CSEC BIOLOGY

JULY 2022
SECTION A QUIZ
INSTRUCTIONS;
ANSWER ALL THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS BELOW, TAKE YOUR TIME AND
READ. DO NOT USE YOUR BOOK, THE ANSWER SHEET WILL BE GIVEN TO YOU
AFTER AS A REVISION PAPER.
DONT STRESS IT, JUST DO YOUR BEST!

1) State the seven characteristics used to identify living organisms. 7mks

 Growth- is a permanent increase in size.
 Respiration-the process by which energy is released from the food that we eat.
 Irritability- the ability of an organism to detect and respond to changes in their
environment,
 Movement- a change in a part or the whole of the body of an organism
 Nutrition- the process by which we obtain or make food.
 Excretion- the removal of harmful substances that may negatively affect the body.
 Reproduction-the process by which living organisms interbreed to create new
organisms that often resemble themselves.

2) Define four of these characteristics. 4 mks

See question 1

3) Describe 3 ways in which living organisms are classified. State one example for each
way mentioned. 6 mks
 Visible characteristics- colour, shape, number of legs
 Scientific method- life cycles. Developmental patterns, internal structures
 Modern classification- use of comparing DNA structures.

4) State two differences between prokaryotes and eukaryotes. 2mks

 Prokaryotes have no membrane surrounding the nucleus (nucleolus) while eukaryotes
do.
 Prokaryotes have no mitochondria, eukaryotes have mitochondria.

5) List the five kingdoms that are studied at CSEC level. 5mks
 Fungi, animalia, plantae, prokaryotes, Protista
 6) What is ecology? 3mks
 The study of living organisms in their environment and how they interact with each
other in that environment.

7) Describe 2 collection methods used to investigate species distribution in a particular

habitat. 4mks
 Quadrat
 Release and recapture
 Line transect
 Belt transect

8) Define the following terms; 9mks

Ecosystem- a community of organisms sharing an environment.
Environment- the abiotic and biotic factors (a combination of these factors surrounding and
act upon an organism)
Biotic- living factors
Abiotic- non-living factors (chemical and physical elements)
Niche- the position or the role of an organism in an ecosystem.
Habitat- the place where an organism lives.
Community- all the populations of different species found in a particular habitat.
Species- a group of organisms of common ancestry that closely resemble each other and they
capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring.
Population-all the organisms or a particular species living together in the same habitat.

9) State the three types of abiotic factors, including a short description for each one. 6
mks
 Edaphic- soil components that contribute to the development of plants and animals by
improving water, air and mineral content.
 Climatic-elements of the weather that affects the livelihood of mainly terrestrial
animals.
 Aquatic – elements of water that affect the livelihood of aquatic organisms.

10) State two positive outcomes of predator-prey relationships. 2mks

 The population would remain relatively constant.
 It can be used as a biological control
  They both evolve together.

11) Define the following terms; 14 mks

Food chain- formed within an ecosystem to show how organisms obtain food/a diagram that
shows how food and energy passes from one organism to another.
Food web- a combination of food chains intersecting each other.
Trophic level-the levels of feeding in a food chain that shows energy distribution.
Primary consumer-consumes the primary producers.
Primary producer- makes the organic food.
Secondary consumer- eats the primary consumer
Tertiary consumer- eats the secondary consumer
Herbivore- eats plants only
Omnivore- eats both plants and meat.
Carnivore- eats meat only.
Predator- hunts down or preys on other organisms to eat it.
Prey- is hunted down to be eaten
Terrestrial- land
Aquatic- water-based

12) Differentiate between decomposers and detrivores. 3mks

Decomposers are microorganisms that breakdown decomposing matter/organisms by
enzymes (feeding saphrophitically) while detrivores are small animals that manually or
mechanically break down decomposing matter in smaller pieces.
13) Define symbiotic relationships, stating the three types of specific relationships. 5mks
 The close relationships between organisms of different species.
 Parasitism, commensalism, mutualism.

14) Describe the flow of energy? 2 mks

 Photosynthesis-sunlight energy is converted to chemical energy which is stored in the
food in plants.
 Food chains- energy decreases as trophic levels increases (energy flows in one
direction)
 15) Define the following terms; 3 mks
Recycling- the change of waste materials into new products.
Biodegradable- can be decomposed by the atmosphere/environment.
Non-biodegradable- cannot be decomposed by the atmosphere/environment.

16) Describe 3 ways in which recycling is considered important. 3mks

 Prevents wastage
 Conserve natural resources
 Reduce energy usage
 Reducing waste disposal
 Reduces air, land and water pollution.

17) Describe 3 ways in which it may be difficult to recycle in small Caribbean countries.
3mks
 To convince household to segregate waste
 To collect, transport and store
 Time consumimg
 Hazardous
 Uneconomical (small caribbean countries).
 Lack of resources.

18) State one example each for a non-renewable resource and a renewable resource. 2mks
 Non-renewable- oil, pitch,water, fossil fuel, mineral
 Renewable – forestry, marine organisms, terrestial organisms

19) State 5 ways in which humans negatively affect the environment. 5 mks
 Overfishing
 Overgrazing
 Overhunting
 Deforestation
 Pollution

20) Describe global warming (the greenhouse effect) and its effect on climate change. 3
mks
Global warming is the warming of the earth's atmosphere due to the greenhouse effect,
where greenhouse gases such as CFCs, carbon dioxide and methane creates a hole in the
ozone layer and allows more heat from the sun to reach the earth's surface. This causes the
increase of temperature and hence the climate year by year and negatively affects the
environment.
21) Define pollution and state 3 common pollutants. 4mks
 The contamination of the environment by the release of unpleasant or harmful
substances.
 Oil, spills, sewage leaks, waste from industries, run off from chemical insecticides
and fertilisers
 Carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, sulphur dioxide, and so on.

22) Explain how pollution affects

- The disposal of garbage
- Toxic chemical can leech out
- Greenhouse gases can be omitted.
- Plastics can enter waterways and oceans
- Introduce rodents and cockroach
- Can discourage tourism especially ecotourism

- Marine and wetland ecosystems

- Reduce biodiversity
- Loss of habitats
- Lack of natural resources
- Lack attraction sites and visitation sites for tourism
- Lack of protection for coastline
- Increased floods

- small Caribbean countries

- Any of the above since the Caribbean depends heavily on tourism and the fishing
industry, these factors will negatively affect our economy and our diet (seafood
based).
6 mks
23) Describe what happens when populations grow and what happens when
overpopulation occurs. 4mks
 Overcrowding, food shortages, increased competition
 Increased diseases, increase in predators (which will help to reduce the population)

24) State 3 ways in which humans can overcome problems of overpopulation today. 3
mks
 Develop modern medicine to reduce death rate.
 Increase supply or opportunities to get access to birth control
  Improve agricultural techniques.
 Develop nutritional understanding.

110 mks