Our Environment-Question Bank PDF

QUESTION BANK IN BIOLOGY Page 1
OUR ENVIRONMENT
1. Why are some substances biodegradable and some non-biodegradable?
-Substances which can be decomposed and broken down to simpler substances by micro-organisms
acting on it is called bio-degradable
- Substances which cannot be acted upon by microorganisms and are not broken down into simpler
substances are called non-biodegradable substances.
2. Distinguish biodégradable and non biodégradable substances with examples.

Biodegradable wastes/substances Non-Biodegradable wastes /substance
They are decomposed into harmless

They are not degraded by soil microorganisms
substances by microorganisms
They are biological in origin They are commonly man-made
They pile up and accumulate in nature[
They do not accumulate in nature and
soluble non-biodegradable wastes enter food
doesn’t show biomagnification
chain and show biomagnification]
vegetables, fruits, pulses, cereals, cotton, -polythene bags, plastics, synthetic fibres,
jute, wool, wood, leather, paper, animal glass, metals, synthetic rubber, insecticides,
dung, animal bones etc. pesticides etc
3. Give any two ways in which bio-degradable substances would affect the environment.
1) Produce foul gases and pollute the environment
2) Provide a breeding ground for many pathogens and spread diseases.
4. Give any two ways in which non-biodegradable substances would affect the
environment.
1) Chock sewer systems/drains resulting in water logging and hence water borne diseases;
2) Being inert, may persist in environment for a long-time causing pollution and harms to our eco-
system.
3) kill micro-organisms;
4) Pesticides substances like DDT, BHC enter in the food chain and cause biomagnification
5. Define an “ecosystem”. Mention its components

An ecosystem consists of all the living organisms in an area along with the non living components
and their interaction.
6. Give examples for natural and artificial ecosystems.

• Natural ecosystems: - forests, deserts, grass lands, mountains, ponds, lakes, rivers, oceans
• Artificial ecosystems: - like gardens, parks, crop fields, aquarium, zoo etc.
7. Why do we need to clean an aquarium but not a pond?

• An aquarium is an artificial system which is also incomplete due to absence of producers,
food chains and decomposers.
• There is no recycling and self-cleaning. However, a pond or a lake is a self-sustained, natural
and complete ecosystem where there is perfect recycling of nutrients
•
8. List the biotic components of an ecosystem.
-Biotic components are the living components like plants, animals and microorganisms.
9. Why green plants are called the producers of an ecosystem?

-produce food by photosynthesis and support the animals .
10. Who are the consumers in an ecosystem? How are they categorised ?
- organisms which consume the food produced, either directly from producers or indirectly by
feeding on other consumers are the consumers.
-Include
Department of Biology [ 9 & 10 Boys ],The Indian High School, Dubai
OUR ENVIRONMENT
✓ herbivores which get their food directly from plants
✓ carnivores which get their food indirectly from plants and
✓ omnivores which get their food directly or indirectly from plants
11. List the abiotic components of an ecosystem.

Abiotic components are the non-living components like air, water, soil, minerals, sunlight,
temperature, wind, rainfall etc.
12. What is a food chain ? Give examples of terrestrial and aquatic food chains.
- The entire series of organisms through which food [energy] gets transferred in an ecosystem by
the process of eating and being eaten is called food chain.
- They usually start with a producer (plants) and end with a carnivore
13. What are trophic levels? Give an example of a food chain and state the different trophic
levels in it.
The various levels or stages in a food chain at which the transfer of food takes place is called
trophic level, e.g., food chain.
Grass → Grasshopper → frog → snake → peacock
Trophic level 1 2 3 4 5
Organism Grass Grasshopper Frog Snake Peacock
Role : Producer Primary Secondary Tertiary Tertiary
consumer consumer consumer consumer
14. What are decomposers ? What is the role of decomposers in the ecosystem?
Decomposers are microorganisms like bacteria and fungi which decompose dead plants and
animals
Role of decomposers :
i. Decompose complex organic substances into simple inorganic substances in the soil , thus
releasing nutrients into soil
ii. Keep the environment clean
iii. Add humus to the soil that increase the water holding capacity of soil
iv. Help in recycling of nutrients[ play role in biogeochemical cycles]
15. The number of trophic levels in the food chain is restricted. Why?
✓ Loss of food energy at each transfer- only 10 per cent of the energy is transferred to each
trophic level from the lower trophic level
✓ Food is not completely utilized by an organism at a particular trophic level. Some part of
the food goes as waste.
✓ A large amount of energy is used in respiration and lost as heat
The loss of energy at each step is so great that very little usable energy
remains after four trophic levels.
16. List the basic principles of energy flow in an ecosystem.

