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6.2 Feeding the human race

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Question 23
H

A country is deciding whether to allow farmers to grow a genetically modified (GM) maize that is resistant to drought.

  • Droughts in the country are becoming more common.
  • The GM maize contains a gene from a bacterium that helps it survive drought.
  • GM maize seed costs more than non-GM seed, and farmers must buy new seed each year.
  • Wild plants that are closely related to maize grow near many farms.

The Table shows the yields of the two types of maize.

Table

Type of yearYield of non-GM maize in tonnes per hectareYield of GM maize in tonnes per hectare
normal rainfall6.06.1
drought3.24.8

Evaluate whether the country should allow farmers to grow the GM maize.

Use the information and your knowledge of the benefits and risks of gene technology.

[6]
Markscheme

6.2 Feeding the human race Questions

  1. GCSE
  2. /Biology
  3. /6.2 Feeding the human race

127 exam-style questions on OCR GCSE Biology 6.2 Feeding the human race, covering 6.2.1 Biological factors affecting food security, 6.2.2 Agricultural solutions to growing demand, 6.2.3 Selective breeding, 6.2.4 Genetic engineering, 6.2.5 Steps in genetic engineering, 6.2.6 Benefits and risks of gene technology in agriculture, and 6.2.7 Biotechnological solutions to growing demand. Each one has a worked solution and a mark scheme showing where the marks go.

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