Solved Exercise

Science 5
Chapter 4
Environmental pollution
Answer 1:
Pollution is the addition of something to our living environment which
degrades and damages the natural environment.
Answer 2:
Additional bad things that degrades and damages our natural
environment are called pollutants, and the presence of these
pollutants in the environment is called contamination. They cause
adverse effect on our environment can be foreign substances,
excessive energies or naturally occurring contaminants.
Answer 3:
 Air pollution is caused by the smoke coming out from cars,
buses, trucks, trains and factories. It contains poisonous gases
such as Sulphur dioxide (SO₂), carbon monoxide (CO) and
nitrogen dioxide (NO₂).
 Even smoke from burning litter and cigarettes also pollutes the
air and adds carbon dioxide (CO₂).
 Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), released from refrigerators, air-
conditioners, deodorants and insect repellents, cause severe
damage to the earth's environment.
Answer 4:
 Polluted water has restricted the availability of clean water in
many countries.
 Water pollution adversely affects the health and life of humans,
animals and plants alike.
 Polluted water is also harmful to agriculture as it slows down the
crops’ growth, nutritional value, and soil fertility.
 The oil leaked from the oil tanker covers the ocean surface that
damages marine life under it.
 Water pollution causes many diseases like cholera, typhoid, skin
diseases, etc.
Answer 5:
 We should grow more plants and trees to reduce pollution.
 Reduce the use of herbicides, pesticides and fertilizers.
 We should minimize the burning of fossil fuels.
 We should avoid to dump trash and wastes of homes and
factories in open areas as water bodies.
 We should try to make the public aware of the hazardous effects
of pollution.
Answer 6:
If a factory releases its waste in nearby lake it causes pollution in
water and land by making lakes water toxic, harmful for drinking and
by effecting the fertility of land respectively. So factories must ensure
that their waste should be treated before dumping it into nearby
lakes.
Answer 7:
Non-biodegradable wastes can never be utilized in the ecosystem and
are very harmful to life.
Plastic pollutes the air by emitting harmful gases in exposure to heat,
in the same way it pollutes water supplies. Contaminates ground
water and leading to serious health hazards is a typical effect non-
biodegradable materials.
Answer 8:
Biodegradable materials
 Materials that microorganisms can decompose are called
biodegradable materials.
 The process of degradation is very speedy.
 Biodegradable wastes can be utilized in the ecosystem as a
source of nutrients or as fertilizers.
Non-biodegradable materials
 Materials that microorganisms cannot decompose are called
non-biodegradable materials.
 The process of degradation is quite slow.
 Non-biodegradable wastes can never be utilized in the
ecosystem and are very harmful to life and can be recycled using
very costly processes.
Answer 9:
We should avoid the use of polythene bags because polythene is not
good for environment and cannot decompose by decomposers cause
contamination on land, in ground water and marine life.
Answer 10:
Polluted water is harmful to agriculture as it slows down the crops’
growth, nutritional value, and soil fertility.
Answer 11:
We should avoid the use of non-biodegradable materials because
they are not favorable for our environment we should use organic
and biodegradable materials like instead of polythene bags enhance
the use of paper bags and cloth bags that can be decomposed easily.
Answer 1:
Air Pollution
Causes
 Air pollution is caused by the smoke coming out from cars,
buses, trucks, trains and factories. It contains poisonous gases
such as Sulphur dioxide (SO₂), carbon monoxide (CO) and
nitrogen dioxide (NO₂).
 Even smoke from burning litter and cigarettes also pollutes the
air and adds carbon dioxide (CO₂).
 Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), released from refrigerators, air-
conditioners, deodorants and insect repellents, cause severe
damage to the earth's environment.
Effects
 Solid fine particles released from fossil fuels and litter burning
harm the respiratory system of human beings. It can affect the
heart, brain and other internal organs of the body. These fine
particles form smog by combining with water in the air.
 Air pollution increases the risk of lungs cancer, asthma, allergies
and various breathing problems. Sometimes, the damage
becomes irreparable.
 Air pollution causes trouble for migratory birds. The severe air
pollution prevents them from reaching their destinations.
Remedies
 We should grow more plants and trees to reduce pollution.
 We should minimize the burning of fossil fuels.
 We should not burn the trash in the open air.
 We should ensure the regular check-ups of the motor vehicles to
reduce the amount of poisonous gases in the air.
