Exam-style questions by topic — AQA A-Level Environmental Science
One verified question for each of 80 topics. These are written for this specification and checked by MasteryMind. They are not past-paper questions, and they are not from AQA.
How the main conditions, which allowed early life to develop and survive on planet Earth, came about
A student argues that early Earth's reducing atmosphere was essential because it supplied the gases from which organic molecules formed. Which reasoning best evaluates this claim?
Practise How the main conditions, which allowed early life to develop and survive on planet Earth, came aboutHow the presence of life on Earth has brought about environmental change
The ozone that makes up the stratospheric ozone layer is composed of which element?
Practise How the presence of life on Earth has brought about environmental changeHow historical conditions for life were monitored in the past and how these methods have been developed over time
A historian uses nineteenth-century handwritten rainfall records to estimate past climate. Assess the reliability of these records and suggest how modern methods improve on them.
Practise How historical conditions for life were monitored in the past and how these methods have been developed over timeResources and how sustainable habitat management strategies can be used to secure future supplies
A researcher is comparing the environmental impact of producing one tonne of cotton fibre with one tonne of wool fibre. Which factor is most likely to make wool production have a higher carbon footprint per tonne?
Practise Resources and how sustainable habitat management strategies can be used to secure future suppliesKnowledge of how decisions over habitat conservation can be made to protect those species that have not yet been investigated
A conservation planner must decide whether to protect a patch of habitat containing wild relatives of several food crops, even though the species there have not been studied in detail. Which argument best supports protecting the habitat now?
Practise Knowledge of how decisions over habitat conservation can be made to protect those species that have not yet been investigatedEcosystem services and their interaction with each other
Trees in a woodland provide nesting sites and shelter for birds. Which service to other species does this describe?
Practise Ecosystem services and their interaction with each otherHow humans influence biodiversity, with examples in a range of different context
Acid mine drainage occurs when sulphide minerals are exposed to air and water. Which ecological effect is most directly caused by the resulting low pH in nearby streams?
Practise How humans influence biodiversity, with examples in a range of different contextSetting conservation priorities
Which of the following is a primary purpose of the IUCN Red List criteria?
Practise Setting conservation prioritiesLegislation/protocols
Which type of forest is the main focus of the International Tropical Timber Organisation's work?
Practise Legislation/protocolsCaptive breeding and release programmes (CBR)
A captive breeding unit for a tropical amphibian keeps animals at a constant 22 °C with low humidity. The animals develop skin infections and breed poorly. Which abiotic factor is most likely to be inadequate?
Practise Captive breeding and release programmes (CBR)Habitat conservation
A conservationist argues that constant salinity is important for an estuarine invertebrate that cannot regulate its internal salt concentration. Which reasoning best supports this argument?
Practise Habitat conservationHow adaptation to the environment affects species’ habitat requirements and influences conservation decision-making
A reserve manager finds that removing a top predator causes a mid-level predator to increase and small birds to decline. Which explanation fits this pattern?
Practise How adaptation to the environment affects species’ habitat requirements and influences conservation decision-makingTerminology to describe the roles of living organisms in their habitats and their interactions with the physical environment
A scientist argues that two lizard species on one island cannot coexist indefinitely if their niches overlap almost completely. Which reasoning best supports this argument?
Practise Terminology to describe the roles of living organisms in their habitats and their interactions with the physical environmentHow population control and the management of desired and undesired species affects the conservation of biodiversity
A reintroduction releases 40 captive-bred animals into a reserve. After one year, 24 have survived and 9 of the survivors have bred successfully. Which statement best evaluates the early progress of this release programme?
Practise How population control and the management of desired and undesired species affects the conservation of biodiversityHow atmospheric energy processes involving ultra violet (UV), infrared (IR) and visible light in the stratosphere and troposphere affect life-support systems
Which surface reflects the greatest proportion of incoming solar radiation?
Practise How atmospheric energy processes involving ultra violet (UV), infrared (IR) and visible light in the stratosphere and troposphere affect life-support systemsGlobal climate change: how interconnected natural systems cause environmental change
A climate model is run many times with slightly different starting values for sea-surface temperature. What does this ensemble approach allow scientists to assess?
Practise Global climate change: how interconnected natural systems cause environmental changeOzone depletion
Two fields grow the same crop; field A is shielded from extra UV-B while field B receives enhanced UV-B. Field B shows lower chlorophyll content and smaller leaves. Which conclusion best explains the reduced yield in field B?
