Topic 7

Question 1

What is a community?

Answer 1

The populations of different species living in a habitat.

Question 2

What is the definition for an ecosystem?

Answer 2

The interaction of a community of biotic organisms with the abiotic parts of their environment.

Question 3

What are some examples of abiotic factors?

Answer 3

• Rainfall.
• Light intensity.
• Temperature.
• Carbon dioxide level.
• Wind intensity and direction.

Question 4

What are some examples of biotic factors?

Answer 4

• New predators arriving.
• Competition.
• New pathogens.
• Availability of food.

Question 5

What are the structural adaptations of a camel?

Answer 5

• Thin layer of fat.
• Thin fur.
• Large surface to volume ratio.

Question 6

What are the structural adaptations of an arctic fox?

Answer 6

• White fur for camouflage.
• Thick fur.
• Small surface area to volume ratio.

Question 7

What is an example of a behavioural adaptation?

Answer 7

The migration of swallows to avoid cold conditions.

Question 8

What are the functional adaptations of desert animals?

Answer 8

• Produce very little sweat.
• Produce very little urine.
• Produce very concentrated urine.

Question 9

What are the functional adaptations of a brown bear during hibernation?

Answer 9

Low metabolism.

Question 10

What is an extremophile?

Answer 10

A microorganism adapted to very extreme conditions.

Question 11

What is biomass?

Answer 11

The energy stored in a plant or organism.

Question 12

Using quadrats RQP?

Answer 12

• Mark out a line using a tape measure.
• Collect data along the line by counting the organisms on the line.
• Or use a quadrat, placed next to each other or at equal intervals along a line.

Question 13

What environmental changes affect the distribution of organisms?

Answer 13

• Water availability.
• Temperature.
• Atmospheric gas composition.

Question 14

What are the 4 stages of the water cycle?

Answer 14

1. Evaporation & Transpiration.
2. Condensation.
3. Precipitation.
4. Percolation.

Question 15

What 4 factors speed up decay?

Answer 15

• Warm temperatures.
• A moist atmosphere.
• Oxygen rich conditions.
• More decay organisms.

Question 16

What are the 4 routes for carbon in the carbon cycle?

Answer 16

1. Photosynthesis.
2. Respiration.
3. Movement through the food chain.
4. Combustion.

Question 17

How is biogas made?

Answer 17

Different microorganisms decay plant and animal waste anaerobically to create methane.
Sludge waste from sewage works and sugar factories can also produce biogas.

Question 18

What are the two types of biogas generators?

Answer 18

Batch generators and continuous generators.

Question 19

What is a batch generator?

Answer 19

• Makes biogas in small batches.
• Manually loaded with waste.
• By-products are cleared after each batch.

Question 20

What is a continuous generator?

Answer 20

• Makes biogas all the time.
• Waste is continuously fed in.
• Suited to large scale projects.

Question 21

What does a biogas generator need?

Answer 21

• An inlet for waste material.
• An outlet for digested material.
• An outlet for the biogas.

Question 22

INVESTIGATING DECAY

Question 23

Why is biodiversity important?

Answer 23

• Creates stable ecosystems (due to interdependence).
• Biodiversity allows the human species to survive.

Question 24

How do we pollute the water?

Answer 24

• Sewage.
• Toxic chemicals such as herbicides.

Question 25

How do we pollute the land?

Answer 25

- Toxic chemicals. - Nuclear waste. - Household waste (landfill).

Question 26

How do we pollute the air?

Answer 26

- Smoke. - Acidic gases.

Question 27

What are the effects of global warming?

Answer 27

- Causes sea water rise. - The distribution of wildlife may change. - Changes in migration patterns may occur. - Reduction in biodiversity.

Question 28

Why is deforestation bad for biodiversity?

Answer 28

Deforestation leads to habitat loss. The rising temperature may also effect some species.

Question 29

What are the characteristics of bogs?

