Identify two features of a loam soil that make it suitable for crop growth.

Describe how the biomass of a field of crops might be measured.

Identify two reasons why a human vegetarian diet is considered to be more energy efficient than a diet containing meat.

many air spaces/good aeration;
good drainage;
potential to hold organic matter;
water holding capacity;
good access to minerals;
balance of sand silt and clay gives good structure/texture/tilth;

 [2 max]

harvest sample of the crop;
dry and weigh the sample;
multiply for whole field area/calculate per hectare biomass/calculate mass per unit area;

[2 max]

eating lower down the food chain;
less land area to produce the food needed;
more efficient use of the energy fixed by photosynthesis;
less energy lost to respiration and wastes;
entropy increases so energy cannot all be passed to the next trophic level;

[2 max]

The majority of candidates were able to provide a sufficient answer for 2 marks.

Responses to this question varied (0 to 2 marks) with also a significant number of no responses. The majority of candidates recognised that dry weight needed to be determined, although some responses did not state how this was done. Some candidates incorrectly referred to the Simpson or Lincoln index.

The majority of candidates achieved some marks for this questions. Many candidates identified that a vegetarian diet involved eating food at a lower tropic level but fewer responses recognised how energy was lost along the food chain. A significant number of candidates incorrectly focused on vitamin and nutrient levels.