Practise Ozone depletionAnalysis and evaluation of strategies for sustainable management
A government wants to make irrigation in a dry region more sustainable after years of groundwater depletion. Evaluate which strategy best tackles the cause of the depletion.
Practise Analysis and evaluation of strategies for sustainable managementIncreasing sustainability by treating contaminated water
A settling tank receives wastewater at 5000 m³ per day with a suspended solids concentration of 240 mg per litre. What total mass of suspended solids enters the tank each day, in kilograms?
Practise Increasing sustainability by treating contaminated waterIncreasing sustainability by economical use and the exploitation of new sources
An estuary barrage is proposed to create a freshwater storage lake. Which combination of impacts is most likely to result from its construction?
Practise Increasing sustainability by economical use and the exploitation of new sourcesMinerals extracted from the lithosphere
Which of these is an industrial mineral used mainly in the manufacture of glass and ceramics?
Practise Minerals extracted from the lithosphereGeological processes that produced localised concentrations of recoverable mineral deposits
A hydrothermal vein contains galena (PbS) and sphalerite (ZnS). Which sequence of geological events best explains the formation of this mineral concentration?
Practise Geological processes that produced localised concentrations of recoverable mineral depositsReserves and resource
A deposit holds 500 million tonnes of material. Of this, 180 million tonnes can be mined profitably at today's prices, and a further 90 million tonnes would become profitable if prices rose. How much of the deposit is currently classified as reserve, in millions of tonnes?
Practise Reserves and resourceHow a range of exploratory techniques work
Which physical property does a resistivity survey measure in the ground?
Practise How a range of exploratory techniques workFactors affecting mine viability
A deposit holds 4 000 000 tonnes of ore at 1.5% metal. Extraction and processing cost £45 per tonne of ore, and the metal sells for £5 000 per tonne. What is the profit or loss if all the ore is processed?
Practise Factors affecting mine viabilityControl of the environmental impacts of mineral exploitation
Which after-use of a former sand and gravel pit would count as restoration to a wetland habitat?
Practise Control of the environmental impacts of mineral exploitationStrategies to secure future mineral supplies
An ore body holds 500 million tonnes of rock at 1.6% metal. If the same rock were at 0.4% metal, what mass of contained metal would it hold?
Practise Strategies to secure future mineral suppliesHow human activities affect soil fertility
A farmer applies irrigation water heavily to a freely draining sandy field. Explain why this practice can reduce soil fertility even though it supplies water to crops.
Practise How human activities affect soil fertilityCauses of soil degradation and erosion
Which change to a soil is the direct result of reducing its organic matter content?
Practise Causes of soil degradation and erosionSoil management strategies to increase sustainability
A gardener spreads a layer of straw over the bare soil between rows of young vegetable plants. Which soil management strategy is being used?
Practise Soil management strategies to increase sustainabilityEnergy resources
A wind farm's turbines have a combined rated capacity of 20 MW and achieve a capacity factor of 25%. Upgrading the control software raises the capacity factor to 35% without changing the rated capacity. Using 8760 hours per year, what is the increase in annual energy generated?
Practise Energy resourcesEvaluation of improved extraction/harnessing/processing technologies related to a range of energy technologies
Which technique recovers uranium from low-grade ore by dissolving it in a liquid?
Practise Evaluation of improved extraction/harnessing/processing technologies related to a range of energy technologiesNew energy conservation technologies
A lighting system has an efficiency of 20%. It is replaced by LEDs with an efficiency of 80% that provide the same light output. If the old system drew 500 J of electrical energy, how much electrical energy does the LED system need for the same light output?
Practise New energy conservation technologiesBuilding energy conservation
A cavity wall is filled with insulating foam. Which change to the wall's thermal performance results from this addition?
Practise Building energy conservationIndustrial energy conservation
A grid serves a factory whose load varies: 1000 kW for 6 hours and 400 kW for 18 hours each day. A demand-management scheme caps the load at 700 kW by shifting the excess to low-demand hours. What is the reduction in the daily maximum load?
Practise Industrial energy conservationFactors that affect dispersal
A river shows a sharp pollutant peak just below a single outfall, but a second river shows a moderate rise in pollutant along its entire length after heavy rain. Which explanation best fits these patterns?
Practise Factors that affect dispersalEnvironmental factors that affect rates of degradation
Two mornings have the same pollutant emission rate. On morning A the air temperature falls steadily with height; on morning B a strong inversion persists until midday. Compare the likely ground-level pollutant concentrations on the two mornings and explain the difference.
