Q. 1. Mention any two sources of water pollutants created by humans.
Ans. (i) Sewage disposal.
(ii) Urban run-off.
(iii) Toxic effluents from industries.
(iv) Run-off over cultivated lands and nuclear power plants.
Q. 2. What is the criterion for the classification of pollution?
Ans. Different types of pollution are classified on the basis of medium through which pollutants are transported and diffused.
Q. 3. Mention the root cause of ‘acid rain.’
OR
What source of pollution is responsible for acid rain?
Ans. Causes of acid rain are:
(i) Air pollution.
(ii) Urban smog due to automobiles.
Q. 4. Mention any two main sources of land pollution in India.
Ans. The sources of land pollution in India are:
(i) Untreated industrial wastes.
(ii) Excessive use of pesticides and fertilisers.
Q. 5. Describe the two main sources of noise pollution in India.
Ans. (i) Industries and factories.
(ii) Mechanised construction works.
(iii) Automobiles.
Q. 6. Mention any two sources of water pollution in India.
Ans. (i) Toxic effluents from industries. (ii) Sewage disposal in rivers without detoxification.
Q. 7. Name any two diseases that are caused by air pollution.
OR
Which diseases are caused due to air pollution?
Ans. (i) Diseases related to respiratory system like asthma.
(ii) Allergies.
Q. 8. Name any two natural sources of water pollutants.
Ans. (i) Erosion.
(ii) Landslides.
Q. 9. Name the two metropolitan cities which are the main polluters of the River Ganga before it reaches Varanasi.
Ans. Kanpur and Allahabad.
Q. 10. ‘Urban waste disposal is a serious problem in India.’ Suggest any two measures that we as citizens can take to solve this problem of urban waste.
Ans. (i) As concerned citizens, we should ensure that there are proper waste disposal bins provided by the municipality.
(ii) We can also segregate the wet and dry waste.
(iii) Strict laws can be made and fines can be issued for not disposing waste in the required manner.
Q. 11. What does solid waste refer to?
Ans. Solid waste refers to a variety of old and used articles. For example, stained small pieces of metals, broken etc., dumped at different places.
Q. 12. Name the diseases caused due to polluted water.
Ans. Diarrhoea, intestinal worms and hepatitis.
Q. 13. Which stretch of Yamuna is most polluted?
Ans. Delhi to Etawah.
Q. 14. Mention any two sources of water pollution by human beings in India.
Ans. The two sources of water pollution by human beings in India are as follows:
(i) The urban sources of polluted water and sewage, municipal and domestic garbage that is disposed into the water.
(ii) The disposal of industrial effluents into the running water which makes the water body degraded and poisonous.
Q. 15. Define the term ‘air pollution.’ Explain any two harmful effects of air pollution.
Ans. Air pollution is defined as addition of contaminants like dust, fumes, gas, fog, odour, smoke or vapour to the air in large proportion and duration that may have harmful effect.
The harmful effects of air pollution are:
(i) It causes various diseases related
(ii) It causes urban smog which has adverse effect on respiratory system.
(iii) It can cause acid rain which can damage flora, fauna and property.
Q. 16. What values can help in maintaining pollution free air?
Ans. Values which can help in maintaining pollution free air:
(i) Air pollution is harmful for environment and mankind; therefore, it is our responsibility to save air from pollution.
(ii) People should be aware of the harmful effects of air pollution.
(iii) People should feel duty bound to save air.
(iv) People must follow rules for saving air.
(v) We must use eco-friendly, non-conventional sources of energy (solar, biogas and wind energy) as conventional sources (coal, oil and gas) are harmful.
(vi) People should feel duty bound to use public transport.
Q. 17. Urban waste disposal in major metropolitan cities of India has become a major cause of concern in recent years. How can we overcome this problem?
Ans. Urban waste disposal is a serious problem in India.
(i) In metropolitan cities like Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru, etc., about 90 per cent of the solid waste is collected and disposed.
(ii) In most of other cities and towns in the country, about 30 to 50 per cent of the waste generated are left uncollected which accumulate in streets, in open spaces between houses and in wastelands leading to serious health hazards.
