← Environmental Science syllabus

ScotlandEnvironmental Science

Area 1: Living Environment

4 dot points across 4 inquiry questions. Click any dot point for a focused answer with worked past exam questions where available.

What is biodiversity, why does it matter, and how is it measured?

Biodiversity defined at the species, genetic and ecosystem levels; the importance of biodiversity for ecosystem services and human wellbeing; biodiversity hotspots; and how biodiversity is measured and indicated.
An SQA National 5 Environmental Science answer on biodiversity, covering the species, genetic and ecosystem levels of diversity, why biodiversity matters for ecosystem services and people, what a biodiversity hotspot is, and how biodiversity is measured using indicator species and sampling.
10 min answer →

How do living and non-living parts of an ecosystem fit together, and how does energy flow through it?

Ecosystems, habitats and niches; biotic and abiotic factors; food chains, food webs and energy flow through trophic levels; and the interdependence of organisms within a community.
An SQA National 5 Environmental Science answer on ecosystems and interdependence, covering habitats and niches, biotic and abiotic factors, food chains and food webs, the flow of energy through trophic levels, and how organisms depend on one another in a community.
11 min answer →

How do human activities reduce biodiversity, and how can it be protected?

Human impacts on biodiversity: habitat loss, pollution, overexploitation, invasive species and climate change; the effects of population growth and resource demand; and conservation methods including biological control.
An SQA National 5 Environmental Science answer on human impacts on biodiversity, covering habitat loss, pollution, overexploitation, invasive species and climate change, the role of human population growth and resource demand, and conservation methods including protected areas and biological control.
11 min answer →

How are the nutrients that living things need recycled through an ecosystem?

Nutrient cycling in ecosystems: the role of decomposers, and the cycling of carbon and nitrogen between organisms, the soil, water and the atmosphere.
An SQA National 5 Environmental Science answer on nutrient cycling, covering the role of decomposers, the carbon cycle through photosynthesis, respiration, decay and combustion, and the nitrogen cycle through fixation, nitrification, uptake and denitrification.
11 min answer →