All topics › AQA GCSE Biology › Trophic levels7.4.1 Trophic levelsAQA GCSE Biology (8461), Higher tier · Ecology › Trophic levels in an ecosystem
Practise Trophic levels. 11 exam-style questions plus unlimited generated ones on this subtopic, at up to four difficulty levels, with full mark schemes and a progress tracker. Free, no account needed.
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Organisms in an ecosystem can be placed into trophic levels. What name is given to the organisms at trophic level 2?Primary consumers (herbivores)
Herring gulls have no predators on this shore. Apex predator In the Arctic Ocean:phytoplankton are single-celled algae zooplankton are small animals that eat phytoplankton Arctic cod eat zooplankton ringed seals eat Arctic cod polar bears eat ringed seals. Use the information to write a food chain.phytoplankton → zooplankton → Arctic cod → ringed seal → polar bear
Name the substance that plants and algae make by photosynthesis, which they use to make other molecules. Glucose Sample questions Written for this site in the style of AQA exam questions. They are not taken from real past papers.
Question 1 Easy 4 marks
Organisms in an ecosystem can be placed into trophic levels.
(a) Which trophic level do plants and algae belong to?one box.[1]
Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4 (b) What name is given to the organisms at trophic level 2?[1]
(c) What name is given to carnivores that eat other carnivores?[1]
(d) What is an apex predator?[1]
Show the answer and mark scheme (a) Answer: Level 1
(b) Answer: Primary consumers (herbivores)
primary consumers / herbivores (c) Answer: Tertiary consumers
(d) Answer: A carnivore with no predators
a carnivore that has no predators Question 2 Medium 7 marks
Decomposers break down dead plant and animal matter.
(a) Describe how decomposers break down dead matter and obtain their food.[3]
(b) Name two groups of microorganisms that act as decomposers.[2]
(c) Explain why decomposers are important in an ecosystem.[2]
Show the answer and mark scheme (a) they secrete enzymes into the environment / onto the dead matter the enzymes break down large molecules into small soluble food molecules the small soluble molecules diffuse into the decomposer (microorganism) (c) they return carbon to the atmosphere as carbon dioxide (from respiration) they return mineral ions to the soil, which plants can take up Question 3 Hard 4 marks
Decomposers and primary consumers both obtain their food from other organisms.
Compare how decomposers and primary consumers obtain and digest their food.[4]
Show the answer and mark scheme primary consumers (herbivores) eat living plants or algae (producers) decomposers feed on dead plant and animal material and waste primary consumers digest their food inside their bodies, in the gut decomposers secrete enzymes into the environment, so the food is digested outside their cells decomposers absorb the small soluble food molecules by diffusion; primary consumers absorb digested food from the gut into the blood both use enzymes to break down large molecules into small soluble molecules, and both release carbon dioxide in respiration Marked with levels of response: the full level descriptors are in the app.
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