EVS IMPORTANT Q/A

UNIT 1:
Q1.Define Environment. Explain its scope and importance of
environment.
A1. The word environment is derived from the French word ‘environner’,
which means surrounding. Thus, Environment can be defined as the
combined interaction of physical, chemical and biological conditions
affecting an individual or community in the complex of social and cultural
conditions.
Study of environmental science helps us to understand the various
components of environment and disturbing factors and helps to find a
solution to overcome the negative effect of these factors.
Study of environment science has helped in manufacturing pollution
control equipment, sewage and effluent treatment plants, and biomedical
waste treatment. Environmental studies has lot of scope in the areas
like control of environment pollution, conservation and management of
natural resources, balance disturbance in ecology and biodiversity,
control and education of human population and systematic development
with keeping an eye on environment pollution.
Environment plays an important role in the healthy living of human beings.
Environment play an important role in regulating air and climate.

Q2. Main objectives of E.V.S?

A2. The objectives of Environmental Education are classified as follows:
● Knowledge: to help social groups and individuals, gain a variety of
experiences and acquire a basic understanding of the environment and
its associated problems.
● Awareness: to help social groups and individuals acquire an
awareness of and sensitivity to the total environment and its allied
problems.
● Attitudes: to help social groups and individuals to acquire a set of
values and promote a feeling of concern for the environment and provide
motivation for actively participating in environmental improvement and
protection.
● Participation: to provide social groups and individuals with an
opportunity to be actively involved at all levels, working towards the
resolution of environmental problems.
● Skills : to help social groups and individual to acquires the skills for
identifying and solving environmental problems
● Evaluation Ability: to evaluate environmental measures and education
programs in terms of ecological, economic, social and aesthetic factors.

Q3. What is the need of public awareness about the environment?

A3. It is the need of the hour that humans are educated about the effect
of degraded environment on human health. Degraded environment is
going to affect both developed and developing countries alike.
i) Government of India, particularly ministry of agriculture in cooperation
with the ministry of environment and forest can launch campaigns, so
that people can be educated about the importance of environment
healthy plantation.
ii)Printing media can initiate the campaigns regarding impact of
degraded environment on living organisms by publishing articles through
newspapers, magazines, newsletters.
iii) Awareness campaign can be launched through displaying several
holdings, posters at prominent places and organising exhibitions, face to
face interaction, online email service, SMS service throughout the
country.
iv) Advertisements, group discussion, feature films, video
conferencing, and website and internet services also play an important
role.

Q4. Define natural resources. How are they classified? Explain with an
example.
A4. Life on this planet depends upon a large number of things and
services provided by nature, which are known as Natural Resources.
Water, air, soil, minerals, coal, forests, crops and wildlife are all
examples of natural resources.
Natural resources can be divided into two categories such as
(1) renewable and (2) Non renewable resources.
 1. Renewable resources​ are in a way inexhaustible resources. They
have the ability to replenish themselves by means such as
recycling, reproduction and replacement.Examples of renewable
resources are sunlight, animals and plants,soil,water,etc.
2. ​Non-Renewable Resources ​are resources that cannot be
replenished once used or perished. Examples of non renewable
resources are minerals, fossil fuels, etc.

Q5. What are the problems associated with the natural resources?
A5. ​1. The unequal consumption of natural resources:
The developing nations, including India and China, also over use many
resources because of their greater human population.
​2. Planning land use:
Forms of intensive land use are frequently extended at the cost of ‘wild
lands’, our remaining forests, grasslands, wetlands and deserts.
​3. The need for sustainable lifestyles:
Human standard of living and the health of the ecosystem are indicators
of sustainable use of resources in any country or region.

Q6. Explain the significance of forest resources?

