ANSWERS TO TEXTBOOK QUESTIONS

Objective Questions
A. Multiple choice questions.
1. d 2. c 3. c 4. d 5. c
B. Fill in the blanks.

d
1. rain 2. 1 3. marine 4. water 5. aquifers
C. Give one word answer.

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1. Rain 2. surface water 3. Runaway 4. Soil water 5. Groundwater
Theoretical Questions

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A. Short answer type questions.
1. a.  Surface water is rainwater falling on the soil a big quantity of which flows into the drains if there is

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heavy rain. A part of which percolates into the soil and rest gets collected in pools, ponds, puddles
and lakes. Some of the water may reach the aquifer and remain there as groundwater.
b. Rainwater that percolates into the soil and remains there as moisture in between the soil particles is

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the soil water.
c. Water falling on the surface of the earth in the form of rain is called rainwater.
d. It is the surface water which seeps deep into the soil and finally gets collected over impervious solid

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rocks.
e. Runaway water is the rainwater which flows away into drains and rivers, and finally into the sea.
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f. The upper level of this water in these aquifers, that is the depth at which groundwater is available
is called water table.
g. Sea water is also called marine water.
h. Water which seeps deep into the soil and gets collected on the underground impervious rocks is
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called aquifer. Aquifers are huge underground lakes filled with clean water.
i. Rainwater harvesting is a method of direct collection of rainwater from the rooftops of our houses
or the runaway water.
d

j. A device used for sprinkling, as a watering pot, a container of water with a perforated top used to
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sprinkle water.
2. Our earth is called blue planet because 71% of the earth’s surface is covered with water and it gives a
blue reflection when seen from a space.
3. Rain is the primary source of freshwater on land.
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4. On earth, oceans cover nearly 70% of earth’s surface and land is only 30%. Nearly 1% of land on the
earth is covered with lakes, rivers, waterfalls, pools, puddles and ponds. We cannot use sea water as
it is salty. Just 1% of water available is fresh and even lesser available as potable water hence there is
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scarcity of water.
5. Different sources of freshwater on land are lakes, rivers, waterfalls, pools, puddles and ponds.
6. At most of these places, people depend on groundwater for irrigation, industry and domestic use.
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7. The upper limit (level) of this water in these aquifers, that is the depth at which groundwater is available
is called water table. Water table varies from place to place.
8. Drip irrigation is a method using water pipes and tubes. In this method, water pipes have minute pores
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(openings) at regular intervals through which water leaks (drips) at the root level of plant at regular
intervals. This method is better to save water and make maximum use of the water dripping out of the
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pipes than flooding the field and wasting most of the water.
B. Long answer type questions.
1. Water is available in three forms—liquid, gaseous and solid (ice).

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This material is designed to be used as a supplement with the book Science Mission 7.
  Liquid form of water is simply the water. Water on the earth is present largely in oceans and partly on
land in the form of lakes, rivers, pools, puddles and ponds.
 Gaseous form of water is the water vapour which is present in air at all places around the earth.
 Solid form of water is the ice which remains stored as snow on high hills and the polar caps in the polar
regions. Arctic in the North and Antarctic in the South are covered with snow all the year round and
are known as polar regions of the earth.
2. Major causes of groundwater depletion are:

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l Increasing human population

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l Increasing water consumption per head due to changing lifestyle
l Water requirements for sewage disposal
l Construction of more houses, highways, industry, dams and canals.

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l Demolition of dams and filling up of lakes with silt and clay to make land available for housing
and industrial projects.

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l Deforestation, excessive cutting of trees. Forests save runaway water and increase surface water to
help more seepage of water into the soil thus replenishing groundwater.
l Faulty irrigational methods: (1) In the absence of irrigation through canals and other means, farmers

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draw groundwater indiscriminately to irrigate their fields. (2) Flooding the fields of herbaceous
crops with water. (3) Wasting groundwater without any consideration of the fact that groundwater
may be available in abundance but has a limit and is needed by all.

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l Scanty rainfall may result in drought and finally in reduced groundwater.
3. Forests help to conserve water by creating both a canopy and a root system that helps to prevent water
from simply draining off into local streams and rivers after a rainfall; thus causing the water to remain
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on the land long enough to soak in to the ground where it can then find its way into a watershed rather than.
4. Some of the ideas which can help in water conservation are:
Fix any leaking tap.
Use minimum water for your needs. Some people keep the tap open while brushing teeth.
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Use minimum water for bathing, washing, cleaning floors and cars and for kitchen activities.
Store rainwater in pits and tanks and dams.
d

Rainwater harvesting.
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© S. Chand And Company Limited
This material is designed to be used as a supplement with the book Science Mission 7.