Test your knowledge of nutrient cycles and global ecosystems with this 15-question GCSE quiz.

If you haven't already done it, work through the nutrient cycle web enquiry on the PowerPoint. Or do it again to help fill any gaps in what you know!

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HIGH SCORES

Rank Name Score
1st JHO 30
2nd LOR 30
3rd ZKA 30
4th E.K 30
5th FIN 30
6th SFK 30
7th BRJ 30
8th E.B 30
9th J.T 30
10th PMY 30

QUIZZES // Nutrient cycles and global ecosystems

Q1. Which one of the following is an important nutrient for plants?

Nitrogen

Lead

Carbon

Mendelevium

Q2. Which one of these is the best definition of the term ‘cycle’ in the phrase ‘nutrient cycle’?

A system with inputs and outputs

Events in the order in which they occur

A process that goes round and round

A series of organisms that eat each other

Q3. Which one of these returns nutrients to the soil in the nutrient cycle?

When the ground is saturated

When plants die or lose leaves

When an animal eats a plant or another animal

When farmers harvest crops from a field

Q4. The three stores in a nutrient cycle diagram are labelled S, B and L. What do these stand for?

Sodium, Bromine, Lithium

Surface, Bedrock, Lifeforms

Soil, Biomass, Litter

Sub-aerial, Biome, Littoral

Q5. Which one of these transfers in the nutrient cycle diagram is where bacteria release nutrients from dead plants and animals back into the soil?

Weathering

Leaching

Decomposition

Littering

Q6. Which one of these transfers can bring nutrients into an ecosystem?

Plant uptake

Surface run-off

Leaching

Weathering

Q7. Which one of these is the abbreviation used for littering in a nutrient cycle diagram?

Li

Le

L

LG

Q8. Nutrient cycle diagrams that show differences between ecosystems are called:

Gurlzmell diagrams

Gersmehl diagrams

Gerstner cycles

Gesundheit cycles

Q9. Which one of these is a feature of a tropical rainforest nutrient cycle diagram?

Litter is the biggest store

Soil is the biggest store

Biomass is the biggest store

All the stores are equal in size

Q10. Which one of these is a feature of a desert nutrient cycle diagram?

Litter is the biggest store

Soil is the biggest store

Biomass is the biggest store

All the stores are equal in size

Q11. Which one of these is a feature of a taiga nutrient cycle diagram?

Litter is the biggest store

Soil is the biggest store

Biomass is the biggest store

All the stores are equal in size

Q12. Which one of these explains why nutrients cycle so quickly in the tropical rainforest ecosystem?

Warm, wet conditions mean that decomposition is rapid and so is plant growth

Heavy rainfall leaches nutrients from the soil or out of the litter layer in surface run-off

There is very little rain so nutrients are not lost through runoff or leaching

Decomposition happens slowly because so much litter is produced

Q13. Which one of these is a reason for why tropical rainforest soils are low in nutrients?

Low plant uptake

Rapid decomposition

Massive biomass

Small soil store

Q14. Which one of the following explains why most nutrients in desert ecosystems remain in the soil?

Few plants can survive in the hot, dry conditions so not much litter is produced

There is very little rain, so there is little run-off or leaching

The dry conditions mean that decomposition is slow

Weathering of the bedrock happens slowly in the very dry conditions

Q15. In the presentation, what two factors are on the axes of the graph of different ecosystem nutrient cycles?

Temperature (y axis) and precipitation (x axis)

Nutrients (y axis) and time (x axis)

Longitude (y axis) and latitude (x axis)

Stores (y axis) and transfers (x axis)

Finished!

You scored this time. The more correct answers you give, and the fewer incorrect answers you guess, the better your score.

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