plumiHow are populations affected by the conditions in an ecosystem?: OCR GCSE Combined Science B questions
Every OCR GCSE Combined Science B exam question on B3.4 How are populations affected by the conditions in an ecosystem?, 2018–2025, with its mark scheme and examiner’s report.
Paper
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Exam
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Calculations
Q3(a)
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Q3(b)(i)
The whole paper ↗Q3(b)(ii)
The whole paper ↗Q3(b)(iii)
The whole paper ↗Q3(b)(iv)
The whole paper ↗Q3(c)(i)
The whole paper ↗Q3(c)(ii)
The whole paper ↗Q3(d)
The whole paper ↗Q4(b)(iii)
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Q6(a)
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Q6(b)
The whole paper ↗Q5(b)(i)
The whole paper ↗Q5(c)
The whole paper ↗Q5(d)
The whole paper ↗Q5(e)
The whole paper ↗Q5(f)
The whole paper ↗Q5(c)(i)
The whole paper ↗
Q5(c)(ii)
The whole paper ↗Q8(a)
The whole paper ↗
Q8(b)
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All 42 questions on How are populations affected by the conditions in an ecosystem?, as a list
- June 2025, Biology Paper 1 Foundation, Q3(a) (1 mark): The student places a metal square at point X. They count the daisies in the square. What is the scientific name for the metal square? Tick (✓) one box. Identifi
- June 2025, Biology Paper 1 Foundation, Q3(b)(i) (2 marks): Calculate the mean number of daisies in the sample of five squares. Mean = [2]
- June 2025, Biology Paper 1 Foundation, Q3(b)(ii) (1 mark): Write down the mode number of daisies in the sample. Mode = [1]
- June 2025, Biology Paper 1 Foundation, Q3(b)(iii) (1 mark): Write down the median number of daisies in the sample. Median = [1]
- June 2025, Biology Paper 1 Foundation, Q3(b)(iv) (1 mark): The student did not decide for themselves where to place the metal squares. Instead they used a random number generator to produce coordinates to decide where t
- June 2025, Biology Paper 1 Foundation, Q3(c)(i) (2 marks): The area of the metal square is 0.25 m2. Calculate the estimated population size of daisies in the garden. Use the equation: area of garden estimated population
- June 2025, Biology Paper 1 Foundation, Q3(c)(ii) (1 mark): This is the student’s method: 1. Generate random coordinates to decide where to place the metal squares. Use metal squares with an area of 0.25 m2. 2. 3. Place
- June 2025, Biology Paper 1 Foundation, Q3(d) (3 marks): Population size can be affected by abiotic and biotic factors. Complete the table to show if each factor is abiotic or biotic. Tick (✓) one box in each row. Fac
- June 2025, Biology Paper 5 Higher, Q4(b)(iii) (1 mark): Scientists estimate the tiger population size in India each year. Suggest one reason why scientists can only estimate the tiger population size. [1]
- June 2025, Biology Paper 5 Higher, Q6(a) (5 marks): The mean number of daisies in each quadrat is 8. Calculate the estimated population of daisies in the park. Give your answer in standard form and to two signifi
- June 2025, Biology Paper 5 Higher, Q6(b) (2 marks): Suggest two ways in which the student could improve the investigation so that the estimate is not biased. 1 2 [2]
- June 2024, Biology Paper 1 Foundation, Q5(b)(i) (2 marks): Suggest why the tortoise population size decreased after the introduction of the goats. Tick (✓) two boxes. The tortoises became too hot. The tortoises’ habitat
- June 2024, Biology Paper 1 Foundation, Q5(c) (3 marks): Riley wants to estimate the population size of the goats on the island. A capture-mark-recapture method is used. Statements A to E describe the steps in the met
- June 2024, Biology Paper 1 Foundation, Q5(d) (1 mark): Write down one reason why Riley takes a sample instead of counting the whole population. [1]
- June 2024, Biology Paper 1 Foundation, Q5(e) (2 marks): The table shows Riley’s results: Number of goats in sample 1 10 Number of goats in sample 2 14 Number of marked goats recaptured in sample 2 7 Calculate the est
- June 2024, Biology Paper 1 Foundation, Q5(f) (1 mark): Describe one way Riley can change their approach to be more confident in their estimate of the population size. [1]
- November 2021, Biology Paper 1 Foundation, Q5(c)(i) (2 marks): Calculate the mean number of mites after 8 weeks, when 15 mites were added. Mean = [2]
