Ecology - Adaptations, interdependence, competition - Low demand 2 – Questions

Q1.The drawing shows a plant that is adapted to life in a hot, dry desert.

 

(a)     Which labelled part of the plant helps it to get the water it needs?

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________(1)

(b)     The stem of the plant is covered by wax.How does this help the plant to survive?

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________(1)

(Total 2 marks)

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Q2.

 

The drawing above shows the shapes of trees grown on their own and inside a wood.

(a)     Write down two differences you can see between the tree grown on its own and those growing inside a wood

1. _________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

2. _________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________(2)

(b)     Trees inside the wood have to compete with each other for the things which they need to grow.

List three things for which the trees compete.

1. _________________________________________________________________

2. _________________________________________________________________

3. _________________________________________________________________(3)

(Total 5 marks)

Q3.Farmers need to get rid of weeds because they can stop crops growing well.

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(a)     Write down three things that crops and weeds compete for.

1. _________________________________________________________________

2. _________________________________________________________________

3. _________________________________________________________________(3)

(b)     Complete this sentence by crossing out the two words that are wrong in the box. 

  fertilisers  

Chemicals that are used to kill weeds are called herbicides .

  pesticides  

(1)(Total 4 marks)

Q4.Scientists have observed changes in the migration patterns of some species of birds.

The graph shows the arrival dates in the UK of two species of birds, the Sand martin and the Barn swallow.

Both birds feed on flying insects.

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(a)     What two changes in migratory patterns are shown in the data?

Tick ( ) two boxes. 

Birds fly at faster speeds than they used to 

Barn swallows arrive later to the UK than they used to 

Sand martins have always arrived in the UK before Barn swallows 

Both birds arrive earlier to the UK than they used to 

After 1970 the order that the two birds arrive in the UK reversed 

(2)

(b)     The migratory patterns of the two birds have changed.

Suggest one reason why.

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________(1)

(Total 3 marks)

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Q5.The greenfly is an insect which is eaten by ladybirds.

 

(a)     (i)      What do we call animals, like the ladybird, which hunt and kill other animals for food?

______________________________________________________________(1)

(ii)     What do we call animals, like the greenfly, which are eaten by other animals?

______________________________________________________________(1)

(b)     What would happen to the number of ladybirds if the numbers of greenfly suddenly dropped?

___________________________________________________________________(1)

Give a reason for your answer.

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________(1)

(c)     Suggest two factors, other than the number of ladybirds, which could affect the number of greenfly.

1. _________________________________________________________________

2. _________________________________________________________________(2)

(Total 6 marks)

 

Q6.The diagrams show maize plants grown from seeds sown at different distances from each other.

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(a)     Write down two differences you can see between plants A and B.

1. _________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

2. _________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________(2)

(b)     The differences are caused by competition between the maize plants.

The maize plants are competing for light. The maize plants are also

competing for ______________________________________________________

and ______________________________________________________________(2)

(Total 4 marks)

Q7.Whitefly are pests and harm plants in glasshouses.A small wasp can be used to control the whitefly.

 

The wasp can only lay its eggs in the larvae of whiteflies.The wasp larva eats the body of the whitefly larva.It then changes into a new wasp and flies off.

(a)     Choose words from the list to complete the sentences below.

decomposer          predator          prey          producer

The wasp larva feeds on the whitefly larva.

The wasp is a _______________________

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The whitefly is known as the wasp’s _______________________(2)

(b)     The graph shows how the numbers of whitefly and wasps change over several months.

 

What happens to the number of wasps between 15 and 20 months?

___________________________________________________________________

Why do you think this happens? _________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________(4)

(c)     What would happen to the wasps if there were no larvae in which to lay their eggs?

___________________________________________________________________(1)

(Total 7 marks)

Q8.Study the following information, then answer the questions.

 

•        Swallows and swifts spend the summer in Britain and the winter in Africa.

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•        Swallows feed on insects near the ground.

•        Swifts feed on insects high in the air.

•        Swallows come back to Britain in spring before swifts.

•        In spring the ground starts to warm up.  When it is warm it makes the air rise.  Insects are carried up in this air.

(a)     Suggest two reasons why swifts and swallows fly to Africa for the winter.

1. _________________________________________________________________

2. _________________________________________________________________(2)

(b)     How do swifts and swallows avoid competing for food?

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________(1)

(c)     Suggest why swifts come back to Britain later than swallows.

