5 Pesticides and pollution

Question 1

fertiliser

Answer 1

chemical added to soil to provide nutrients to increase plant growth

Question 2

algal bloom

Answer 2

rapid growth of algae in lochs after fertiliser leaches in to them

Question 3

leaching

Answer 3

washing out nutrients e.g. nitrates from soil into rivers and lochs

Question 4

bacteria

Answer 4

micro organisms which decompose dead algae using up oxygen in water

Question 5

pesticide

Answer 5

chemical used to kill crop pests

Question 6

toxic

Answer 6

another word for poisonous

Question 7

accumulate

Answer 7

to build up, as happens with pesticides in a food chain

Question 8

indicator species

Answer 8

species whose presence gives information about pollution or the quality of the environment

Question 9

biological control

Answer 9

use of a natural method such as a predator to control pest e.g. ladybirds to control aphids

Question 10

GM crops

Answer 10

crops which have had a gene from another species added e.g. to provide resistance to herbicides