Practise Environmental factors that affect rates of degradationPrinciples of control
A regulator must design a monitoring programme for a discharge containing both a short-lived radionuclide and a persistent chlorinated organic compound. Which design best reflects the different behaviour of the two pollutants?
Practise Principles of controlSmoke/PM10 (Particulate matter less than 10 microns in diameter)
A study finds that hospital admissions for asthma rise in a town during weeks when PM10 concentrations are high. Suggest the biological link that best explains this association.
Practise Smoke/PM10 (Particulate matter less than 10 microns in diameter)Acid mine drainage
A spoil heap of pyrite-rich rock is exposed to air and water. Explain why the oxidation of the sulfide ore leads to the water becoming acidic rather than neutral.
Practise Acid mine drainageHeavy metals
A study finds that the concentration of a heavy metal in a lake's water is 0.002 ppm, in phytoplankton is 0.02 ppm, in zooplankton is 0.2 ppm, and in fish is 2 ppm. Which conclusion is supported?
Practise Heavy metalsSolid wastes
A country plans to dispose of its high-level radioactive waste. Which combination of properties most strongly determines the choice of a deep geological repository?
Practise Solid wastesNoise
An airport allows engine ground-testing only between 07:00 and 22:00. Which outcome does this restriction most directly achieve?
Practise NoiseIonising radiation
A radioisotope in fallout has a half-life of 30 years. A soil sample initially has an activity of 800 Bq from this isotope. What is the activity from this isotope after 90 years?
Practise Ionising radiationAcid precipitation
A power station emits sulphur dioxide and nitrogen monoxide. In the atmosphere, ozone oxidises these gases. Which pair of secondary pollutants is directly formed by these oxidation reactions and contributes to acid precipitation?
Practise Acid precipitationOxides of nitrogen (NOx)
Which primary pollutant is released directly by vehicle engines and then acts as a starting material in the formation of photochemical smog?
Practise Oxides of nitrogen (NOx)Hydrocarbons
Which gas is the main product formed when methane in natural gas burns completely in a plentiful supply of air?
Practise HydrocarbonsCarbon monoxide
Why is carbon monoxide described as a product of incomplete combustion of a hydrocarbon rather than of complete combustion?
Practise Carbon monoxideOil pollution
What is the primary purpose of an oil interceptor in a drainage system?
Practise Oil pollutionPesticides
Two pollutants each cause little harm alone, but together they cause severe damage to an aquatic organism. Which explanation best accounts for this synergistic effect?
Practise PesticidesNutrient pollution
Which material is removed from wastewater by settling to the bottom of a primary sedimentation tank?
Practise Nutrient pollutionAgriculture
A farmer adds a predator that feeds on an insect pest of a vegetable crop. Explain how this biotic control increases the energy ultimately available to humans from the field.
Practise AgricultureAgroecosystems
Pesticide A has an LD50 of 5 mg/kg and pesticide B has an LD50 of 500 mg/kg for the same test animal. How do their acute toxicities compare?
Practise AgroecosystemsManipulation of food species to increase productivity: the advantages and disadvantages of the methods that are available to improve crop and livestock gene pools
Two wheat varieties are grown on identical plots. Variety A yields 8.0 tonnes per hectare using 200 kg of nitrogen fertiliser; Variety B yields 7.2 tonnes per hectare using 150 kg of nitrogen. Which statement correctly compares their nitrogen efficiency?
Practise Manipulation of food species to increase productivity: the advantages and disadvantages of the methods that are available to improve crop and livestock gene poolsEnvironmental impacts of agriculture
A farmer replaces permanent grassland with a cereal crop on the same field. Which change to the hydrological cycle is the most direct result of this replacement?
Practise Environmental impacts of agricultureSocial/economic/political factors which influence agricultural production
Country X subsidises its own farmers and also imposes a tariff on imported grain. Analyse how these two trade-related political measures together affect domestic production and the wider economy.
Practise Social/economic/political factors which influence agricultural productionStrategies to increase the sustainability of agriculture
A farmer uses a rotation of different crops and keeps hedgerows around fields to interrupt the spread of a fungal disease. Which natural process is being exploited to reduce disease?
Practise Strategies to increase the sustainability of agricultureAquatic food production systems
What does the term Maximum Sustainable Yield describe for a fish stock?
Practise Aquatic food production systemsMarine Productivity
Which two nutrients are the main inorganic nutrients that commonly limit marine primary productivity?
