GCSE, Biology, Ecosystems, Interdependence Misconception.

Mutuality means that both organisms benefit the other, so you must, of course, mention both sides to show that you understand the term. Parasitism, however, is different. A parasite benefits off its host, but the host never benefits off the parasite and is often negatively impacted by it.
e.g.
Mutualistic relationships: cleaner fish and sharks, anemone and clownfish
Parasitism relationship: tapeworm in animal, mistletoe on a plant, flees on a dog.

Make sure that you specify the type of dependence, or your examiner will have to mark you down as you won't be demonstrating understanding.

Happy studying!

Thank you !

No problem, do you have any other questions about biology (could also do English, French or history but those are less relevant!) ?

Hi there,

Thank you so much for your generosity
I would love it if you could tell me the type of questions you could be asked about the carbon cycle.

Thanks, have a great Christmas (if you celebrate it. If you don’t I hope you have a great week !!)

Usually the carbon cycle will either be a diagram question where you have to fill in the blanks, or a 6 mark question.due to its complexity. You would probably have to use an example scenario to first identify the type of cycle/ process, then to describe what happens later on in the cycle. I'm not a teacher, so I cannot say that I'm definitely right on this, but I can't shine any other toys of question on it, really... maybe identify a specific step but that's about it. He nitrogen cycle, water cycle and various hormone questions probably have quite similar potential for question types.

I agree with you there, to be honest.

Also, if I want to mention how biomass is lost at each trophic level, would it be technically accurate if I were to say “the undigested biomass” ; biomass is just the collection of complex biological molecules, right, that store chemical energy ?

So , it is ok for me to consider biomass to be physical matter, as opposed to a numerical figure that determines the mass at each trophic level, isn’t it ?

Thanks for your help, redmeercat.

OK, so, I've done a bit of research as I didn't do biomass at GCSE, so don't necessarily take my word for this if it conflicts with stuffnyour teachers have said, however:
1. It seems that biomass may be lost through a number of different ways, including excretion, respiration and egestion. Egestion is how undigested food passes through an organism, so it would not be correct to say 'undigested' instead of 'lost'.

2. That sounds like it may be right, as it may be lost through the prementioned processes through faeces, water, urea, and CO2, however I'm a little unclear on this so certainly check with a teacher!

3. No, I think it must be considered a numerical value as it is 'mass' suggesting quantity rather than substance, also as you may find a percentage of the biomass which is transferred. But again, I'm sorry I can't be more help!

Ohh okay. I see what you’re saying.

But biomass may be considered “mass” as in matter, surely ? Because online it seems that some authors of some websites use the word in the same context that I’ve questioned.

But I agree with what you’re saying.

Thanks also man, you don’t have to go out of your way to find all this stuff man, I really appreciate it .

I agree with you there, to be honest.

Also, if I want to mention how biomass is lost at each trophic level, would it be technically accurate if I were to say “the undigested biomass” ; biomass is just the collection of complex biological molecules, right, that store chemical energy ?

So , it is ok for me to consider biomass to be physical matter, as opposed to a numerical figure that determines the mass at each trophic level, isn’t it ?

Thanks for your help, redmeercat.