Answer 29

- Acidic. - Waterlogged.

Question 30

How does peat form?

Answer 30

In bogs, the lack of oxygen means plants don’t fully decay. These partially rotted plants build up to form peat.

Question 31

Why do we destroy peat bogs?

Answer 31

- Use as farmland. - Use as fertiliser. - Use as fuel.

Question 32

Why is the drainage of peat bad for the environment?

Answer 32

Drainage exposes the peat to oxygen, allowing the microorganisms to decompose it.

Question 33

How do we increase biodiversity?

Answer 33

- Breeding programmes. - Programmes and laws that protect rare habitat. - The reintroduction of hedgerows and field margins. - Regulations to reduce deforestation. - Recycling to reduce the use of landfills.

Question 34

Why is the maintaining of biodiversity difficult?

Answer 34

- It’s expensive. - It can disrupt peoples livelihoods. - It can disrupt agriculture & food security. - Protecting the environment sometimes limits development.

Question 35

Why is biomass lost at each trophic level?

Answer 35

- Organisms don’t always eat every single part of the organism they’re consuming. - Organisms don’t absorb all of the biomass from the food they ingest. - Some biomass has been converted into glucose.

Question 36

What factors affect food security?

Answer 36

- New pests & pathogens. - Bad weather. - Increase in global population - Higher demand for food as countries develop. - The price of farming such as the cost of seeds. - Conflict.

Question 37

How do we tackle overfishing?

Answer 37

- Fishing quotas. - Net size management.

Question 38

What fish are at risk of disappearing from their usual areas?

Answer 38

Cod from the NW Atlantic.

Question 39

How do we make meat & fish production more efficient?

Answer 39

- Factory farming for fish and livestock. - High protein diets. - Limit their use of energy.

Question 40

What are the issues with factory farming?

Answer 40

- Disease spreads very easily. - There are ethical objections.

Question 41

What is the name for food from fungi?

Answer 41

Mycoprotein

Question 42

Why is fungi a useful food source?

Answer 42

- Can be made in large quantities. - It makes high protein meat substitutes.

Question 43

How do we make human insulin via bacteria?

Answer 43

1. A plasmid is removed from the bacterium. 2. An insulin gene is cut out of a human chromosome using a restriction enzyme. This creates a DNA strand with unpaired bases. 3. The plasmid is cut open using the same restriction enzyme. 4. The plasmid and human gene are mixed together. 5. Ligase joins the sticky ends together. 6. The recombinant is inserted into a bacterium.

Question 44

What is a sticky end?

Answer 44

A single DNA strand that has unpaired bases.

Question 45

What is a recombinant?

Answer 45

Two bits of different DNA stuck together.

Question 46

Why are GM crops used?

Answer 46

- Can be made resistant to pests. - Can be modified to withstand harsh conditions. - Can be modified to provide specific nutrients.

Question 47

Why are GM crops controversial?

Answer 47

- It is argued that people go hungry due to a lack of money, not food. - There are fears that poor countries may become dependent on companies who sell GM crops. - Poor soil can be to blame for crop failure.

Question 48

What fungi is used to make mycoprotein?

Answer 48

Fusarium

Question 49

How do we grow mycoprotein?

Answer 49

In aerobic conditions on glucose syrup at a specific temperature.

Question 50

Investigating decay RQP?

Answer 50

1. Measure 5cm^3 of lipase solution and pour into a labelled test tube. 2. Measure 5cm^3 of milk into a different test tube. 3. Add 5 drops of phenolphthalein to the milk. 4. Then measure 7cm^3 of sodium carbonate and add it to the milk. It will be alkaline. 5. Put both in a water bath at 30°c until they reach the temperature desired. 6. Use a calibrated pipette to put 1cm^3 of lipase into the milk. Start a stopwatch. Stir. 7. As soon as clear, stop the stopwatch. Record. 8. Repeat at different temperatures. Repeat each to get a mean.