- November 2021, Biology Paper 1 Foundation, Q5(c)(ii) (2 marks): When 3 mites were added the number of mites increased after 8 weeks. When 15 mites were added the number of mites decreased after 8 weeks. Explain why. Use idea
- November 2021, Combined Science Paper 4 Foundation, Q8(a) (4 marks): This is part of Beth’s method: 1. Divide the garden into four equal sections. 2. Count the number of buttercup plants in the section that has the most buttercup
- November 2021, Combined Science Paper 4 Foundation, Q8(b) (2 marks): Beth thinks three factors are having an effect on the growth of buttercup plants in her garden. Draw lines to connect each factor with the correct explanation o
- November 2021, Combined Science Paper 4 Foundation, Q8(c)(i) (1 mark): How many gardens are sampled to produce the graph? [1]
- November 2021, Combined Science Paper 4 Foundation, Q8(c)(ii) (1 mark): Kai estimates that he has 450 buttercup plants in his garden. Which percentile of the students’ data does Kai’s estimation lie below? Put a ring around the corr
- November 2021, Combined Science Paper 8 Higher, Q1(a) (4 marks): This is part of Beth’s method: 1. Divide the garden into four equal sections. 2. Count the number of buttercup plants in the section that has the most buttercup
- November 2021, Combined Science Paper 8 Higher, Q1(b) (2 marks): Beth thinks three factors are having an effect on the growth of buttercup plants in her garden. Draw lines to connect each factor with the correct explanation o
- November 2021, Combined Science Paper 8 Higher, Q1(c)(i) (1 mark): How many gardens are sampled to produce the graph? [1]
- November 2021, Combined Science Paper 8 Higher, Q1(c)(ii) (1 mark): Kai estimates that he has 450 buttercup plants in his garden. Which percentile of the students’ data does Kai’s estimation lie below? Put a ring around the corr
- November 2020, Biology Paper 1 Foundation, Q8(a) (2 marks): Amaya records how often she sees each bird species feeding and produces a dominance rank, as shown in the table. The highest ranked species, the house sparrow,
- November 2020, Biology Paper 1 Foundation, Q8(b)(i) (2 marks): Plot a graph of dominance rank against rounded body mass, using the data in the table. [2]
- November 2020, Biology Paper 1 Foundation, Q8(b)(ii) (1 mark): Draw a line of best fit. [1]
- November 2020, Biology Paper 1 Foundation, Q8(c)(i) (1 mark): Do Amaya’s findings support her hypothesis? Use the graph to explain your answer. [1]
- November 2020, Biology Paper 1 Foundation, Q8(c)(ii) (2 marks): Explain why Amaya’s findings do not prove her hypothesis. [2]
- November 2020, Biology Paper 5 Higher, Q1(a) (2 marks): Amaya records how often she sees each bird species feeding and produces a dominance rank, as shown in the table. The highest ranked species, the house sparrow,
- November 2020, Biology Paper 5 Higher, Q1(b)(i) (2 marks): Plot a graph of dominance rank against rounded body mass, using the data in the table. [2]
- November 2020, Biology Paper 5 Higher, Q1(b)(ii) (1 mark): Draw a line of best fit. [1]
- November 2020, Biology Paper 5 Higher, Q1(c)(i) (1 mark): Do Amaya’s findings support her hypothesis? Use the graph to explain your answer. [1]
- November 2020, Biology Paper 5 Higher, Q1(c)(ii) (2 marks): Explain why Amaya’s findings do not prove her hypothesis. [2]
- June 2019, Biology Paper 1 Foundation, Q1(c) (3 marks): Read the statements about the graph. Tick (✓) true or false for each statement. Statement True False Catches of over 0.8 million tonnes are recorded for 4 years
- June 2019, Biology Paper 1 Foundation, Q1(d) (2 marks): Since 1998 the fishing of herring from the North Sea has been described as sustainable. Which statements are true for sustainable fishing of herring? Tick (✓) t
- June 2019, Biology Paper 5 Higher, Q2(b)(i) (1 mark): In which year was the catch greatest and how big was it? Year Catch [1]
- June 2019, Biology Paper 5 Higher, Q2(b)(ii) (1 mark): By 1977 the herring population in the North Sea was so low that fishing for herring was banned. Fishing restarted in 1984. A limit was put on the number of tonn
- June 2019, Biology Paper 5 Higher, Q2(b)(iii) (3 marks): Calculate the rate of increase in the herring catch from 1984 to 1988. Rate = million tonnes / year [3]
- June 2019, Biology Paper 5 Higher, Q2(c) (2 marks): Since 1998 North Sea herring fishing has been described as sustainable. Explain what sustainable means in this context. [2]
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