 We should use eco-friendly sources of energy like solar energy
that causes no or minimum air pollution.
 We should ensure that the public is aware of the possible
hazards caused by the air pollution.
Water Pollution
Causes
 Littering and dumping of wastes from homes, offices, hospitals
and factories into water bodies.
 The wind scatters polluted air. Rain and snow wash it into the
ground, which causes water pollution to the groundwater.
 Water that is discharged from factories contains acids, salts,
poisons, oils, etc. This water is drained off into nearby water
bodies and ponds, making them polluted.
Effects
 Polluted water has restricted the availability of clean water in
many countries.
 Water pollution adversely affects the health and life of humans,
animals and plants alike.
 Polluted water is also harmful to agriculture as it slows down the
crops’ growth, nutritional value, and soil fertility.
 The oil leaked from the oil tanker covers the ocean surface that
damages marine life under it.
 Water pollution causes many diseases like cholera, typhoid, skin
diseases, etc.
Remedies
 Do not dump domestic and industrial waste into water bodies.
 Minimize the use of bleach and detergents. If necessary, use
phosphate-free detergents.
 Reduce the use of herbicides, pesticides and fertilizers.
 Treat and manage the sewage before dumping. It will reduce the
amount of toxic substances present in water.
 Take measures to conserve water.
 Plant trees, because trees absorb many of the toxic substances
present in water.
Land Pollution
Causes
 Improper disposal of solid waste is a major cause of land
pollution.
 Wild use of pesticides and herbicides kills useful decomposers.
Due to the absence of these decomposers, the dead matter
could not be broken down and thus pollutes the soil.
 Deforestation, soil erosion (removal of fertile soil from its
surface), poor sewage management, and construction activities
also cause land pollution.
Effects
 Fertile land is lost for agriculture.
 It can lead to an imbalance in the ecosystem.
 It directly or indirectly affects the climate patterns.
 It can cause skin cancer in humans.
 Animals like cockroaches, flies and mosquitoes cause different
diseases in humans such as fever, malaria, dysentery, etc.
Remedies
 We should try to produce less trash.
 We should recycle and use reusable items in daily life.
 Factories must ensure that their waste should be treated before
being released into the environment. Farmers should use
chemical fertilizers with proper care.
 The solid waste should be dumped into a specified area that
should be away from the city.
 We should try to make the public aware of the hazardous effects
of land pollution.
Answer 2:
The following alternative methods can be adapted to help the planet
get rid of the harmful effects of non-biodegradable materials.
Separating waste
The simplest and smartest way to reduce the amount of non-
biodegradable waste is to separate the waste into different categories
like recyclable food, cans and bottles, paper, etc., by ourselves.
Recycle
Once the waste is separated, one can go through all the items in the
blue and brown bin and look for possible recycling methods. For
example, vegetable and fruit peels, grass or dried leaves can be used
to prepare compost (domestic fertilizer). Cardboard and paper items
can be recycled into other useful products such as pencil holders,
vases, etc.
Avoid using poly bags and go for paper or cloth bags
It is a well-established fact that polythene is not good for the
environment. Therefore, the use of poly bags should be limited to as
little as possible.
Answer 3:
We produce a lot of waste at our homes and industries daily. These
wastes contain uncooked vegetables, peels of fruit, bread, different
food, plastic bags, metallic cans, papers, old shoes, old clothes, plastic
wrappers, and other materials of plastic, glass, metal, etc. Some of
these wastes like peels of vegetables and fruit, bread, etc., are easily
broken down by decomposers (bacteria and fungi) and called
biodegradable materials. While other materials like plastic bags,
metallic cans and other plastic products cannot be broken down by
the decomposers and are called non-biodegradable materials. Bothe
materials cause pollution but biodegradable material have short-term
pollution and can be utilized as fertilizers and as source of nutrients in
ecosystem that is favorable for environment while non-biodegradable
materials have longer-lasting effects on the environment, which are
as follows:
Contaminates ground water
Chemicals used in water bottles, food containers, hard plastic, etc.,
leak into groundwater thus contaminating groundwater.
Outgassing
Plastic pollutes the air, in the same way it pollutes water supplies.
Constant exposure to heat melts plastic, emitting gases into the
atmosphere in a process known as outgassing.
Affect food chain
Coming into the food chain and leading to serious health hazards is a
typical effect of non-biodegradable materials.