Pearson Edexcel International GCSE in Biology · 4BI1 · Free · no account needed
Air Pollution and the Greenhouse Gases — exam questions
10 original Incandio exam-style questions on Air Pollution and the Greenhouse Gases, 25 marks, about 25 minutes of writing. Each one carries the command word, the tariff and the specification statement it assesses, exactly as a paper presents them. This is an original Incandio practice question, written to reflect the structure and demands of the qualification. It is not an official Pearson Edexcel past-paper question.
This is the practice set for Air Pollution and the Greenhouse Gases — the lesson that teaches it. Read the lesson first if the idea is new; come here when you want to find out whether you can turn it into marks. Completely free, no account needed to read.
What these questions ask of you
7 command words run through this set, and on Pearson Edexcel International GCSE Biology each one means something precise. Answering the wrong command is the commonest way a candidate who understands the lesson still loses the mark.
- Which (1 mark)
- one option chosen from the set given
- State (1 mark)
- one precise fact, no justification
- Give (1–2 marks)
- a short factual answer drawn from recall or from the data
- Explain (2–4 marks)
- a causal chain — WHY it happens, each link a separate marking point Misread as: describing what happens without giving the reason it happens
- Suggest (1–3 marks)
- a plausible answer applying taught biology to a situation not taught
- Describe (2–4 marks)
- developed, linked statements of WHAT happens — no reason required, but detail is Misread as: giving one bare statement where the tariff asked for a developed account
- Discuss (3–6 marks)
- an account that puts more than one consideration side by side and reaches a position
Assessed on Paper 1 (4BI1/1B) and Paper 2 (4BI1/2B), against AO1, AO2, AO3.
Where these sit in the specification
Pearson Edexcel International GCSE Biology (4BI1) — statements 4.13 · 4.12 · 4.14. Incandio is aligned to this specification; it is not published by, endorsed by or affiliated with Pearson, and it reproduces none of Pearson's wording.
The 10 questions
Answer them on paper, then open the lesson's exam practice to have them marked. The mark scheme, the accepted and rejected answers and the annotated model answer are in Incandio and are not printed here — an answer beside its question is not practice.
-
Table 1 — lichen species counted at five sites along a line running away from a coal-burning power station. Distance from the station / km Sulfur dioxide / µg per m³ Lichen species present 1 88 0 4 61 1 10 34 4 20 19 9 35 11 14 (a)
(2)Describe
Describe the relationship between distance from the power station and the number of lichen species.
Table 1 — lichen species counted at five sites along a line running away from a coal-burning power station. Distance from the station / km Sulfur dioxide / µg per m³ Lichen species present 1 88 0 4 61 1 10 34 4 20 19 9 35 11 14 (b)
(3)Explain
Explain why lichens are used as indicators of air quality.
Table 1 — lichen species counted at five sites along a line running away from a coal-burning power station. Distance from the station / km Sulfur dioxide / µg per m³ Lichen species present 1 88 0 4 61 1 10 34 4 20 19 9 35 11 14 (c)
(1)Suggest
Suggest why this survey on its own does not prove that the power station caused the absence of lichens near it.
Table 1 — lichen species counted at five sites along a line running away from a coal-burning power station. Distance from the station / km Sulfur dioxide / µg per m³ Lichen species present 1 88 0 4 61 1 10 34 4 20 19 9 35 11 14 (Total for Question 1 = 6 marks)
-
(1)Which
Which gas is not a greenhouse gas?
Gas A methane B carbon monoxide C carbon dioxide D water vapour (Total for Question 2 = 1 mark)
-
(1)State
State the effect of carbon monoxide on the human body.
(Total for Question 3 = 1 mark)
-
(2)Give
Give two human activities that increase the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.
(Total for Question 4 = 2 marks)
-
(3)Explain
Explain how sulfur dioxide released from a power station can damage trees many kilometres away.
(Total for Question 5 = 3 marks)
-
(3)Explain
Explain why cutting down a forest raises the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere in two separate ways.
(Total for Question 6 = 3 marks)
-
(3)Suggest
Suggest why a faulty gas heater in a sealed room is more dangerous than one in a ventilated room.
(Total for Question 7 = 3 marks)
-
(6)Discuss
Discuss the case for and against replacing a country's coal-fired power stations with wind turbines, using biological consequences as well as economic ones.
(Total for Question 8 = 6 marks)
Have them marked, then defend the answer
Practice tells you the mark; teaching it back tells you whether you understand it. On Incandio a topic counts as mastered only once you have taught it and defended it.
- Mark these questions — 10 questions, marked on Incandio against the authored scheme, with the mistake you actually made named.
- Teach it — explain Air Pollution and the Greenhouse Gases to Ember, an AI pupil who does not have it yet and asks the awkward question.
- Defend it — argue it against John Dalton over three rounds, marked against descriptors you can read first.
Completely free. No subscriptions, no paywalls, no account needed to start.
Back to the lesson
- Air Pollution and the Greenhouse Gases — Two entirely different problems that both begin with burning — one that poisons what it touches, and one that changes the energy balance of the planet.
- All of Incandio Biology · Incandio Exam Practice