lower canopy
10 10
Understorey (shrubs
5 5 and saplings)
0 0 Ground cover
(herbs and ferns)

0 2 . 6 Using Figure 8, which part of the rainforest matches the following description?

‘An almost continuous layer of branches and leaves between

15 and 30 metres high.’

Shade one circle only.

[1 mark]
A Emergent layer

B Upper canopy

C Lower canopy

D Understorey

0 2 . 7 Using Figure 8, describe one characteristic of the base of the taller trees.
[1 mark]

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0 2 . 8 Give one effect of deforestation on the soils of the rainforest.

[1 mark]

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Study either Figure 9 or Figure 10.

Figure 9 (plants and animals in a hot desert)

Figure 10 (plants and animals in a cold environment)

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0 2 . 9 ‘Plants and animals adapt in order to survive in a hostile environment.’

Explain this statement.

Use either Figure 9 or Figure 10 and your own understanding.

Tick () the box to show which environment you have chosen.

Hot desert environment (Figure 9)

Cold environment (Figure 10)

[6 marks]

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Question 2 continues on the next page

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0 2 . 1 0 Either

To what extent is human activity the cause of desertification in areas on the

fringes of hot deserts?

or

To what extent are cold environments at risk from economic development, and
therefore in need of protection?

Tick () the box to show which environment you have chosen.

Hot desert environment (Figure 9)

Cold environment (Figure 10)

[9 marks]

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End of Section B