AQA · GCSE · Combined Science

Course version: 8464 · Version from Sept 2018

Waste management: Pollution kills plants and animals which can reduce biodiversity.

Q: How do I revise Waste management: Pollution kills plants and animals which can reduce biodiversity. for GCSE?

Read the notes on Waste management: Pollution kills plants and animals which can reduce biodiversity., then test yourself without looking. Answering questions and checking what you missed builds recall faster than re-reading.

Q: Is this Waste management: Pollution kills plants and animals which can reduce biodiversity. guide aligned to the AQA specification?

Yes. This guide is linked to the Waste management: Pollution kills plants and animals which can reduce biodiversity. topic in the AQA GCSE specification.

Biodiversity is the variety of species and the range of habitats in an ecosystem.

Study notes

From the checked teaching notes for this specification point.

The idea

What earns the marks

Biodiversity is the variety of different species and habitats in an ecosystem.
Pollution can kill plants and animals directly, for example toxic chemicals poisoning organisms.
Pollution can kill indirectly by changing conditions such as oxygen concentration, temperature or pH.
Fewer surviving species means lower biodiversity and a less stable ecosystem.
A named example, such as fertiliser run-off causing oxygen depletion and fish deaths, supports the explanation.

Common mistakes and how to put them right

Saying pollution only harms individual organisms and not populations.
Put it right: Deaths can remove a whole species from a habitat, reducing biodiversity.
Confusing biodiversity with the total number of organisms.
Put it right: Biodiversity is about the variety of species and habitats, not just population size.
Assuming all species respond to pollution in the same way.
Put it right: Some species are sensitive and die, while tolerant species may survive, changing community composition.

Exam tips

Define biodiversity briefly before explaining how pollution reduces it.
Use a cause-and-effect chain: pollutant enters habitat, sensitive species die, species variety falls.
Refer to a specific habitat and pollutant to make the explanation concrete.

Try the lesson

The start of the Waste management: Pollution kills plants and animals which can reduce biodiversity. lesson, made from checked teaching notes for this specification point.

Have a go first

A river receives a large spill of toxic waste. Several types of fish and water plants in the river are completely wiped out. What effect does this have on the biodiversity of the river?

Tip: press 1 to 4 to choose

Listen

Biodiversity is the variety of species and the range of habitats in an ecosystem. Pollution can kill sensitive plants and animals directly, for example when toxic chemicals poison organisms, or indirectly by changing conditions such as water oxygen concentration or soil pH. If a species disappears from a habitat, the variety of life there falls, so biodiversity is reduced. For example, fertiliser run-off into a lake causes algal blooms; decomposers then use up oxygen, fish die, and the community becomes less diverse. Some species may be tolerant and survive, but overall species richness and ecosystem stability decrease. Reducing pollution protects habitats and helps maintain biodiversity. A strong answer earns marks for these points. Biodiversity is the variety of different species and habitats in an ecosystem. Pollution can kill plants and animals directly, for example toxic chemicals poisoning organisms. Pollution can kill indirectly by changing conditions such as oxygen concentration, temperature or pH. Fewer surviving species means lower biodiversity and a less stable ecosystem. A common slip: Saying pollution only harms individual organisms and not populations. Instead, deaths can remove a whole species from a habitat, reducing biodiversity. Exam tip: Define biodiversity briefly before explaining how pollution reduces it.

See it

A flowchart with four boxes in a downward chain. The first box reads 'Pollution enters habitat' and points to the second box, 'Plants and animals killed'. This points to the third box, 'Fewer species survive', which points to the final box, 'Biodiversity reduced'. The diagram shows a simple cause-and-effect sequence from pollution to a fall in biodiversity. — It shows how pollution killing plants and animals leads to reduced biodiversity.

Put it in order

Put these steps in the order they happen.

1. Plants and animals killed
2. Fewer species survive
3. Biodiversity reduced
4. Pollution enters habitat

Label the diagram

Some boxes have lost their names. Pick the right name for each number.

The diagram again, with 2 boxes numbered instead of named. A flowchart with four boxes in a downward chain. The first box reads 'Pollution enters habitat' and points to the second box, 'Plants and animals killed'. This points to the third box, 'Fewer species survive', which points to the final box, 'Biodiversity reduced'. The diagram shows a simple cause-and-effect sequence from pollution to a fall in biodiversity.

1Box 1
2Box 2

0 of 2 labelled

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