A6. Forest can provide prosperity of human being and to the nations.
Important uses of forests can be classified as under
● Commercial values
● Ecological significance
● Aesthetic values
● Life and economy of tribal
Commercial values:
Forest can provide food , fibre, edible oils and drugs.
Forest lands are also used for agriculture and grazing.
Ecological uses:
Forest can act as pollution purifier by absorbing toxic gases. Forest not
only helps in soil conservation but also helps to regulate the hydrological
cycle.
Aesthetic values:
All over the world people appreciate the beauty and tranquillity of the
forest because forests have a great aesthetic value. Forest provides
opportunity for recreation and ecosystem research.
Life and economy of tribal:
Forests provide food, medicine and other products needed for tribal
people and play a vital role in the life and economy of tribes living in the
forest.

Q7.What do you mean by deforestation? Causes and affects.

A7. Forests are burned or cut for clearing of land for
agriculture,harvesting forwood and timber,development and expansion
of cities.
Causes of deforestation:
a) Shifting cultivation or jhum cultivation - Shifting cultivation is a practice
of slash and burn agriculture, prevalent in tribal areas where forest lands
are cleared to grow subsistence crops.
b) Need for fuel wood - Increased population has lead to increasing
demand for fuel wood which is also acting as an important deforestation
agent, particularly in dry forest.
c) Development projects and growing need for food - The growing
demand for electricity, irrigation, construction, mining, etc. has lead to
destruction of forests.
Major effects of deforestation:
● Soil erosion and loss of soil fertility
● Expansion of deserts
● Climate change and depletion of water table
● Loss of biodiversity ,flora and fauna
● Environmental changes and disturbance in forest ecosystems

Q8. What are the steps taken for conservation of forest resources?
A8. To conserve forests, following steps should be taken:
1. Perfect coordination between concerned government departments.
2. Public awareness of the importance of forests.
3. The cutting of trees in the forests for timber should be stopped.
4. Aforestation programmes should be launched
5. Grasslands should be regenerated.
Q9. Write down the problems associated with water resources.
A9. These are some problems associated with the use of water:
● Water Scarcity
● Floods and droughts
● Groundwater availability and quality
● Watershed degradation
● Coastal interaction

Q10. Write in detail about the major conflict of water resources?

A10. ● Water conflict in the middle east
● ​Dispute over water in the Nile Basin
● ​ Water shortages and public discontent in Yemen
● ​Dispute over water in the Cauvery Basin in India

Q11. Define dam. List out the advantages and disadvantages of the
dam.
A11. ​A barrier constructed to hold back water and raise its level, forming
a reservoir used to generate electricity or as a water supply.
Advantages:
1. Hydroelectricity generation
2. Equal water distribution by transferring water from areas of excess to
areas of deficit
3. Helps flood control and protects soil
4. Assure irrigation during dry periods
Disadvantages:
1. Loss of non-forest land leads to loss of flora and fauna
2. Loss of fertile soil
3. Changes in fisheries and the spawning grounds
4. Breeding of vectors and spread of vector-borne diseases

Q12. Discuss in detail about the World Food Problems.

A12. Due to inadequate purchasing power to buy food, it is difficult to
fulfil the minimum requirement of human body per day. Large number of
people in India are poor which can be attributed to equitable distribution
of income. Food insufficiency can be divided into two categories into
under-nourishment and malnourishment.
Under-nourishment:
Under-nourishment means lack of sufficient
calories in available food, resulting in little or no ability to move or work.
People who receive less than 90% of their minimum dietary intake on a
long-term basis are considered undernourished. Children in this category
are likely to suffer from stunted growth, mental retardation, and other
social and developmental disorders
Malnourishment:
Malnourishment can be defined as lack of specific components of food
such as proteins, vitamins, or essential chemical elements.
A person may have excess food but still diet suffers from due to
nutritional imbalance or inability to absorb or may have problem to utilize
essential nutrients.

Q13. Differentiate between modern and traditional agriculture practices.

A13.
Traditional Farming Modern Farming
1.Uses manure & compost 1.Uses chemical fertilizers

2.More farm labourers & no 2.Less farm labours & more

machines machines

3.Depended on seasonal rainfall 3.Well occupied irrigation system

and not dependent on seasonal
rainfall.

