CHAPTER: OUR ENVIRONMENT

1. Why is the maximum concentration of pesticides found in human beings?

Answer:
The pesticides are not biodegradable, they get accumulated progressively at each trophic level. As
human beings occupy the topmost level in food chain, their concentration becomes maximum in our
bodies.

2. Give one method which could be applied to reduce our intake of pesticides through food to some
extent.
Answer:
By using biological methods for controlling insects in fields and by washing fruits and vegetables
before eating could help to reduce our intake of pesticides through food to some extent.

3. What is an ecosystem?
Answer:
An ecosystem is defined as a structural and functional unit of the biosphere. It comprises of living
organisms and their non-living environment that interact by means of food chains and biogeo-
chemical cycles resulting in energy-flow, biotic diversity and material cycling to form stable self-
supporting system.

4. In the following food chain, plants provide 500 J of energy to rats. How much energy will be
available to hawks from snakes?
Plants → Rats → Snakes → Hawks
Answer:
In an ecosystem, only 10% of energy is transferred from one trophic level to next, i.e. 10 percent
law and rest is dissipated into the environment. Therefore, if plants (being producers-1st trophic
level)-transfer 500 J of energy to rats (2nd trophic level) then rats would transfer 50 J of energy to
snakes (3rd trophic level) which in turn will transfer only 5 J of energy to hawks (4th or last trophic
level) in a food chain.

5. In the following food chain, 100 J of energy is available to the lion. How much energy was
available to the producers?
Plants → Deer → Lion
Answer:
As per 10% law of flow of energy in an ecosystem only 10% of energy is received by the next
trophic level. Hence, in the given food chain : If 100 .J of energy is available to lion, the plants or
producers have 10,000 J of energy available to them.

6. Why do producers always occupy the first trophic level in every food chain?
Answer:
Producers are the green plants that can manufacture food using CO2 and H2O in the presence of
sunlight, i.e., they are autotrophs. They serve as a source of food for all non-producers or consumers
directly or indirectly. Hence, producers occupy the first trophic level in a food chain.
7. What are decomposers? List two important roles they play in the environment.
Answer:
Decomposers are microorganisms including bacteria and fungi which decompose or break-down the
complex organic compound present in dead plants and animals into simpler substances. Role of
decomposers in environment are-
• They help in decomposing dead bodies of plants and animals and hence act as cleansing agents
of environment.
• They help in recycling of materials in the ecosystem lo maintain its stability.

8. State with reason any two possible consequences of elimination of decomposers from the earth.
Answer:
Consequences of elimination of decomposers are:
(i) There would be no recycling of nutrients and therefore, raw materials to produce food will not be
available to producers. Hence, the food chains will get affected.
(ii) The dead bodies of plants and animals will go on accumulating in the absence of decomposition
thereby polluting the environment.

9. What is meant by trophic level in a food chain? Construct a terrestrial food chain with trophic
levels. The energy flow in a food chain is always unidirectional. Why?
Answer:
The various steps representing organisms in a food chain at which the transfer of food and energy
takes place are called trophic levels.
Four trophic levels in a terrestrial food chain:
Grass → Rabbit → Wild cat → Tiger
There is a unidirectional flow of energy from sun to producers and subsequently to series of
different types of consumers, i.e.,
Solar radiations → Producers → Herbivores → Carnivores
It cannot pass in reverse direction, there is always a decrease in the flow of energy and content with
rise in trophic level. Large quantity of energy is lost at each step in the form of heat and is also used
up in various metabolic activities.

10. What is meant by food chain? “The number of trophic levels in a food chain is limited.” Give
reason to justify this statement.
Answer:
The sequence of living organisms in a community in which one organism consumes or feeds upon
another organism to transfer food energy, is called a food chain. The various steps in a food chain at
which the transfer of food (or energy) takes place are called trophic levels. In fact, in a food chain,
each step representing an organism forms a trophic level.

The number of trophic levels in a food chain are limited because at each trophic level only 10% of
energy is utilised for the maintenance of organism which occur at that trophic level and the
remaining large portion is lost as heat. As a result organisms at each trophic level pass on lesser
energy to the next trophic level, than they receive. The longer the food chain, the lesser is the
energy available to the final member of food chain. Food chains generally consist of three or four
trophic levels because beyond that the energy available to the next organism will be too small and
insufficient to sustain the life of that organism.
11. The depletion of ozone layer is a cause of concern. Why?
Answer:
Ozone layer is the ozone rich area in the stratospheric layer of atmosphere which acts as a
protective shield by preventing harmful UV radiations from entering the Earth surface. Hence, the
depletion of ozone layer is a cause of concern.

12. Why is excessive use of CFCs a cause of concern?

Answer:
CFCs or Chlorofluorocarbons are potent compounds that release active chlorine in the atmosphere
which reacts with ozone molecules present there to convert them to oxygen. This results in thinning
of ozone layer. Hence, excessive use of CFCs is a cause of concern.

13. What is the function of ozone in the upper atmosphere?

Answer:
Ozone (O3) gas forms a protective shield in the upper atmosphere that absorbs most of the harmful
ultraviolet radiations coming from Sun that can harm human beings, animals and plants. It protects
us from various health hazards.

14. Why should biodegradable and non- biodegradable wastes be discarded in two separate dustbins?
Answer:
Biodegradable wastes are decomposed naturally by the action of microbes which degrade them to
their simple constituents enabling their nutrients to recycle among the biotic and abiotic
components of ecosystem. However, non-biodegradable wastes cannot be disposed of naturally
since they cannot be decomposed by microbes. Such wastes are either recycled, incinerated, or put
in landfills, etc. As the disposal methods of the two types of waste is different, it is advisable to
discard the two types of waste in two separate dustbins.

15. “Affluent life style has a negative effect on the environment.” Justify this statement with the help of
an example.
Answer:
With the advancement in technology over time, there has been improvement in lifestyle of people.
Such changes in people’s lives have also changed their attitudes. When people have more resources
at their end they tend to overuse and misuse it thereby generating huge amounts of waste material.
For example, the affluent life style has forced people to start using more of disposable articles, e.g.,
plastic cups, bags, etc., which keep on accumulating in the environment and lie undecomposed,
therein negatively a Heeling the environment.
Similarly, excessive use of refrigerators and air conditioners, plastic foams, etc., also releases high
quantities of CFCs which are responsible for ozone depletion.