Lesson 4.7.2.2

4.7.2.2 How materials are cycled Quiz: AQA Biology, Unit 7

20 questions

Written by Revision Ninja · Last reviewed 11 October 2026

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Lesson 4.7.2.2, How materials are cycled: 20 multiple choice questions for the AQA GCSE Biology (8461), Unit 7: Ecology, written with Revision Ninja.

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The 20 questions

  1. Which process returns carbon from organisms to the atmosphere as carbon dioxide?

    • Respiration
    • Evaporation
    • Photosynthesis
    • Precipitation

  2. Which process takes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere into plants?

    • Respiration
    • Photosynthesis
    • Decomposition
    • Evaporation

  3. What does the water cycle provide for plants and animals on land?

    • Glucose
    • Oxygen gas
    • Mineral ions only
    • Fresh water

  4. Which cycle does the specification explicitly say students are not expected to study?

    • Carbon cycle
    • Nitrogen cycle
    • Water cycle
    • Oxygen cycle

  5. What do microorganisms return to the soil as part of cycling?

    • Mineral ions
    • Oxygen gas
    • Glucose
    • Water vapour

  6. Why are materials continuously recycled in living ecosystems?

    • Increase atmospheric pressure
    • Maintain high temperatures
    • Generate solar energy
    • Provide building blocks

  7. Which cycle describes water being continuously evaporated and precipitated?

    • Energy cycle
    • Nitrogen cycle
    • Carbon cycle
    • Water cycle

  8. In the carbon cycle, which process removes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere?

    • Photosynthesis
    • Respiration
    • Combustion
    • Decomposition

  9. What two products do decomposers release when breaking down organic waste?

    • Hydrogen and protein
    • Carbon dioxide and minerals
    • Nitrogen gas and starch
    • Oxygen and glucose

  10. Leaves on a forest floor decompose. Which gas is released as carbon returns to the air?

    • Oxygen gas
    • Carbon dioxide
    • Nitrogen gas
    • Hydrogen gas

  11. Water evaporates from a lake and falls as rain on a hill. Which cycle is this?

    • Water cycle
    • Carbon cycle
    • Nitrogen cycle
    • Oxygen cycle

  12. In a carbon cycle diagram, how is carbon transferred from plants to animals?

    • Respiration
    • Feeding
    • Photosynthesis
    • Combustion

  13. By which process do microorganisms return mineral ions to the soil from dead organisms?

    • Photosynthesis
    • Osmosis
    • Decomposition
    • Transpiration

  14. Which process transfers carbon compounds from plants into animals?

    • Transpiration
    • Photosynthesis
    • Respiration
    • Feeding

  15. By which process does water vapour cool to form clouds in the water cycle?

    • Evaporation
    • Precipitation
    • Condensation
    • Transpiration

  16. What term describes rain falling from clouds to the Earth's surface?

    • Percolation
    • Precipitation
    • Evaporation
    • Condensation

  17. What gas does the carbon cycle return to the atmosphere for plant photosynthesis?

    • Oxygen
    • Carbon dioxide
    • Methane
    • Nitrogen

  18. What vital substances do decomposers return to the soil from dead biological material?

    • Glucose molecules
    • Oxygen gas
    • Mineral ions
    • Carbon dioxide

  19. Which organism group returns carbon to the atmosphere as carbon dioxide during decay?

    • Producers
    • Microorganisms
    • Apex predators
    • Herbivores

  20. Which process in green plants removes carbon dioxide directly from the atmosphere?

    • Respiration
    • Photosynthesis
    • Combustion
    • Transpiration

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