OrganismsIB MYP Biology: Topic test

1. 1
   A Venus flytrap grows in the bogs of North Carolina. When an insect touches the hairs on one of its leaves, the leaf closes. The plant makes its own food by photosynthesis, grows new leaves each spring and produces seeds.

   (a)

   Which life process is shown when the leaf closes after it is touched?

   [1 mark]

   • AExcretion
   • BRespiration
   • CSensitivity
   • DReproduction

   (b)

   Which life process does the plant carry out when it makes food by photosynthesis?

   [1 mark]

   • ANutrition
   • BExcretion
   • CReproduction
   • DSensitivity

   (c)

   A student says that a robot is alive because it moves and responds to obstacles. Explain why a robot is not a living thing.

   [2 marks]

   Total for question 1: 4 marks

2. 2
   A museum curator in Nairobi sorts four vertebrates. The tilapia is a fish that breathes with gills and lays soft eggs in water. The chameleon has dry, scaly skin and lays soft-shelled eggs on land. The ostrich has feathers and lays hard-shelled eggs. The fruit bat has fur, and the female feeds her young on milk.

   (a)

   To which vertebrate group does the fruit bat belong?

   [1 mark]

   • AReptiles
   • BBirds
   • CAmphibians
   • DMammals

   (b)

   The scientific name of the Nile tilapia is Oreochromis niloticus. Which shows the correct way to write a scientific name?

   [1 mark]

   • ANiloticus oreochromis
   • BOreochromis niloticus
   • COREOCHROMIS NILOTICUS
   • DOreochromis Niloticus

   (c)

   Give two features that show the chameleon is a reptile and not an amphibian.

   [2 marks]

   Total for question 2: 4 marks

3. 3
   A group of students surveys a rocky shore in Cornwall. They place a 1 m² quadrat at 10 m intervals from the sea up the shore and count the limpets (shelled animals that cling to rocks). The numbers of limpets in the five quadrats, moving up the shore, were 48, 31, 14, 6 and 0. The higher up the shore, the less time the ground is covered by sea water.

   (a)

   Describe the pattern in the data and suggest a reason for it, referring to an abiotic factor.

   [3 marks]

   (b)

   Describe two improvements the students could make to their method to make the results more reliable. Give a reason for each.

   [4 marks]

   Total for question 3: 7 marks

4. 4
   Lake Victoria in Uganda has a food chain in which microscopic algae are eaten by small zooplankton, the zooplankton are eaten by tilapia, and the tilapia are eaten by Nile perch. Farmers around the lake use nitrate fertiliser on their crops, and rain washes some of the fertiliser into the lake.

   (a)

   Explain why there are far fewer Nile perch in the lake than algae, and why food chains rarely have more than four or five links.

   [6 marks]

   (b)

   Discuss whether farmers around the lake should be allowed to use nitrate fertiliser.

   [6 marks]

   Total for question 4: 12 marks

5. 5
   On a hot day in Dubai, a puddle of rainwater evaporates, and a nearby date palm releases water vapour from its leaves. Later, clouds form over the Hajar Mountains and rain falls on the slopes.

   (a)

   What is the name of the process by which a plant releases water vapour from its leaves?

   [1 mark]

   • ACondensation
   • BTranspiration
   • CPrecipitation
   • DRespiration

   (b)

   Which process forms the clouds above the mountains?

   [1 mark]

   • AEvaporation
   • BTranspiration
   • CPrecipitation
   • DCondensation

   (c)

   Describe how water moves from the sea to a river in the water cycle.

   [2 marks]

   Total for question 5: 4 marks

6. 6
   In a grassland in Mongolia, grass is eaten by grasshoppers, grasshoppers are eaten by small lizards, and lizards are eaten by eagles. Fungi break down the dead organisms and waste.

   (a)

   Which organism is the secondary consumer in this food chain?

   [1 mark]

   • ALizard
   • BGrass
   • CGrasshopper
   • DEagle

   (b)

   What is the role of the fungi in this food chain?

   [1 mark]

   • AProducers, because they make their own food
   • BPrimary consumers, because they eat the grass
   • CDecomposers, because they break down dead organisms and waste
   • DTertiary consumers, because they eat the eagles

   (c)

   The grasshoppers in the grassland receive 2000 kJ of energy from the grass they eat. They store 180 kJ of this energy in their bodies. Calculate the efficiency of the energy transfer to the grasshoppers.

   [2 marks]

   Total for question 6: 4 marks

7. 7
   Four arthropods were caught on a cocoa farm in Ghana. The butterfly has six legs and four wings covered in tiny scales. The housefly has six legs and one pair of wings. The beetle has six legs and hard wing cases that cover its wings. The spider has eight legs and no wings.

   (a)

   Write a dichotomous key, using the features above, that identifies all four arthropods.

   [3 marks]

   (b)

   The housefly is named Musca domestica. State what the two words in this name tell you, and explain why scientists use scientific names rather than local names.

   [4 marks]

   Total for question 7: 7 marks

8. 8
   Coral reefs off the coast of Queensland are home to coral, parrotfish that eat the algae growing on the coral, sharks that eat parrotfish, and thousands of other species. Warmer seas are causing the corals to lose the microscopic algae that live inside them. Without these algae, the coral starves and turns white, and the dead coral crumbles away. Tourism on the reef employs thousands of local people.

   (a)

   Explain how the death of the coral could affect the other organisms that live on the reef.

   [6 marks]

   (b)

   Discuss whether the government should limit the number of tourists that may visit the reef.

   [6 marks]

   Total for question 8: 12 marks

End of questions