1. Energy flow is unidirectional- . The energy that is captured by the autotrophs does not revert
back to the solar input and the energy which passes to the herbivores does not come back to
autotrophs.
OUR ENVIRONMENT
2. The energy available at each trophic level gets diminished progressively due to loss of energy at
each level.
17. Explain the 10 percent law with

suitable illustrations.
“ During the transfer of food energy from one

trophic level to the next, 90% of the energy is
lost to the environment and only 10% is
transferred to the next trophic level.”
- Raymond Lindeman (1942)
- Green plants (producers) absorb about 1%
of solar energy falling on the leaves and store
it as food energy during photosynthesis.
- Ways of energy loss:

1. Energy lost as heat into environment
2. Energy used for digestion
3. Energy used for growth and reproduction
18. What is a food web? Explain its

significance .
Food web is a group of several interconnected food chains. In a food web an organism gets food
from more than one group of organisms.
Importance of food web
(i) Starvation: Food web does not allow any population to starve when members of lower trophic
level decrease in number.
(ii) Checking Overpopulation: Food web does not allow a species to overgrow as increased
availability will increase the chance of higher number of its predations.
(iii) Stability : Food webs provide stability to ecosystems.
19. What is biological magnification? Illustrate with an example

✓ It is the increase in the amount of non-biodegradable toxicants that accumulate in the food
chain at each trophic level.
✓ Cause :-This occurs due to the inability of an organism to metabolize or excrete the
accumulated toxicant, thus passing it to the next trophic level.
✓ Example: Use of pesticides on crops → washed down into water bodies/soil→ absorbed by
plants/reach aquatic animals and plants → get accumulated and enter food chain→ each
humans, as we occupy the top level in food chain
As human beings occupy the top level in any food chain, the maximum concentration
of these chemicals get accumulated in our bodies.
Food grains such as rice and wheat, vegetables and fruits and even meat contain
varying amount of pesticide residues due to biological magnification.
20. What is ozone and how does it affect any ecosystem?

Ozone is a molecule of oxygen with 3 atoms its
formula is O3. The ultra violet radiations split
oxygen into free oxygen atoms, these atoms
combine with oxygen molecules to form ozone.

OUR ENVIRONMENT
Function : The ozone layer present in the higher layer of the atmosphere protects the earth from
the harmful UV radiation from the sun.
Harmful effects of UV radiation :

1. It causes aging of skin, cataract, damage to skin cells and various types of skin cancers.
2. UV B damages DNA and proteins →leads to mutations
3. Decrease the productivity of crop plants.
21. “Damage to the ozone layer is a cause of concern”. Justify the statement. List any two
steps to limit this damage .
Two steps to limit this damage

(i) Judicious use of aerosol spray propellants such as fluorocarbons and chlorofluorocarbons
which cause depletion of ozone layer
(ii) Control over large scale nuclear explosions and limited use of supersonic planes.
The Montreal Protocol [Initiated by United Nations Environment Programme( UNEP) ] on

substances that deplete the Ozone Layer is an international treaty designed to protect the ozone
layer by phasing out the production of several substances believed to be responsible for ozone
depletion. The treaty was opened for signature on September 16, 1987 and entered into force on
January 1, 1989.
22. How can you help in reducing the problem of waste disposal? Give any two methods.
To reduce the. problem of waste disposal we can
• Segregate the. bio-degradable waste from non-biodegradable waste before dumping it.
• Remove all materials which can be recycled and send it for recycling. e.g., paper, glass,
23. ‘Reuse’ strategy is better than ‘recycling’. Explain

- Reusing any waste does not require energy and no pollution is produced.
- While a lot of energy is required to melt the plastic cans then make them some other usable
items. Many harmful gases are also released during recycling a plastic waste.
24. List the advantages of using disposable paper cups over disposable plastic cups
(i) Paper cups are biodegradable-decomposed automatically by the action of micro-organisms in
due cause of time
(ii) Paper cups can even be disposed off by burning without causing much air pollution. On the
other hand, burning of plastic cups produce toxic gases which cause air pollution.
25. List the advantages of using cloth bags.

(i) Cloth bags are more durable and can be used again and again (reused).
(ii) They are made of biodegradable material so do not pollute the environment on disposal.
26. List few methods of garbage disposal

i) Land fills
ii) Recycling
iii) Production of biogas and manure
iv) Preparation of compost
v) Incineration
vi) Sewage treatment

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QUESTION BANK IN BIOLOGY Page 1

2. Distinguish biodégradable and non biodégradable substances with examples.

They are decomposed into harmless

5. Define an “ecosystem”. Mention its components

6. Give examples for natural and artificial ecosystems.

7. Why do we need to clean an aquarium but not a pond?

9. Why green plants are called the producers of an ecosystem?

11. List the abiotic components of an ecosystem.

16. List the basic principles of energy flow in an ecosystem.

17. Explain the 10 percent law with

“ During the transfer of food energy from one

- Ways of energy loss:

18. What is a food web? Explain its

19. What is biological magnification? Illustrate with an example

20. What is ozone and how does it affect any ecosystem?

Department of Biology [ 9 & 10 Boys ],The Indian High School, Dubai

Harmful effects of UV radiation :

Two steps to limit this damage

The Montreal Protocol [Initiated by United Nations Environment Programme( UNEP) ] on

23. ‘Reuse’ strategy is better than ‘recycling’. Explain

25. List the advantages of using cloth bags.

26. List few methods of garbage disposal

Department of Biology [ 9 & 10 Boys ],The Indian High School, Dubai

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