Abiotic Factors (AQA GCSE Biology: Combined Science)

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Types of Abiotic Factors

  • In Biology, ‘abiotic’ means non-living. An abiotic factor is a non-living factor
  • Some abiotic factors which can affect a  community are shown in the table below:

Abiotic factors that affect a community

Abiotic factors that affect a community table, IGCSE & GCSE Biology revision notes

Effect of Abiotic Factors

  • You should be able to extract and interpret information from charts, graphs and tables relating to the effect of abiotic factors on organisms within a community

Example exam question

Plants of the same species were grown in tanks with different CO2 levels. Their height was measured after 3 weeks and an average taken:the-effect-of-co2-concentration-on-plant-graph-igcse-and-gcse-biology-revision-notes

Graph showing the effect of CO2 concentration on plant height

What conclusion can you draw from this graph about the effect of CO2 concentration on plant growth rate? Explain your answer. 

Example exam answer

As CO2 concentration increases, average plant height also increases. For example, at 5% CO2, average plant height was 10cm, but at 30% CO2, average plant height was 60cm. This shows that the higher the CO2 concentration, the greater the plant growth rate. This is because CO2 is used by plants for photosynthesis, which allows the plant to produce glucose for energy to grow.

Examiner Tip

When answering questions that refer to a chart, graph or table, remember to reference specific figures from the data to support your answer, as seen in the example above.

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Lára

Author: Lára

Expertise: Biology Lead

Lára graduated from Oxford University in Biological Sciences and has now been a science tutor working in the UK for several years. Lára has a particular interest in the area of infectious disease and epidemiology, and enjoys creating original educational materials that develop confidence and facilitate learning.