Terrestrial Food Production Systems & Food Choices (DP IB Environmental Systems & Societies (ESS): SL)

Exam Questions

42 mins10 questions
12 marks

Suggest two strategies for enhancing future food production systems to ensure a larger and more dependable food supply.

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23 marks

State three ways in which unsustainable agricultural practices may lead to a loss of biodiversity.

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32 marks

State two main differences between commercial farming and subsistence farming.

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4a2 marks

A group of researchers carried out bird surveys on the same farm over a period of twenty years.

Their results are shown in the table below.

Species

2001

2020

Grey partridge

0

25

Skylark

35

81

Greenfinch

42

4

Goldfinch

0

24

Yellowhammer

2

206

One change in farm management that took place between 2001 and 2020 was that farm hedgerow cutting was switched from a yearly cut to a staggered cut every 3 years (each hedgerow cut every 3 years, but not all cut in the same year).

State how this could lead to the increase in bird diversity shown in the table above.

4b1 mark

Suggest what might have caused the decrease in greenfinch numbers between 2001 and 2020, as shown in the table in part (a).

Do not include the effects of humans illegally catching greenfinches to keep as pets.

4c1 mark

The research shown in the table in part (a) was funded by the RSPB (Royal Society for the Protection of Birds).

The figure below shows how the data from the table in part (a) compares to farm bird data from across England over the same time period.

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Use the figure above to suggest why it is so important that the RSPB funds studies such as the one that provided the data for the table in part (a).

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13 marks

Suggest three reasons for the limited availability of food in some human societies.

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24 marks

Outline four environmental impacts of the following named food production system:

  • Cattle farming in Brazil

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34 marks

Outline four environmental impacts of the following named food production system:

  • Wheat and corn cultivation in the USA

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44 marks

Outline two factors contributing to food waste in LEDCs and two factors contributing to food waste in MEDCs.

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17 marks

Using your knowledge of ecosystems and environmental value systems, evaluate the claim that "a vegetarian diet is better for the environment”.

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29 marks

Discuss how social, cultural, political and economic factors influence the choice of food production systems in different societies.

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