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________(2)

(Total 5 marks)

Q9.Copepods are tiny animals which live in the sea.

 

          During the day they live deep down near the sea bed.At night they move up to the surface where they feed on tiny plants.When the sun rises they move down to the bottom again.

(a)     Suggest why the tiny plants live near the surface of the sea.

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________(2)

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(b)     Herring feed on copepods.

          Where will herring be found during the day? Give a reason for your answer.

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________(2)

(Total 4 marks)

Q10.Kangaroo rats live in the hot, dry deserts of North America.Their only water comes from the food they eat.In these regions daytime temperatures are around 45°C.At night temperatures can fall to below 30°C.

 

          Explain how each of the following features makes these animals well adapted to survive in deserts.

(a)     They are a sandy colour.

___________________________________________________________________

(b)     They are active at night and stay in burrows underground by day.

___________________________________________________________________

(c)     They produce dry droppings and very little urine. They do not sweat.

___________________________________________________________________

(d)     Their large ears, feet and tail give their bodies a large surface area.

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________(4)

(Total 4 marks)

Q11.Brown trout are fish that kill and eat other animals.

(a)     Choose a word from this list to complete the sentence below.

competitors                consumers                prey              producers

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          Trout are predators, the animals they eat are their _____________________ .(1)

(b)     The graph shows the ages of the brown trout found in the river Tees.

          There was no serious pollution in the river during this time.

 

          Suggest three reasons why few brown trout live to be over two years old.

1. _________________________________________________________________

2. _________________________________________________________________

3. _________________________________________________________________(3)

(Total 4 marks)

Q12.(a)     Animals have adaptations which help them to survive in their habitat.

The pictures show adaptations of three animals.

Draw one line from each animal to how the labelled adaptation helps the animal to survive.

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 (3)

(b)     All organisms compete for resources to survive.

Give two resources animals compete for.

1. _________________________________________________________________

2. _________________________________________________________________(2)

(Total 5 marks)

Q13.(a)     (i)      Darwin’s theory of evolution states that all species of living things have

evolved from simple life forms.

Draw a ring around the correct answer to complete the sentence.

Simple life forms first developed on Earth more than 

3 thousand years ago. 3 million years ago. 3 billion years ago.

(1)

(ii)     Darwin’s theory of evolution was not accepted when he first suggested it.

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Give one reason why.

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________(1)

(b)     Figure 1 shows an evolutionary tree for the ‘big cats’.

 

(i)      How long ago did the lion evolve?

_______________ million years ago(1)

(ii)     Which animal is the closest relative to the tiger?

______________________________________________________________(1)

(c)     Figure 2 shows a tiger. Tigers are large, striped animals. Tigers live and hunt in grassland and forest areas of Asia. They feed on animals such as deer.

 © Jupiterimages/PHOTOS.com/Thinkstock

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Suggest how stripes help the tiger to survive in its habitat.

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________(1)

(Total 5 marks)

Q14.Plants have adaptations that help them to survive.

(a)     Draw one line from each plant in List A to the adaptation that helps the plant to survive in List B.

 

Azalea: By Muffet [CC-BY-2.0] via Wikimedia Commons. Cactus: Ansel Adams [Public domain] via Wikimedia Commons.Fern: By Phyzome (Own work) [GFDL or CC-BY-SA-3.0], via Wikimedia Commons

(3)

(b)     All organisms compete for resources to survive.

Give three factors plants compete for.

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1. _________________________________________________________________

2. _________________________________________________________________

3. _________________________________________________________________(3)

(Total 6 marks)

Q15.The graphs give information, from a hundred years ago, about the size of the population of snowshoe hares and lynx, which live in northern Canada. Snowshoe hares are herbivores. Lynx are carnivores and prey on snowshoe hares.

 

(a)     Give three factors which can affect the size of the snowshoe hare population.

1. _________________________________________________________________

2. _________________________________________________________________

3. _________________________________________________________________(3)

(b)     The graph for numbers of lynx shows a similar cycle to that of the snowshoe hares. The peaks for lynx usually occur about a year later than the peaks for the snowshoe hares. Suggest why.

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________(2)

(Total 5 marks)

 

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Q16.Arctic hares live in very cold and snowy conditions.

 

Suggest how each of the following adaptations helps the Arctic hare to survive.

Thick fur: _______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

Large feet: ______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________

White fur: _______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________(Total 3 marks)

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