CHAPTER-15

OUR ENVIRONMENT

DEFINE:

● Environment: It is the sum total of all external conditions and influences

that affect the life and development of an organism. It includes all the
physical (abiotic) and biological (biotic) factors.
● Ecosystem: It is a self-sustaining system where all organisms such as plants
,animals, microorganisms and human beings as well as their physical
environment interact with each other and maintain a balance in nature.
● Food chain: It is a series of organism through which energy is transferred
in the form of food by the process of one organism consuming the other.
● Food web:}It is a network of various food chains which are inter
connected at various trophic levels. Each organism in a trophic level
receives its food from more than one organism.

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Q1. Why are some substances biodegradable and some non-biodegradable?

Ans: The microorganisms like bacteria and other decomposers present in our
environment are specific in their action .They break down biodegradable
substances but do not break down non-biodegradable substances.

Q2. Give any two ways in which biodegradable substances would affect the

environment

Ans: a) Accumulation of organic matters in large amount attract pathogens.

b) During the decomposition of biodegradable substances, it will emit foul

odour and will be a breeding place for mosquitos and houseflies.

Q3. Give any two ways in which non-biodegradable substances would affect
the environment.

Ans: a) Non-biodegradable substances may be inert and simply persist in the

environment.

b) They may cause bio magnification.

Qn4.What are trophic levels ?Give an eg. of food chain and state the different
trophic levels in it.

Trophic levels are the various steps or levels in the food chain where transfer of
food or energy takes place.

Eg: Food chain in grassland: Grass------>Grasshopper------->Frog------->Snake

Snake Tertiary cosumer

Fourth T.L

FROG Secondary Consumer

Third trophic level

GRASS HOPPER Primary Consumer

Second trophic level

GRASS Producer

First Trophic level

Qn5. What is the role of decomposers in the ecosystem?

● Decomposers are those organisms which break down the complex organic
substances into simpler inorganic substances and are reused by the plants.
● They act as a cleansing agent of the environment and reduce the volume
of garbage.
● They help in the recycling of nutrients.
● It replenishes the soil by making nutrients available to living plants.

Qn.6What will happen if we kill all the organisms in one trophic level?

If we kill all the organisms in one trophic level, the following effect will take
place:

● The population of organism in the previous trophic level will increase as

they are not eaten up.
● The organisms in the next trophic level will not be able to get the food. So
they will migrate to some other ecosystem or die.
● It will cause an ecological imbalance in the food chain.

Eg: Grass----🡪Grasshopper-------🡪Frog------🡪Snake.

If all the frogs are removed from the food chain, the population of grasshopper
will increase. The population of grasses will decrease due to the over
consumption by grasshoppers .The population of snake will decrease due to the
lack of prey (frog).

Qn.8 Will the impact of removing all the organisms in a trophic level be
different for different trophic levels? Can the organisms of any trophic level be
removed without causing any damage to the ecosystem?

Yes, the impact of removing all the organisms in a trophic level will be different
for different trophic levels. It will not be possible to remove any organism in any
trophic level without causing damage to the ecosystem.

Qn:09 What is biological magnification? Will the level of this magnification be

different at different levels of the ecosystem?
The process in which harmful non-biodegradable chemicals enter a food chain
and get accumulated progressively at each trophic level is called biological
magnification.

The level of accumulation will be more in the higher trophic level and least in
the first trophic level of a food chain.

Qn.9 What are the problems caused by the non-biodegradable wastes that we
generate?

The problems caused by the non-biodegradable wastes that we generate are as

follows:

1) Non-biodegradable waste may be inert and persist in the environment or

may harm the ecosystem.

2) They cause water pollution.

3) They cause land pollution leading to the loss of soil fertility.

4) They cause stoppage of flow of water in drains.

5) They also cause air pollution.

Qn.10 If all the waste we generate is biodegradable, will this have an impact
on the environment?

Ans:}If all the waste we generate is biodegradable, impact on the environment

will be minimum as compared to non-biodegradable substances. Accumulation
of biodegradable matter in large amount will lead to foul smell and it will serve
as a breeding place for mosquito and flies .They can contaminate ground water
during rain.

Qn:11 What is ozone? How and where it is formed? How does it affect
ecosystem?