(iii) These wastes should be treated as resource and utilised for generating energy and compost. Untreated wastes ferment slowly and release toxic biogas to the atmosphere, including methane.
Q. 18. “The urban waste should be properly treated as a resource for various needs of mankind.” Explain the values that can help in changing the urban waste into resources.
Ans. The values that can help in changing the urban waste into resources are:
(i) Creating awareness: Societies should be made aware for using the urban waste in the productive use for example: kitchen and garden waste can be converted into compost. Sewage can be used to produce biogas.
(ii) To evolve the new techniques: Innovative production techniques should be used such as waste exchanges process in which the waste product of one process becomes the raw material for a next process. Waste exchange process will help to use waste which is difficult to eliminate. For example:
In the manufacturing of soap, glycerine will be extracted from the waste.
(iii) Caring attitude towards urban waste: The urban waste should be treated with care as scraps can be used at the beginning of the manufacturing process so that they do not become a waste product. For example: Paper mills use the damaged rolls to the beginning of the production line, the metal and plastic items can be incorporated into new products.
Q. 19. What is noise pollution? Explain any four sources of noise pollution.
Ans. Noise pollution refers to the state of unbearable and uncomfortable noise to human beings which is caused by noise from different sources. In recent years, noise pollution has become a serious problem.
The following sources are mainly responsible for noise pollution:
(i) Factories
(ii) Mechanised construction and demolition works
(iii) Automobiles
(iv) Aircrafts
(v) Sirens
(vi) Loudspeakers.
Of all the sources, the biggest nuisance is the noise pollution by traffic. Its intensity and nature depends upon the type of vehicle, trains and the condition of road as well as that of vehicles. In sea traffic, noise pollution is confined to the harbour due to loading and unloading activities being carried, thus creating noise.
Q. 20. Explain the consequences of air pollution.
Ans. Consequences of air pollution are:
(i) Air pollution causes various diseases related to respiratory, nervous and circulatory systems.
(ii) Smog in urban areas is caused by atmospheric pollution. It is very harmful to human health.
(iii) Air pollution can also cause acid rain which is very harmful for flora, fauna and property.
Q. 21. How is environmental pollution caused? Mention any four types of pollution responsible for the environmental degradation.
Ans. Environmental pollution is the introduction of contamination into the natural environment that causes adverse change. Pollution can take the form of chemical substances or energy such as noise, heat or light.
Types of pollutions:
(i) Air pollution
(ii) Water pollution
(iii) Land pollution
(iv) Noise pollution
Q. 22. How do industries pollute India’s water bodies? Explain with example.
OR
Explain with examples how the industries are responsible for polluting water resources in India?
Ans. Industries are the main source of water pollution. They produces pollutants such as wastes, polluted waste water, poisonous gases, chemical residues, numerous heavy metals, dust, smoke, etc., that are extremely harmful to the people and the environment. Many industrial facilities use fresh water to dispose waste from the plant into the rivers, lakes and oceans by directly or indirectly discharging pollutants into water bodies without adequate treatment. Pollution affects the entire biosphere including plants and organisms living in these water bodies. Major polluting industries are leather, pulp and paper, textiles and chemicals.
Q. 23. Why is the ‘urban waste disposal’ a serious problem in India? Explain any three reasons.
OR
Analyse three problems arising as a result of urban waste disposal.
OR
Explain any three major problems associated with urban waste disposal in India.
OR
Mention major problems associated with waste disposal in India.
OR
Write four problems regarding urban waste disposal in India.
Ans. (i) Localized environmental health problems such as inadequate household water and sanitation and indoor air pollution.
(ii) City-regional environmental problems such as ambient air pollution, inadequate water management and pollution of rivers, lakes and coastal areas.
(iii) Extra-urban impacts of urban activities such as ecological disruption and resource depletion in a city’s hinterland and emissions of acid precursors and greenhouse gases.
(iv) Regional or global environmental burdens that arise from activities outside a city’s boundaries, but which will affect people living in the city.
Q. 24. Explain any three effects of air pollution on human life.
Ans. (i) Respiratory and heart problems: The effects of air pollution are alarming. They are known to create several respiratory and heart conditions along with cancer, among other threats to the body. Several millions are known to have died due to direct or indirect effects of air pollution.
