Lesson T3.1.2

T3.1.2 Insect pollination and food security Quiz: KS3 Biology, Unit 3

20 questions

Written by Revision Ninja · Last reviewed 11 October 2026

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Lesson T3.1.2, Insect pollination and food security: 20 multiple choice questions for the KS3 Biology (National Curriculum), Unit 3: Interactions and interdependencies, written with Revision Ninja.

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The 20 questions

  1. Why are insects important for pollinating many crops?

    • They carry pollen between flowers so fruit can form
    • They produce nectar that feeds the crop plants and their roots
    • They make the flowers grow faster in the warm summer
    • They release oxygen onto the flowers during the day

  2. Which of these crops is wind-pollinated rather than insect-pollinated?

    • Apple
    • Strawberry
    • Courgette
    • Wheat

  3. What is food security?

    • Protecting plants from insects with chemicals only and no other method
    • Growing only one crop type across all of the farms in a region
    • Having reliable access to enough safe and nutritious food
    • Storing food in a locked warehouse to keep it safe from theft

  4. Why do declining bee populations threaten food supplies?

    • Fewer bees means crops need less water during the hot summer
    • Fewer bees means fewer crops are pollinated, so yields can fall
    • Fewer bees means crops get more sunlight during the growing season
    • Fewer bees means more pollen is blown away by the wind every day

  5. A farmer grows a crop that needs insect pollination. Which action would improve the yield?

    • Planting only crops that rely on the wind for pollination each year
    • Removing all flowers before they open to save the crop
    • Covering the plants with thick plastic to block all the pollen off
    • Providing wildflower habitat and avoiding harmful pesticides

  6. What do bees collect from flowers?

    • Water and minerals
    • Carbon dioxide and oxygen
    • Nectar and pollen
    • Starch and cellulose

  7. Which crop is most dependent on insect pollinators?

    • Wheat, which is grown on large fields across the country
    • Strawberries
    • Maize, which is grown as animal feed on farms
    • Barley, which is used to make bread and beer

  8. Why does a crop produce less fruit when fewer pollinator visits happen?

    • Fewer flowers receive pollen, so fewer ovules are fertilised
    • The flowers absorb more water from the soil and dry out
    • The stigmas grow larger than normal in the warm weather
    • The flowers stop producing petals and their bright colours entirely

  9. Which part of a flower is the source of the pollen an insect carries?

    • Anther
    • Sepal, which is the green leaf that protects the bud
    • Ovary, which holds the developing ovules
    • Stigma, which is the sticky tip of the carpel

  10. Why do many farmers rent beehives for their crops?

    • To ensure enough pollination for crops that depend on insects
    • To collect honey for cooking and for selling in shops
    • To replace natural wind pollination with hand pollination by workers
    • To keep bees away from the crop and its flowers during bloom

  11. What is a pollinator?

    • A plant that stores pollen in its roots during the winter
    • A flower that cannot produce seeds because it is damaged
    • An organism that eats pollen grains only and nothing else
    • An organism that transfers pollen between flowers

  12. Why is hand-pollination costly for farmers?

    • It needs expensive wind machines and a large team to run them
    • It needs special fertiliser for every petal
    • It destroys the fruit before it forms
    • It takes a lot of labour and time to move pollen by hand

  13. Which insect is an important pollinator of many crops?

    • Earthworm
    • Honeybee
    • Spider
    • Woodlouse

  14. Why does a crop need pollination before fruit can form?

    • Fertilisation must occur for the ovary to become fruit
    • Pollen stops the fruit from rotting on the plant
    • Pollen is needed to make the petals grow larger each day
    • Pollen supplies water to the seeds inside the fruit

  15. Why might a crop have lower yields in a field with no nearby wildflowers?

    • Fewer pollinators are supported, so fewer flowers are visited
    • Wildflowers release harmful gases onto the crop in the heat
    • Wildflowers take all the sunlight from the crop during the day in summer
    • Wildflowers produce too much pollen for the crop to use

  16. Which approach supports pollinators sustainably?

    • Using broad-spectrum pesticides on flowering crops
    • Removing hedgerows to give bees more open space to fly around
    • Planting flowers that bloom at different times of year
    • Keeping crops covered at all times

  17. Why is a variety of pollinator species useful for food supply?

    • Many species of pollinator reduce the need for sunlight
    • Variety in pollinators makes crops grow taller in the field
    • Different pollinators support different crops, protecting supply
    • Each pollinator species produces the same crop type every single year

  18. Which pollinator is most likely to visit a flower with bright petals and sweet nectar?

    • A bare soil particle
    • A drop of rain
    • A bee
    • A stone

  19. Why might a farmer use a crop that is wind-pollinated instead of insect-pollinated in a poor pollinator year?

    • Wind-pollinated crops make their own nectar for bees
    • Wind-pollinated crops can still set seed without insects
    • Wind-pollinated crops need no fertilisation at all to form seed
    • Wind-pollinated crops grow larger without any pollen at all

  20. Which reward do pollinating insects usually get from a flower?

    • Mineral salts taken from the anther
    • Starch grains stored in the ovary
    • Nectar, a sugary liquid
    • Water stored in the stem

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