Describe how you would determine the mean percentage cover for beach grass on a sand dune - AQA - A-Level Biology - Question 4 - 2018 - Paper 2
Question 4
Describe how you would determine the mean percentage cover for beach grass on a sand dune.
[3 marks]
Worked Solution & Example Answer:Describe how you would determine the mean percentage cover for beach grass on a sand dune - AQA - A-Level Biology - Question 4 - 2018 - Paper 2
Step 1
Method of randomly determining position (of quadrats)
96%
114 rated
Only available for registered users.
Sign up now to view full answer, or log in if you already have an account!
Answer
To determine the mean percentage cover for beach grass on a sand dune, first, randomly select positions for your quadrats on the sand dune. This can be done using a random numbers table or a random number generator to avoid bias.
Step 2
Large number/sample of quadrats
99%
104 rated
Only available for registered users.
Sign up now to view full answer, or log in if you already have an account!
Answer
Use a large number of quadrats to ensure that the sample is representative of the entire area. Ideally, you should have multiple quadrats placed at different locations to account for variability.
Step 3
Divide total percentage by number of quadrats/samples/readings
96%
101 rated
Only available for registered users.
Sign up now to view full answer, or log in if you already have an account!
Answer
After measuring the percentage cover of beach grass in each quadrat, sum these percentages and then divide the total by the number of quadrats sampled. This will give you the mean percentage cover of beach grass.