Practise Marine ProductivityFishing
A sample of five cod has ages of 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 years. Calculate the mean age of the sample.
Practise FishingAquaculture
Why does collecting solid waste from a fish farm help protect the surrounding ecosystem?
Practise AquacultureForest resources
A country clears 1000 hectares of forest each year for agriculture. The forest regrows at a rate of 800 hectares per year if left undisturbed. What is the net change in forest area after 10 years, assuming no other changes?
Practise Forest resourcesDeforestation
A forested plot loses soil at 0.5 tonnes per hectare per year. After clearance, the erosion rate rises to 12.5 tonnes per hectare per year. By what factor does the erosion rate increase?
Practise DeforestationNegative feedback mechanisms which resist change
A forest currently sequesters 7 tonnes of carbon per hectare per year. A doubling of carbon dioxide raises photosynthesis so that net sequestration increases by 25%. If the forest covers 400 hectares, what is the new total annual carbon sequestration?
Practise Negative feedback mechanisms which resist changePositive feedback mechanisms which increase change
Ocean acidification reduces the availability of carbonate ions that marine organisms such as corals and shelled plankton use to build calcium carbonate skeletons. Why can this act as a positive feedback on rising atmospheric carbon dioxide?
Practise Positive feedback mechanisms which increase changeEquilibrium tipping points which lead to new equilibria
Warming causes permafrost to thaw, releasing methane that traps more heat and thaws more permafrost. Which term best describes this self-sustaining process?
Practise Equilibrium tipping points which lead to new equilibriaDiverse systems are more likely to be resistant to change
A reef manager argues that a reef with high coral species richness will resist a bleaching event better than a reef dominated by a single branching coral. Evaluate this claim using the idea of functional redundancy.
Practise Diverse systems are more likely to be resistant to changeEnergy
Which statement best contrasts energy flow in a natural grassland with energy use in an industrial city?
Practise EnergyNatural processes are driven by renewable energy, especially solar power
Waterlogged, compacted soil often becomes nitrogen-poor for crops. Which explanation best fits the nitrogen cycle?
Practise Natural processes are driven by renewable energy, especially solar powerNatural processes use low energy-density resources
Which of these natural processes is driven by solar energy arriving at a low energy density?
Practise Natural processes use low energy-density resourcesMost natural processes occur at low temperatures
Which part of an enzyme is responsible for binding the substrate and lowering the activation energy?
Practise Most natural processes occur at low temperaturesLinear human systems lead to resource depletion and waste generation
A linear system takes minerals, uses them once and discards them in dispersed or mixed forms. How does this pattern affect resource depletion?
Practise Linear human systems lead to resource depletion and waste generationNatural processes often link together in sequences that create cycles, with the waste products of one process being the raw materials for other processes
A student states that the element nitrogen is found in proteins but not in nucleic acids. Which of the following correctly evaluates this statement?
Practise Natural processes often link together in sequences that create cycles, with the waste products of one process being the raw materials for other processesNatural waste products are either non-toxic or do not build up to cause toxicity
A gardener adds compost made from natural plant waste to a vegetable bed. Explain why the breakdown products of this compost are useful rather than harmful to the vegetables.
Practise Natural waste products are either non-toxic or do not build up to cause toxicityBiocapacity and ecological footprints: a comparison of the factors controlling the impact of different ecological footprints on biocapacity
A country has an ecological footprint of 5.2 global hectares per person and a biocapacity of 3.1 global hectares per person. What does this comparison indicate?
Practise Biocapacity and ecological footprints: a comparison of the factors controlling the impact of different ecological footprints on biocapacityResearch methods
A student needs to test water samples for nitrate concentration. They plan to use a reagent that is harmful to aquatic life if it enters a drain. Which practice best minimises environmental impact?
Practise Research methodsScientific methodologies
A student wants to record how the abundance of a plant species changes as distance from a river bank increases. Which sampling approach is most suitable for sampling along this environmental gradient?
Practise Scientific methodologiesStandard environmental techniques
A quadrat of area 0.2 m² contains 9 individuals of a moss species. What is the species density in individuals per m²?
Practise Standard environmental techniquesFieldwork and laboratory activities
During a quadrat survey of a meadow, a student records the number of different plant species present in each quadrat. Which measure of biodiversity is the student recording?
Practise Fieldwork and laboratory activitiesSpecialist techniques
A survey uses camera traps, tracks and eDNA to record a rare mammal. A site returns a positive track record but no camera image and no eDNA. How should the survey team interpret this result?
Practise Specialist techniques
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