(ii) Global warming: Another direct effect is the immediate alterations that the world is witnessing due to global warming.
With increased temperatures worldwide, increase in sea levels and melting of ice from colder regions and icebergs, displacement and loss of habitat have already signalled an impending disaster if actions for preservation and normalisation aren’t undertaken soon.
(iii) Acid rain: Harmful gases like nitrogen oxides and sulphur oxides are released into the atmosphere during the burning of fossil fuels. When it rains, the water droplets combine with these air pollutants, becomes acidic and then fall on the ground in the form of acid rain. Acid rain can cause damage to human, animals and crops.
Q. 25. Explain any three human causes of air pollution in India.
Ans. Air pollution in India are caused by the following factors:
(i) Large scale burning of fossil fuels such as coal, diesel, petrol products, harmful greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, oxides of nitrogen and sulphur. This has mainly resulted from the increasing industrial activity and the strive for economic development in India.
(ii) Automobile emissions contain harmful smoke and poisonous gases that have resulted in increase in the percentage of greenhouse gases and play a significant role in air pollution.
(iii) The growing demand for energy resources have resulted in the burning of atomic fuels in the atomic plants. This emits heat and poisonous gases which pollutes the air in various ways.
Q. 26. Describe any three major problems related to water in India.
Ans. Water related problems in India:
(i) Indiscriminate use of water by increasing population.
(ii) Industrial expansion has led to the degradation of the quality of water.
(iii) Per capita availability of water is decreasing due to increasing population.
(iv) The available water resources are getting polluted with industrial agricultural and domestic effluents.
(v) Increasing demand of water in various sectors.
Q. 27. Explain the three sources, responsible for water pollution by human beings in India.
Ans. The three sources, responsible for water pollution by human beings in India are:
(i) Industries produce several undesirable products including industrial wastes, polluted waste water, poisonous gases, chemical residuals, numerous heavy metals, etc.
(ii) Agricultural run-off resulting in high levels of micro-pollutants in the various types of chemicals used in modern agriculture such as inorganic fertilisers, pesticides and herbicides. These chemicals are washed down to rivers, lakes and tanks. These chemicals also infiltrate the soil to reach the groundwater.
(iii) Cultural activities such as pilgrimage, religious fairs, tourism, etc., also cause water pollution.
Q. 28. Describe the major sources of air pollution.
Ans. The major sources of air pollution are:
(i) The combustion of coal, oil, gas and other fuels for generating electricity.
(ii) The burning of gasoline, diesel and other fuels for transportation.
(iii) Emission from various industrial processes, burning of wood and other fuels for heating and cooking.
Q. 29. What is the difference between pollution and pollutants?
Ans.
Q. 30. Read the passage carefully and answer the questions that follows:
Dharavi-Asia’s Largest Slum
“....Buses merely skirt the periphery. Autorickshaws cannot go there; Dharavi is part of central Bombay where three wheelers are banned. Only one main road traverses the slum, the miscalled ‘ninety-foot road,’ which has been reduced to less than half of that for most of its length. Some of the side alleys and lanes are so narrow that not even a bicycle can pass. The whole neighbourhood consists of temporary buildings, two or three storied high with rusty iron stairways to the upper part, where a single room is rented by a whole family, sometimes accommodating twelve or more people; it is a kind of tropical version of the industrial dwelling of Victorian London’s East End.
But Dharavi is a keeper of more sombre secrets that the revulsion it inspires in the rich; a revulsion, moreover, that is,in direct proportion to the role it serves in the creation of the wealth of Bombay.
In this place of shadowless, treeless sunlight, uncollected garbage, stagnant pools of foul water, where the only non-human creatures are the shining black crows and long grey rats, some of the most beautiful, valuable and useful articles in india are made. From Dharavi come delicate ceramics and pottery, exquisite embroidery and zari work, sophisticated leather goods, high fashion garments, finely-wrought metalwork, delicate jewellery settings, wood garments, wood carvings and furniture that would find its way into the richest houses, both in India and abroad...