4 Animals are used to plough the 4.Tractors used for ploughing the
field. field

5.Production is less but the crops 5.Production is more but the crops
are of high quality​. are of less quality.
Q14. Define water logging.
A14. ​Waterlogging is a form of natural flooding when underground water rises to
surface level as the result of over-irrigation.
Waterlogging can displace the spoil, affect the natural processes in the soil, and
result in a build-up of toxic substances in the soil, which can impede plant growth in
the immediate area.

Q15. What are the renewable and non-renewable energy sources?

Explain in detail.
A15. ​Renewable Resources:
● The resources that can be replenished through rapid natural cycles are
known as renewable resource.
● These resources are able to increase their abundance through
reproduction and utilization of simple substances.
● Examples of renewable resources are plants (crops and forests),and
animals who are being replaced from time to time because they have the
power of reproducing and maintain life cycles.
Non-renewable Resources:
● The resources that cannot be replenished through natural processes
are known as non-renewable resources.
● These are available in limited amounts, which cannot be increased.
These resources include fossil fuels (petrol, coal etc.), nuclear energy
sources (e.g.uranium, thorium, etc). metals (iron, copper, gold, silver,
lead, zinc etc.),minerals and salts (carbonates, phosphates, nitrates
etc.).
● Once a non-renewable resource is consumed, it is gone forever. Then
we have to find a substitute for it or do without it.
● Non-renewable resources can further be divided into two categories,
viz. Recyclable and non-recyclable.

Q16.What do you mean by land degradation? Explain its causes and

defects.
A16. Deterioration in the quality of land, its topsoil, vegetation, and/or
water resources, caused usually by excessive or inappropriate
exploitation.Soil erosion, water logging, salinization and contamination of
the soil with industrial wastes like fly-ash, press mud or heavy metals all
cause degradation of land.

Q17. Define desertification. What are the causes and affects to it?
A17. Desertification is a process whereby the productive potential of arid
or semiarid lands falls by ten percent or more.
Causes of desertification
● Deforestation
● Overgrazing
● Mining and quarrying
Effects:
Vegetation is damaged or destroyed
Soil becomes infertile
Soil erosion gets worse

Increased vulnerability to natural disasters

Polluted sources of drinking water
Extinction of species​ etc.

Q18. Discuss the role of an individual to manage natural resources?

A18. Natural resources like forests, water, soil, food, minerals and
energy resources play an important role in the economy and
development of a nation. Humans can play an important role in
conservation of natural resources.
Roles to conserve water:
● Check for water leaks in pipes and toilets and repair them promptly.
● Don’t keep water taps running while they are not in use.
Energy conservation for future use:
● Turn off all electric appliances such as lights, fans, televisions,
computers, etc when not in use.
● Minimise the use air conditioner to save energy.
Protect soil health:
● Use organic manure/compost to maintain soil fertility
● Use sprinkler irrigation to conserve the soil.
Promote sustainable agriculture:
● Maintain soil fertility
● Save grains in storage to minimise the losses
Equitable Use of Resources for Sustainable Life Style:
People have to lower down their level of consumption to bare minimum
so that these resources can be shared by poor people to satisfy their
needs.

UNIT - 2
Q1. Define ecosystem.
A1. The term ecosystem is defined as the system resulting from the
integration of all the living and non-living factors of the environment.
An ecosystem may be defined as a self-sustained community of plants
and animals existing in its own environment. An ecosystem may be as
small as a drop of pond water (microecosystem) or as large as ocean.

Q2.Differentiate between ecology and ecosystem, with an example.

A2.
Ecology Ecosystem
Ecology is a branch of biology which Ecosystem is a community of interacting
deals with the relationships of organisms and their physical
organisms to one another and to their environment.
physical environment.

Ecology is the study of ecosystems. An ecosystem is a subset of ecology.

