Pearson Edexcel International GCSE in Biology · 4BI1 · Free · no account needed
Energy Transfer Along a Food Chain — exam questions
10 original Incandio exam-style questions on Energy Transfer Along a Food Chain, 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 Energy Transfer Along a Food Chain — 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
- Name (1–2 marks)
- the correct term, spelled recognisably
- 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
- Calculate (1–3 marks)
- a numerical answer, with working where the tariff implies steps
- 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 4.9 · 4.8. 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 — the fate of the energy in the grass eaten by a herd of cattle over one year, in megajoules. Energy MJ In the grass eaten 48 000 Egested in faeces 26 400 Released by respiration and lost as heat 17 300 Lost in urine 1 900 Stored as new cattle tissue 2 400 (a)
(1)Give
Give the largest single destination of the energy in Table 1.
Table 1 — the fate of the energy in the grass eaten by a herd of cattle over one year, in megajoules. Energy MJ In the grass eaten 48 000 Egested in faeces 26 400 Released by respiration and lost as heat 17 300 Lost in urine 1 900 Stored as new cattle tissue 2 400 (b)
(2)Calculate
Calculate the percentage of the energy eaten that was stored as new cattle tissue. Give your answer to 3 significant figures.
Table 1 — the fate of the energy in the grass eaten by a herd of cattle over one year, in megajoules. Energy MJ In the grass eaten 48 000 Egested in faeces 26 400 Released by respiration and lost as heat 17 300 Lost in urine 1 900 Stored as new cattle tissue 2 400 ............................ %
(c)
(3)Explain
Explain what happens to the energy egested in the faeces.
Table 1 — the fate of the energy in the grass eaten by a herd of cattle over one year, in megajoules. Energy MJ In the grass eaten 48 000 Egested in faeces 26 400 Released by respiration and lost as heat 17 300 Lost in urine 1 900 Stored as new cattle tissue 2 400 (Total for Question 1 = 6 marks)
-
(1)Which
Which figure is the approximate percentage of energy transferred from one trophic level to the next?
Percentage A 1% B 10% C 50% D 90% (Total for Question 2 = 1 mark)
-
(1)Name
Name the process by which energy is transferred from a food chain to the surroundings as heat.
(Total for Question 3 = 1 mark)
-
(2)Give
Give two reasons why not all the energy in one trophic level reaches the next.
(Total for Question 4 = 2 marks)
-
(3)Explain
Explain why food chains rarely have more than four or five trophic levels.
(Total for Question 5 = 3 marks)
-
(3)Explain
Explain why a given area of farmland can feed more people if it is used to grow wheat than if it is used to raise cattle.
(Total for Question 6 = 3 marks)
-
(3)Suggest
Suggest why a smaller proportion of the energy eaten is stored as new tissue in a cow than in a snake.
(Total for Question 7 = 3 marks)
-
(6)Discuss
Discuss why feeding grain to cattle and then eating the beef supports far fewer people than eating the grain directly.
(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 Energy Transfer Along a Food Chain to Ember, an AI pupil who does not have it yet and asks the awkward question.
- Defend it — argue it against Hermann von Helmholtz 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
- Energy Transfer Along a Food Chain — About nine tenths of the energy disappears at every step. Here is exactly where it goes — and what that means for how the world is fed.
- All of Incandio Biology · Incandio Exam Practice