What is a producer in an ecosystem?

A producer is an organism that makes its own food from simple substances using light energy, forming the start of a food chain.

Nearly all the living material on Earth can be traced back to plants and algae. Explain why.

They trap light energy and use it to build glucose, which becomes new living material that all other organisms ultimately depend on.

Suggest what would happen to the total biomass of an ecosystem if all its producers died.

Total biomass would fall at every feeding level, because no new food or stored energy would enter the ecosystem.

Edexcel GCSE Biology 1BI0

Key Concepts in Biology

Topic overview Eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells Specialised cells and their adaptations Microscopes and magnification calculations Size, scale and units in cell biology Enzyme action and denaturation Factors affecting enzyme activity Enzymes in synthesis and digestion, and rate calculations Food tests and the energy in food Diffusion, osmosis and active transport Osmosis in potatoes and percentage change in mass

Cells and Control

Topic overview Mitosis and the cell cycle Why mitosis matters: growth, repair and cancer Growth, differentiation and percentile charts Stem cells and their use in medicine The structure and function of the brain Neurones, receptors and the reflex arc The structure and function of the eye Eye defects and how they are corrected

Genetics

Topic overview Asexual and sexual reproduction Meiosis and the formation of gametes DNA structure, genes and the genome Extracting DNA from fruit Mendel's work and the inheritance of blood groups Alleles, genotype and phenotype Monohybrid crosses and sex determination Probability and ratios from genetic crosses Causes of variation: genes and environment The Human Genome Project Genetic variation and the effects of mutation

Natural Selection and Genetic Modification

Topic overview Darwin, Wallace and the theory of evolution Natural selection and antibiotic resistance Fossil evidence for human evolution Stone tool evidence for human evolution The pentadactyl limb and the three domains Selective breeding Tissue culture Genetic engineering and modern agriculture Benefits and risks of GM organisms

Health, Disease and the Development of Medicines

Topic overview Health, disease and susceptibility Pathogens and common infections How pathogens spread, and the virus life cycle Sexually transmitted infections How plants defend themselves Physical barriers and chemical defences The immune system, immunisation and herd immunity Antibiotics and developing new medicines Aseptic technique in culturing microorganisms Testing antiseptics and antibiotics on bacterial cultures Lifestyle factors and non-communicable disease Treatments for cardiovascular disease

Plant Structures and Their Functions

Topic overview Photosynthesis as an endothermic reaction Limiting factors in photosynthesis Light intensity and the rate of photosynthesis Root hair cells, xylem and phloem Transpiration and translocation Leaf structure for photosynthesis and gas exchange Factors affecting the rate of transpiration Plant adaptations to extreme environments Plant hormones, phototropism and gravitropism

Animal Coordination, Control and Homeostasis

Topic overview Hormones, endocrine glands and homeostasis The menstrual cycle and its hormones Hormonal and barrier contraception Homeostasis and thermoregulation Controlling blood glucose, and type 1 diabetes Type 2 diabetes and body mass The urinary system and the production of urea The nephron, filtration and selective reabsorption Treating kidney failure: dialysis and transplants

Exchange and Transport in Animals

Topic overview Why multicellular organisms need exchange surfaces Alveoli and gas exchange Rate of diffusion and Fick's law The blood and its components Arteries, veins and capillaries The heart and the circulatory system Cellular respiration as an exothermic reaction Aerobic and anaerobic respiration compared Investigating the rate of respiration Cardiac output, stroke volume and heart rate

Ecosystems and Material Cycles

Topic overview Levels of organisation and interdependence Abiotic and biotic factors in a community Parasitism and mutualism Sampling with quadrats and transects Estimating population size from field data Energy transfer between trophic levels Human impact on ecosystems and biodiversity Food security The carbon cycle The water and nitrogen cycles Factors affecting the rate of decomposition Calculating the rate of decay

Plant Structures and Their Functions

Photosynthesis as an endothermic reaction

3 things to know
Paper 2

Overview

Producers, biomass and why animals depend on photosynthetic organisms, the word and balanced symbol equations for photosynthesis, why it is endothermic, chlorophyll in chloroplasts, where the raw materials come from, and how a plant uses the glucose and oxygen it makes.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Your recallNot started

Key term

What is meant by biomass?

Key term

Apart from land plants, name two kinds of organism that act as producers.

Key term

Explain why animals depend on photosynthetic organisms for their food.

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

1
What is a producer in an ecosystem?
Model answer
A producer is an organism that makes its own food from simple substances using light energy, forming the start of a food chain.
2
What is meant by biomass?
Model answer
Biomass is the mass of living material present in an organism or in a group of organisms.
3
Nearly all the living material on Earth can be traced back to plants and algae. Explain why.
Model answer
They trap light energy and use it to build glucose, which becomes new living material that all other organisms ultimately depend on.
4
Apart from land plants, name two kinds of organism that act as producers.
Model answer
Algae, including the phytoplankton in oceans and lakes, and photosynthetic bacteria.
5
Explain why animals depend on photosynthetic organisms for their food.
Model answer
Animals cannot make their own food, so they must obtain it by eating producers or by eating other animals that ate producers.
6
Suggest what would happen to the total biomass of an ecosystem if all its producers died.
Model answer
Total biomass would fall at every feeding level, because no new food or stored energy would enter the ecosystem.

See the rest and revise

Other ways to work this

The same content, four other ways.

What is inside Levo

Six ways to work the same material.

1Closed book

2Open book

3Closed book

The 3-step method, run for you

Answer cold, learn it, then prove it stuck. Levo tracks the jump between your first attempt and your last.

Key Concepts in Biology

Cells and Control

Genetics

Natural Selection and Genetic Modification

Cram a whole paper in one sitting

Sort every topic into what you know and what you do not, then drill only the weak ones.

Type 2 .

diabetescancercholera

Blank Blitz makes facts automatic

Rapid timed gap-fills on the terms and numbers you need to recall without thinking.

ANitrates cause an algal bloom that blocks the light.

BWater plants die and decay.

CThe decomposers use up the dissolved oxygen.

Build It gets the exam shape right

Assemble a full-mark answer from its marking points, in the order an examiner wants them.

A millimetre is 10⁻³ of a metre.

TrueFalse

Test It catches misconceptions

Spot the fault in a statement. The traps are the mistakes students actually make.

721941163128510

Brain Breaks between sessions

Short focus games to reset attention, so the next set lands better than the last.

Every question in Plant Structures and Their Functions, on a schedule.

Attempt a question from memory, write the correct version, then attempt it again. Levo records the jump between your first attempt and your last, and brings each question back on the day you are due to forget it.

Start revising, £5 a month See how the method works

Or £46 a year, about £3.83 a month. Cancel anytime.