Ecology includes the study of the Ecosystem is a place like a forest, taiga,
relationship between living organisms grassland, desert, stillwater, river or a
and their environment. stream, coral reefs, etc.

Q3. Explain the structure and function of ecosystem. (Imp)

A3. ​Structure of the Ecosystem:
All ecosystems consist of the following major components:
1. Species components
2. Stratification
3. Trophic organisation—relationship of food between various layers
4. Nutrients—required for living organisms
Biotic (living) components:
This comprises of all the living organisms. Divided into two categories:
The autotrophs - These are green plants which can convert the light
energy of the sun into potential chemical energy in the form of organic
compounds needed by plants for their own growth and development.
The heterotrophs - They are dependent directly or indirectly upon the
autotrophs for their food.
Abiotic components
Structurally abiotic components include -
1. Inorganic substances: Elements such as C, N, H, O, etc., involved in
material cycles.
2. Organic Compounds: Carbohydrates, proteins,etc.
Functions:
The function of the ecosystem is to allow flow of energy and cycling of
materials which ensures stability of the system and continuity of life.
(i) food chains, (ii) food pyramids, (iii) energy flow, (iv) nutrient cycles,
(v) development and evolution of ecosystem, and (vi) homeostasis and
stability of ecosystem, all come under the function of ecosystem.

Q4. List the different types of ecosystems? Explain pond ecosystem in

detail.
A4. There are various ecosystems like
Pond ecosystem, Spring Ecosystem, Forest ecosystem, grassland
ecosystem, a desert ecosystem, a coral reef ecosystem and a cropland
ecosystem.
Pond ecosystem: A pond is a good example of a small self-sufficient and
self-regulating ecosystem.The components of the systems are as
follows:
Abiotic components
Temperature, light, water, and several inorganic and organic substances
like CO2, O,N, PO, Ca, S, and carbohydrates, proteins and lipids make
abiotic components.
Biotic components :​These include:
a) Producers - They are green plants and photosynthetic bacteria
categorized into two types:
i) Macrophytes, and
ii) Phytoplanktons.
b) Consumers - These are as follows:
i) Primary consumers
ii) Secondary consumers
iii) Tertiary consumers
c) Decomposers (or microconsumers) - Several bacteria, fungi.

Q5. Define ecological pyramid. What are the types of ecological

pyramids?
A5. There is some sort of relationship between the number, biomass and
energy content of the primary producers, consumers of the first and
second orders and so on to top carnivores in the ecosystem. This
relationship may be represented graphically by means of pyramids which
is referred to as ecological pyramids.
Ecological pyramids are of three general
Types:
(i) Pyramid of numbers, showing the number of organisms at each
trophic level.
(ii) Pyramid of biomass, showing the total dry weight or any other
suitable measure of the total amount of living matter, and
(iii) Pyramid of energy, showing the amount of energy flow and/or
productivity at successive trophic levels.

Q6. Write short notes on food chain, food web, energy flow in the
ecosystem.
A6. ​Food chain:​ The transfer of food energy from the source in plants
through a series of organisms with repeated stages of eating and being
eaten is known as the food chain. The green plants, in the food chain,
occupy the first trophic (nutritional or energy) - the producer level, the
herbivores that eat the plants the second trophic - the primary consumer
level, carnivores that eat the herbivores the third trophic - the secondary
consumer level and perhaps even a fourth- the tertiary consumer
level.Thus, in any food chain, energy flows from producers -----> primary
consumers (herbivores) ----->secondary consumers (carnivores) A
tertiary consumers (carnivores), and so on.
Food web: ​Food chain, normally do not operate in isolated but are
interlocked with each other forming some sort of pattern known as food
web.The food webs are very important in maintaining the stability of an
ecosystem, in nature.
Energy Flow in Ecosystem:​ The behaviour of energy in ecosystem can
be conveniently termed as energy flow because of unidirectional energy
transformations.The energy flow follows the second law of
thermodynamics.

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