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FRQ 2026
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FRQ 2026

Since an official FRQ answer key has not been uploaded yet, here is how I would have answered the FRQs. My answers may not be 100% all encompassing, as the scoring guides include multiple answers that they would accept. I included other thoughts in the bullet point below the answer.


Questions linked here.


Question 1:

Low elevations
Higher elevations tend to be colder than lower elevations.
They may also have lower oxygen levels, lower air pressure, stronger winds, or different precipitation patterns (snow rather than rain).
The predator population may decrease as their food source disappears.
They may also move to another elevation or switch food sources.
Generalists can survive a wider range of habitat conditions, while specialists have a much narrower range to survive. As climate change disrupts habitats, species C will be able to adapt to a shelter or food change, but species E may die out from a lack of any suitable habitat or food sources left.
In the future, the low elevations will have lower species richness. This means the community has less resilience to any future disruptions.
The temperature of the saltwater tank
Does increased water temperature affect the number of bleached coral?
Water turbidity from the sediment could potentially block sunlight from reaching the photosynthetic algae. The stress of less sunlight could cause the algae to leave the coral, which also causes coral bleaching. The increased water turbidity could increase the number of bleached corals. 
The loss of ice and snow lead to exposed darker ocean water underneath. The darker water absorbs more sunlight (lower albedo), which warms the local area. Increased warming leads to the loss of more ice and snow, continuing the cycle.
Decreased ice means less hunting grounds and shelter for the polar bears.

Question 2:

Solar energy
Pick literally any of them except for nuclear energy. Nuclear is non-renewable – that’s actually why they’re asking the question.
Petroleum
Coal consumption steadily increased from 1960 to about 2005, but then it sharply decreased.
Natural gas became cheaper due to fracking, which caused power plants to switch from coal to natural gas.
I chose natural gas because it’s the source that increased the most after 2005, but I would have also written that renewable energy increased, which led to less coal use. Air pollution and public opinion about greenhouse gas emissions might also be answers that led to power plants using it less.
Fossil fuels are used as a fuel source to burn and heat water to produce steam. The steam spins a turbine connected to a generator, which produces electricity.
Radioactive waste disposal
Thermal pollution, reactor meltdowns, and uranium mining are also reasons I can think of. There is probably going to be a huge list of things they accept.
Ocean warming leads to stronger hurricanes as warmer water fuels bigger storms.
There is also probably going to be a huge list of acceptable reasons here. Sea level rise, marine biodiversity, collapsing food webs, melting glaciers, dead zones from lower dissolved oxygen. So many things.
Excess nutrients can lead to eutrophication as the nitrates and phosphates cause algal blooms. When the algae dies, bacteria consume the algae and large amounts of dissolved oxygen. The hypoxic waters can suffocate marine species in the area causing them to move or die off.
Part I
Planting buffer zones around the rivers would catch any nutrients runoff before entering the waterways
The buffer zones would reduce soil erosion around the rivers as the tree/plant roots would hold soil in place during rainfall

Question 3:

The rodent population will increase as the predator population is no longer limiting them. This could lead to the food web becoming less stable.
(4 - 25) / 25 * 100 = -84%
70 / 2.8 = 25 years
About 90% of energy is lost going up every trophic level. When eating the rodents, the ocelots would be a secondary consumer, but when eating the snakes, the ocelots would be (at minimum) a tertiary consumer. They would receive less energy being at a higher trophic level.
720 * 0.46 = 331.2 g of pocket mice; 331.2 g / 43 g per mouse = 7.7 mice; 8 pocket mice per day
Part F
Building a wildlife bridge across the road
Wildlife bridges reconnect populations that were separated by roads/highways, which increases gene flow while animals safely move between habitats.
Also helps other populations not get hit by cars