● Ozone(O3) is a triatomic molecule of oxygen

● Ozone is formed at higher levels of the atmosphere by the action of UV
radiations on molecular oxygen (O2)
● The higher energy UV radiations splits apart some molecular oxygen (O 2)
into free oxygen(O) atoms.
 UV
O2 O+O
● These atoms then combine with the molecular oxygen to form ozone.

O+ O2 O3(Ozone)

Ozone layer is very important in the existence of life on earth because it absorb
most of the harmful UV radiations from the sun and prevents them from
reaching the earth. Depletion of ozone layer causes UV radiation to enter the
earths surface and damage living organisms and cause skin cancer.

Qn.12 How can you help in reducing the problem of waste disposal? Give any
two methods.?

Ans:}We can help in reducing problem of waste disposal in the following ways:

a) Biodegradable wastes should be used to obtain biogas and manure.

b) The wastes from industries should be treated at the plant-site before

disposal.

Qn:13. “The depletion of ozone layer is a cause of concern.” Why?

What steps are being taken to limit the depletion of ozone layer?

Ozone layer prevents the harmful UV radiations from entering the atmosphere
and reaching the earth’s surface. So, depletion of ozone layer has become a
concern because UV rays can cause harmful effects on human body and other
organisms of the environment. Fatal diseases like skin cancer, changes in DNA
eye damage and cause destruction of aquatic life and vegetation.

Steps taken to limit this damage are as follows:

a) In 1987, UNEP succeeded in forging an agreement to freeze CFC

productions.
b) Judicious use of aerosol spray, propellants such as fluorocarbons and
chlorofluorocarbons which cause depletion in ozone layer.

c) Control over large scale nuclear explosion and limited use of supersonic
planes..

Qn.14 What is 10% law?

Ans: In a food chain, energy available at each successive trophic level is 10% of
the previous level. This is called 10% law. This is due to the fact that 90% of
energy is lost to the environment at each trophic level.

Qn.15 Explain the flow of energy between various components in our

ecosystem? Or Explain the decline in the amount of energy.

Ans:} Sunlight--------------->Plants------------->Deer-------------->Lion

a) Green plants capture about 1% of the light energy that falls on the leaves

b) When herbivores (primary consumer) eat plants, a great deal of energy (90%)
is lost as heat to the environment and some amount is used for various life
activities. An average of 10%of the food eaten is turned into its own body and
made available for the next level of consumers.

c) The loss of energy at each step is so great that very little useable energy
remains after every trophic level.

Qn.16 What will be the impact of ecosystem if bacteria (decomposers) are

removed from the environment?

Ans: Role of decomposers is significant in keeping ecological balance.The

possible consequences of elimination of decomposers from the environment
are:

● All the surfaces of the earth would be filled by dead organisms as

decomposition would not happen. This will lead to increase in garbage and
diseases as well.
● Nutrient cycle would get disturbed and soil won’t remain fertile without
the decomposition of dead plants and animals.

Qn.17. “Flow of energy in a food chain is unidirectional”. Justify

Ans: In a food chain, the energy moves progressively through various trophic
levels. It is no longer available to the previous trophic level. That is, the energy
captured by the autotrophs doesn’t revert back to the solar input and the
energy passes to the herbivores doesn’t come back to autotrophs. Hence, the
flow of energy is unidirectional.
Qn.18. Why does a food chain generally consist of only 3 – 4 trophic levels/
steps?

Ans: When energy is transferred from one trophic level to the next trophic level,
a great deal of energy is lost as heat to the environment ,some amount is
utilized for their life processes. On an average, only 10% of the food available to
a trophic level is transferred to the next trophic level. Since the amount of
available energy keeps on becoming less as we move to higher trophic level. So
very little useable energy remains after four trophic levels. That’s why a food
chain consists of only 3 to 4 trophic levels.

Qn.19.Why green plants are known as producers?

Ans: Green plants are called producers because they prepare food from
inorganic substances using solar energy in the presence of chlorophyll.

Qn.20 Explain how the pesticides enter a food chain and subsequently get into
our body?

Ans: We use several pesticides and chemicals to protect our crops from diseases
and pests. These chemicals are either washed down into the soil or into the
water bodies. From the soil these are absorbed by plants along with water and
minerals and from the water bodies these are taken up by aquatic plants and
animals. On consumption of these plants, the pesticides enter the food chain
and being non-biodegradable these get accumulated progressively at each
trophic level.

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