Question 1
Which chemical is used to reduce competition from weeds?
- Insecticide
- Herbicide
- Fertiliser
- Antibiotic
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Answer: B (1)
Question 2
Describe how fertilisers, insecticides and agricultural machinery have each helped to increase food production.
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- fertilisers provide mineral ions / nitrates so plants grow better / higher yield (1)
- insecticides kill insect pests so less damage to crops / improve quality and yield (1)
- machinery allows larger areas of land to be farmed / improves efficiency (1)
Question 3
Dairy farmers use selective breeding to increase the volume of milk produced by cows. Describe how a farmer could use selective breeding to produce cows that give more milk.
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- select cows that produce the most milk (1) allow bulls whose mothers / daughters gave the most milk
- breed them together (1)
- select the offspring that give most milk (1)
- and breed from these; repeat over many generations (1)
Question 4
A farmer grows only wheat on a very large field every year. (a) State the term for this type of farming. [1] (b) Give one advantage and two disadvantages of this type of farming. [3]
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- (a) monoculture (1)
- (b) advantage: machinery can be used efficiently / large amount of food produced / lower cost (1)
- disadvantage: pests / disease spread quickly through crop (1)
- disadvantage: low biodiversity / lots of fertiliser needed / pollution by chemicals (1)
- allow any suitable pairs; the two disadvantages must be different
Question 5
Describe one advantage and two disadvantages of intensive livestock production.
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- advantage: more food from a small area of land / lower cost / quick growth (1)
- disadvantage: animal welfare / stress / little space (1)
- disadvantage: disease spreads easily / waste pollutes water / antibiotics overused (1)
Question 6
Explain why a farmer growing a monoculture might use insecticides, herbicides and chemical fertilisers, and suggest one problem that these chemicals could cause.
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- pests spread easily / eat large amounts of one crop (1)
- insecticides kill insects so yield / quality improved (1)
- herbicides kill weeds so less competition for light / water / ions (1)
- same crop removes the same ions from soil each year so fertiliser replaces them (1)
- problem: run-off into rivers causes pollution / eutrophication / harms other organisms (1)