Unit 4: Continuity and Change
Topic 4.11: Stability and Change Questions
Practice 20 exam-style questions for IB Biology Topic 4.11. Review the question stems below, then unlock the full Question Bank to access markschemes, model answers, and AI grading.
1State1 mark
Stability is referred to as an emergent property of an ecosystem.
State what is meant by an emergent property.
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Two genetically identical organisms are raised in different environments and develop different appearances.
What is the cause of the difference?
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Over geological time, living organisms changed Earth's atmosphere.
Which pair of changes did they cause?
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Which substances washing into a lake are the usual trigger for eutrophication?
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Which process was mainly responsible for the rise of oxygen in Earth's atmosphere?
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Which statement best defines phenotypic plasticity?
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State the process carried out by living organisms that was responsible for raising the level of oxygen in Earth's atmosphere.
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Which statement correctly defines biomagnification?
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A fishery removes more fish each year than the population can replace by breeding and growth.
How is this harvest best described?
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State what is meant by a 'persistent' pollutant.
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State the two mineral nutrients, usually carried in fertiliser run-off, that trigger eutrophication in a lake.
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State what is meant by the term phenotypic plasticity.
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Which statement best describes a stable ecosystem?
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Which best describes Earth's atmosphere before photosynthesising organisms had evolved?
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Distinguish between a difference in phenotype caused by phenotypic plasticity and a difference caused by a heritable genetic change (such as one produced by natural selection).
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In the eutrophication chain, what is the immediate effect of the thick algal bloom on the plants living below the water surface?
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Why must an ecosystem receive a continuous supply of energy, even though it does not need a continuous supply of new nutrient elements?
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Which statement best describes a tipping point in an ecosystem?
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Unlock Question19Predict4 marks
Nitrogen-rich fertiliser leaches from farmland into a nearby lake over several weeks, disrupting the lake's ecosystem.
Predict, with reasons, the changes that will occur in the lake.
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An ecosystem is described as stable when it can resist change and recover after a disturbance.
Outline the conditions an ecosystem needs in order to remain stable.
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