DAV PUBLIC SCHOOL PRATAP VIHAR GHAZIABAD

SCIENCE (TEXTBOOK QUESTION/ANSWERS)

CLASS VII
CHAPTER 15: FOREST
A. Fill in the blanks.
1. Decomposer play an important role in Recycling of nutrients.
2. Herbs are found in the Forest Floor layer of the forest.
3. Forest maintain a balance between the amount of Carbon dioxide
and Oxygen gases in the atmosphere.
4. Overgrazing in forest may cause a decrease in soil Fertility and an
increase in soil Erosion.
5. Banyan is a national tree of India.
B. Write True or False for the following statements.
1. Forests depend on man for water and fertilizers. (False)
2. The plants and animals in a forest are not dependent on one
another. (False)
3. Raw material, needed for making paper is obtained from forests.
(True)
4. Forests help in decreasing soil erosion. (True)
5. Forests play an important role in maintaining the water cycle in
nature. (True)
C. Tick (√) the Correct Option.
1. The layer of forest, where intertwined branches of trees are found
is known as the -
a. canopy
b. crown
c. understorey
d. forest floor
2. Decomposers help in -
a. cooling of atmosphere
b. recycling of nutrients
c. absorption of excess of water
d. feeding the animals
3. An increase in cutting of the trees in forest will lead to-
a. an increase in the amount of carbondioxide in air.
b. a decrease in the amount of carbondioxide in air.
c. an increase in the amount of oxygen in air
d. a decrease in the amount of both oxygen and carbondioxide in air.
4. The tree that is thought of as an immortal tree is the -
a. ashoka tree
b. banyan tree
c. neem tree
d. teak tree
5. The tree that is often referred to as “The golden shower tree” is
the-
a. Ashoka tree
b. deodar tree
c. amaltas tree
d. sal tree
D. Answer the following questions in brief.

1. Define the terms food chain and food web.

Ans- Food Chain: - The interdependence of plants and animals on
each other for food, forms a food chain.
Food Web: - Interconnection of different food chains in nature.
2. Name the different layers of the forest.
Ans- The different layers of the forest are-
1. Forest floor
2. Understorey
3. Canopy
4. Emergent layer
3. Give the meaning of Soil Erosion.
Ans- Soil Erosion- The removal of the top soil by the agents such
as wind and water.
4. Name the useful products that are provided to us by the forests.
Ans- The useful products of forest are- Paper, timber, fuel wood,
medicine and fodder.
5. Name any four trees that are common to the Indian sub-
continent.
Ans- Teak tree, Neem, Banyan, Eucalyptus and deodar.
E. Answer the following questions.
1. Comment on the statement: “Early man began his life as a
forest dweller.”
Ans- Human beings began life on earth as forest dwellers. They
were food gatherers and depend on the forest for all their needs:
food, clothing and shelter. They gradually became food growers,
clearing small patches in forest, to grow their food. But they
continued to depend on forests for their requirements of daily life.
 2. How are the shapes of crowns of trees, and their location on
earth, related to each other?
Ans- The shape of crowns of trees has a lot to do with where it
is located. If a tree is located nearer to equator, the noon-time sun is
almost directly overhead all the year round. Tall trees, with flat
treetops are very common in this part of the world because the flat
shape helps expose of their leaves to the direct overhead sunlight.
Up near the arctic circle,the sun is never directly overhead and is
usually quite low in the sky. Trees in this part of the world tend to be
cone-shaped(like the pine trees).This helps their leaves from the top
of the tree to its bottom to make the most of the available sunlight.
3. State any five points highlighting the importance of forest to
mankind.
Ans- Forests are important because they
1. Forests maintain the ecological balance in nature.
2. Forests are habitat for the living organisms.
3. Forests improve moisture content of the atmosphere.
4. Forests are reservoirs of the oxygen.
5. They prevent soil erosion, harvest rainwater naturally and
maintain soil fertility.
4. Discuss in brief, the likely consequences of deforestation.
Ans- The consequences of deforestation are-
i. Carbon Cycle- Forest act as a major carbon store. Carbon
dioxide gas is taken up from the atmosphere by the trees and
plants and used for photosynthesis. When forests are cleared,
and trees are either burnt or allowed to rot, carbon gets
released in the form of CO2 gas. It increases the atmospheric
CO2 concentration.Carbon dioxide gas is a major contributor to
the greenhouse effect.
 ii. The water Cycle- Trees draw ground water up through their
roots and release it into the atmosphere through
transpiration. In amazon, Over half of all water circulating
through the region’s ecosystem, remains within the plants.
With removal of a part of the forest the region cannot hold as
much water. The effects of this could be a drier climate.
iii. Soil erosion- With the loss of a protective cover of vegetation
more soil gets lost.
iv.Silting of water courses, lakes and dams- This occurs as a result
of soil erosion.
v. Extinction of Species- The existence of animals and plants
depends on the forests. Forests contain more than half of all
the living species on our planet.
5. How are the Eucalyptus tree, Teak tree and Neem tree important
for us?
Ans- Eucalyptus Tree- Eucalyptus is mainly used as the pulpwood
in the manufacture of the paper.
Teak Tree- It is mainly used in making of furniture and doors.
Teak has medicinal value.
Neem Tree- It is a useful tree in rehabilitating the waste land
areas. It has good medicinal value.

EXTRA QUESTIONS
1. Name two components of a forest and discuss their
interdependence on each other.
Ans- The two components of forest are-
i. Biotic (Living)Components
ii. Abiotic(non-living) Components
The living part of forest include trees,shrubs,vines,grasses
and other herbaceous
plants,mosses,algae,fungi,insects,mammals,birds,reptiles,a
mphibians and many microorganism, which live on the
 plants and animals as well as in the soil. The non-living
components of the forest include the soil, water and
minerals. The different living, and non-living parts of the
forest interact with one another.
2. Write the role of decomposer.
Ans- Decomposers, such as bacteria, fungi, and some worms,
are especially important members of food chains and food
webs in the forest habitats. Their role is to break down the
rough, woody fibres of trees, thus, enabling the nutrient cycle
to begin all over again.
3. A forest is able to function as an independent unit. Justify this
statement.
Ans- This is so because there is no direct addition of fertilisers
and seeds or food and water, for animals. Within a forest
materials move in a continuous nutrient cycle, along a food
chain, and through a food web that goes from plants to plant
eaters then to meat eaters and then to decomposers and
again back to plants.
4. Name the following-
i. Miracle tree
ii. Immortal tree
iii. Evergreen tree
iv. Golden Shower tree
v. Sorrow less
vi. Indian laburnum
vii. Tree worshipped by Buddhists and hindus
viii. Uppermost layer of a forest.
Ans-
i. Neem tree
ii. Banyan tree
iii. Eucalyptus tree
iv. Amaltas tree
v. Ashoka tree
vi. Amaltas tree
vii. Sal tree
viii. Emergent layer