Edexcel GCSE Biology 1BI0
Key Concepts in Biology
Cells and Control
Genetics
Natural Selection and Genetic Modification
Health, Disease and the Development of Medicines
Plant Structures and Their Functions
Animal Coordination, Control and Homeostasis
Exchange and Transport in Animals
Ecosystems and Material Cycles
Ecosystems and Material Cycles
Factors affecting the rate of decomposition
- 3 things to know
- Paper 2
Overview
The warmth, water and oxygen that decay microorganisms need, how refrigeration, freezing, drying, salting, vacuum packing and canning preserve food, and how turning, heat, moisture, shredding and temperature affect the rate of decay in a compost heap.
What you need to know
Answer each one before you reveal it.
Explain how surface area and temperature affect the rate of decay in a compost heap.
Which organisms are responsible for food decaying?
Questions from this subtopic
Each one with the model answer underneath.
- 1
Which organisms are responsible for food decaying?
Model answer
Decomposer bacteria and fungi.
- 2
State the three conditions needed by decay microorganisms that food preservation methods aim to remove.
Model answer
Warmth, water and oxygen.
- 3
Explain how keeping food in a refrigerator slows spoiling.
Model answer
The low temperature slows the enzymes of the decay microorganisms, so they grow and reproduce much more slowly.
- 4
Explain why frozen food keeps for months.
Model answer
Below 0 °C the water is frozen and unavailable, and microorganisms cannot grow or reproduce, so decay virtually stops.
- 5
Explain why dried foods such as pasta and dried fruit do not decay.
Model answer
Without water the decay microorganisms cannot grow or use their enzymes to break the food down.
- 6
Explain how packing food in a large amount of salt or sugar preserves it.
Model answer
The concentrated solution draws water out of the microorganisms by osmosis, so they cannot grow.
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