GCSE Biology Questions

Ecosystem

State the definition of the following: ecosystem, community, habitat, population.

What are abiotic and biotic factors?
What is biodiversity?
What factors affect the growth of a population?
What is abundance?
How can we measure the abundance of a species or community in a particular area?
What is a quadrat and how do we use them? A quadrat is a square that has smaller
squares in it which we can use to estimate the population of a species in a large
area.
How do we estimate the population of a species over a large area? We first place
quadrats in random areas and count number of organisms present in each quadrat.
After doing so we use a formula to calculate an estimate for the population
assuming that the average number of organisms we find in the quadrats is reflected
in the total population.
What is a food web and how can we use it? Food web is a diagram showing
relationships between species in a community. We can use this to determine which
species is prey and which are predators as well as find out what might happen if
one of these organism's population number reduces or increases and how other
organisms might be affected by it.

Abiotic factors and communities

What are the abiotic factors that can affect an organism? Light, temperature, wind
speeds, concentration of oxygen and CO2, moisture, soil pH and soil mineral
content.
What do abiotic factors affect? They affect the distribution of an organism.
Explain how each abiotic factor affects a species' population if they change. (Like
what would happen if polar bear is switched from cold to hot area)
What are adaptations? Adaptations are changes to an organism that allow it to adapt
to changes to its surroundings.
What types of adaptations exist? Adaptations can be structural, behavioural or
physical.
How can temperature, moisture and light affect organisms who have adaptations to
survive extremes if their habitat changes?
What are pollutants and why are they negatively affect species? Pollutants are
chemicals which negatively affect animals and plants and the environment. They
negatively affect species since they either poison them, make them ill or harm them
in other ways (contaminating their food source, etc).

Biotic factors and communities

What are biotic factors that affect an organism? Amount of food, new predator or
prey, new pathogen and outcompetition.
How do biotic factors affect an organism? They change the distribution and
abundance of a species.
Explain how each of the biotic factors affects an organism's population, give case
examples of this in action. (Like the introduction of the red fox in Australia or a
certain reintroduction of a species into a popular national park....)
Why are invasive species so damaging for ecosystems? They consume prey without
making sure that enough are left behind (predator-prey cycle) resulting in the
prey's population reducing drastically. Because these species don't usually have a
main predator that actively tries to consume them, the invasive species' population
increases rapidly. They also compete with other species for food which results in
these competing species' populations being reduced as well, negatively affecting
the ecosystem as a whole.
Explain how populations of other species changed when grey wolves went extinct in
Yellowstone National Park and the reasons and effects of their reintroduction to
the park.
What is the predator-prey cycle? It is the feeding relationship between predators
that hunt prey.
Why are beavers so important to ecosystems and how do they improve biodiversity?

Parasitism and mutualism

What other relationships exist between organisms

Improving Biodiversity

What is biodiversity? It's the term used to describe all of the organisms in a
particular ecosystem or on Earth
Why is biodiversity so important? It is important as organisms rely on each other
in order to survive. On top of this as animals and plants found in an ecosystem
provide uses to us humans and as thus, it is important that we find uses for them.
What is the term given to the effort made by individuals to conserve and protect
endangered species or habitats from extinction? Conservation.
An example of conservationist efforts in England? Kielder Forest.
Why were conservationist forests like Kielder Forest built? They were built in
order to provide a protected site for animals and plants which would otherwise go
extinct without where they could reproduce and form offspring.
What type of animals like in Kielder Forest? Goshawks, red squirrels and osprey.
How do the conservationists take care of the animals in Kielder Forest? They kill
invasive species like the grey squirrel when they enter the grounds and build
nesting platforms to help ospreys nest.
What are breeding programmes? Programmes aimed to help endangered animals by
incentivising them to reproduce in order to increase their numbers and keep them
from going extinct.

Water Cycle

What is the water cycle? The movement of water through living and non-living things
(biotic and abiotic factors).
Why is water important to us humans? We need water in order to keep cool, transport
nutrients and keep our cells rigid. Our mass is 60% water in order to do this.
How does the water cycle work?
- Water evaporates from rivers, lakes and oceans and is taken up into the air to
form water vapour.
- Water vapour cools down and eventually forms clouds.
- Once water droplets inside the clouds become too heavy, they fall into the ground
as liquid water.
- Water then flows into rivers and lakes and eventually, the ocean.
How can we get water? Through many processes: traditional water treatment,
desalination.
What types of desalination exist? Reverse osmosis and thermal desalination.
How does reverse osmosis work?

Carbon Cycle

What is the carbon cycle? The movement of carbon through living and non-living
things (biotic and abiotic factors).
What are the main processes affiliated with it? Photosynthesis, Respiration,
Feeding, Combustion, Excretion/Egestion, Decomposition or Fossilisation.
Where does crude oil come from? Dead microscopic sea animals and plants.
Where does coal or peat come from? Dead large plants.
What is Pilobolus? A fungus found on the dung of cows. (dung cannon fungus)
How does Pilobolus work? The fungus grows inside the undigested portions of food
inside the cow, consuming carbon compounds from the dung which helps it to grow
without being harmed by the cow's body in the process. By the time it is excreted
out of the cow, it has grown. It will then later disperse its spores directly onto
the grass from which the cow will consume, repeating the cycle again.

Nitrogen Cycle

Why is nitrogen important for organisms? It is important as it is essential for

organisms to grow and develop.
What is the nitrogen cycle? The movement of nitrogen through living and non-living
things (biotic and abiotic factors).
Why can't plants take in nitrogen gas? Plants can't take in nitrogen gas as it is
too unreactive to use for growth and repair because diatomic nitrogen molecules are
bonded together with strong covalent bonds which need lots of energy to break.
What do plants take in instead that contains nitrogen? Ammonium and nitrate ions.
What are the processes that happen in the nitrogen cycle? Nitrogen fixation,
Ammonification, Nitrification and Denitrification.
What is an example of a mutualistic relationship that is found in the nitrogen
cycle? Relationship between plants that have root nodules like peas and beans and
nitrogen fixing bacteria.
What organisms do ammonification? Saprobionts like bacteria and fungi. (Mainly
bacteria though.)
Explain the processes of Nitrogen fixation, ammonification, nitrification and
denitrification.
What is soil fertility? The state that soil reaches when it is full of useful
nutrients and minerals that are useful for plants.
How is soil fertility maintained? Decomposers in the soil make sure to break down
urine, faeces and dead organisms into nitrogen and carbon compounds that are useful
for the plants. Farmers replicate this by using two main tactics: Fertilisers like
that of manure and artificial ones and the use of crop rotation.
How does crop rotation work? A farmer would place crops that contain root nodules
like peas and beans one year in order to improve the soil fertility for one year
until there are excess minerals in it. The farmer would then plant other types of
plants like wheat and potato that would also take advantage of the excess minerals
and use them to grow rapidly. This is done until the soil mineral content becomes
low again which is when the farmer would repeat the cycle. (beans and peas then
wheat and finally potato)