biologyTopic 4 · BioenergeticsPaper 1Grades 8–9
How should a vertical farm maximise food yield without wasting energy?
Starting scenario
Lettuce is grown under three lamps. At 100, 200 and 400 μmol m⁻² s⁻¹ light, mean growth is 3.2, 5.9 and 6.2 g day⁻¹. Electricity use doubles at each step. At 30 °C growth falls to 4.1 g day⁻¹ although light is unchanged. Nitrate concentration is low.
You will work through 8 staged questions that build up the science you need. Then you will answer one big-picture question from memory, with no checklist to help you — and only afterwards will the full connection map be revealed.