0653.B15.2.06 — State that consumers may be classed as primary, secondary and tertiary according to their position in a food chain: past paper questions
Real questions on 0653.b15.2.06 — state that consumers may be classed as primary, secondary and tertiary according to their position in a food chain
The newest 10 of 10 written questions. Open one to see it on the real paper.
- 0653/31 · October/November 2025 · Q3a(i)[2]
Identify in Fig. 3.1: one secondary consumer
See it on the paper → - 0653/31 · October/November 2025 · Q3a(ii)[1]
Identify the organism in Fig. 3.1 that gains energy from the mink.
See it on the paper → - 0653/33 · October/November 2025 · Q3a(ii)[2]
Circle all the words that describe the tiger. carnivore consumer decomposer
See it on the paper → - 0653/41 · October/November 2025 · Q2c(ii)[1]
Identify the primary consumer in Fig. 2.2.
See it on the paper → - 0653/32 · May/June 2025 · Q2c(ii)[1]
Identify one tertiary consumer in Fig. 2.2.
See it on the paper → - 0653/21 · October/November 2024 · Q13[1]
Which factors reduce the possible number of trophic levels in a food chain?
See it on the paper → - 0653/42 · February/March 2024 · Q4d[3]
Fig. 4.3 shows a food web for an area in Alaska. polar bear Arctic wolf snowy owl Arctic fox Arctic hare lemming reindeer lichen musk ox grass Fig. 4.3 Table 4.1 shows some information about two of the organisms in Fig. 4.3. Complete Table 4.1. Table 4.1 organism trophic level feeding relationship gets its energy by ea...
See it on the paper → - 0653/22 · May/June 2023 · Q12[1]
Which row gives the number of each type of consumer?
See it on the paper → - 0653/33 · May/June 2023 · Q7a(ii)[1]
Identify one tertiary consumer in Fig. 7.1.
See it on the paper → - 0653/32 · February/March 2023 · Q7b(i)[2]
Place ticks (✓) in all the boxes that describe the tiger. carnivore herbivore primary consumer secondary consumer tertiary consumer
See it on the paper →
What examiners said
There is only one tertiary consumer in the diagram, the frog, and many candidates worked this out successfully. Although the kingfisher is at the same position as the frog in the diagram of the food web, it is only a secondary consumer. The snake is a quaternary consumer, feeding only on the frog. The flow of chemical energy to the frog is shown below aquatic plant fly dragonfly frog
— Examiner report, May/June 2025, 0653/32 Q2(c)(ii) (Cambridge)
Most candidates answered this question about feeding relationships very well. The most common reasons for full credit not being awarded were that the musk ox was assigned to trophic level 1 and the snowy owl was assigned to levels 2 and 3.
— Examiner report, February/March 2024, 0653/42 Q4(d) (Cambridge)
Candidates that got this question wrong, incorrectly selected option B. This is probably because they misread the question or the table. They picked two primary consumers instead of two producers. Candidates need to carefully read the question and any associated tables and figures.
— Examiner report, May/June 2023, 0653/22 Q12 (Cambridge)
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