Dharavi was an arm of the sea, that was filled by waste, largely produced by the people who have come to live there: Scheduled Castes and poor Muslims. It comprises rambling building of corrugated metal, 20 metres high in places, used for the treatment of hides and tanning. There are pleasant parts, but rotting garbage is everywhere...”
(i) Justify the statement, “slum dwellers need help in making the transition from inhabitants of precarious urban settlements to citizens with full human rights and civic responsibilities.”
(ii) Find out the values associated with it.
Ans. (i) The slums are a manifestation of mismanaged urban planning. Adequate and efficient policies of the government will help in transition from inhabitants of precarious urban settlements to citizens with full human rights and civic responsibilities. The citizens also need to be ready to accept this transition of the slum dwellers.
(ii) Values associated:
(a) Right to safe and clean environment.
(b) Respect human and fellow citizens equally.
(c) Right to equality.
Q. 31. ‘‘Indiscriminate use of water by increasing population and industrial expansion has led to degradation of the water quality considerably in India.’’ Explain the values that can help in maintaining the quality of water.
Ans. The Values that can help in maintaining the quality of water:
(i) Judicious / optimum use of water
(ii) Controlling population
(iii) Recycle and reuse of water
(iv) Watershed Management
(v) Rainwater harvesting
(vi) Rules and regulations
(vii) Any other relevant point
Q. 32. Define the term ‘migration.’
Ans. Movement of the people for the specific purpose from one place to another in the country or to foreign country is called as migration.
Q. 33. Give the meaning of the term ‘slum.’
Ans. Slums are residential areas of the least choice, dilapidated houses, poor hygienic conditions, poor ventilation, lack of basic amenities like drinking water, light and toilet facilities, etc.
Q. 34. Why do people migrate in large number from rural to urban areas in India?
Ans. In India, people migrate from rural to urban areas mainly due to variety of factors such as social, economic and political factors which are:
(i) Employment.
(ii) Lack of basic infrastructure facilities, i.e., education, healthcare.
Q. 35. What type of people live in slums?
Ans. Slums are inhabited by those people who were forced to migrate from the rural areas to these urban centres in search of livelihood but could not afford proper housing due to high rent and high costs of land. They occupy environmentally incompatible and degraded areas.
Q. 36. Name a few types of wastelands.
Ans. There are a few types of wastelands such as gullied/ ravinous land, desertic or coastal sands, barren rocky areas, steep sloping land, and glacial areas, which are primarily caused by natural agents.
Q. 37. Explain the causes of migration of unskilled migrants from rural to urban areas in India.
Ans. In India, unskilled people migrate from rural to urban areas due to:
(i) Poverty
(ii) More demand of labour in cities
(iii) Better job opportunities
(iv) Lack of basic infrastructure facilities in the rural areas.
(v) There is vast variation in the development of rural and urban areas
Q. 38. Describe any three major problems of slums in India.
OR
Explain any three problems faced by slum dwellers in India.
OR
Describe the problems of slums in India.
Ans. The three problems faced by slum dwellers in India are:
(i) The areas in which they live (dilapidated houses) are overcrowded having narrow street pattern prone to serious hazards from fire.
(ii) Lack of basic amenities like drinking water, light and toilet facilities. They are also faced by poor ventilation and poor hygienic conditions.
(iii) These slums in the nearby areas cause a lot pollution and thus result in health hazards. Since, they have no place to bathe, go to the toilet, wash their clothes, all this daily work is done in the open causing inconvenience to the residents of the areas.
Q. 39. Explain the reasons for the coming up of slums in developing countries like India with suitable examples.
Ans. Slums or ‘’jhuggi-jhopari’ clusters are colonies of shanty structures. These are inhabited by those people who are forced to migrate from the rural areas to these urban centres in search of livelihood but are not able to afford proper housing due to high rents and high costs of land. They occupy environmentally incompatible and degraded areas. Developing countries like India face this problem at a large scale. The example of Dharavi, Asia’s largest slum is a striking example of the same. India has a predominance of rural population that migrates to urban areas in search of jobs but since they are illiterate and unskilled, they end up living in drenched housings in slums.
