What if it Finishes ...? Class 5 Notes EVS Chapter 12

A Bus Journey

A group of school kids were going on a trip to Adalaj step well, about 18kms from Ahmedabad. While on the road, they started counting different types of vehicles like motorcycles, cars, and bikes. Suddenly, their driver stopped at a red signal, causing all the vehicles to honk and emit smoke as they accelerated. This smoke made people cough and feel suffocated. It happened because of too many vehicles emitting exhaust fumes, which polluted the air and made it hard to breathe.

On the Petrol Pump

• The bus stopped at a petrol pump for fuel. All the children from the bus got down since there was a long queue.
• The children noticed many posters and banners on the petrol pump saying “Petrol and diesel do not last long, save for your children”, “Off of the engine when you stop the car”.
• The children were surprised to see such sayings and asked about the same to an uncle who works at the petrol pump.
• The man explained to the children that petrol is a natural resource and is available only in certain places. We have to use them wisely without wasting them since they form very slowly.
• It requires a pump to extract the petrol from the ground. 
• While the discussion was going on Abraham asked if petrol gets exhausted then how will the vehicles run in the future to that Manju replied CNG can be used as an alternative that produces little pollution but is found in less quantity.
• Divya shared her grandmother’s thoughts. Her grandmother used to say if only two people are travelling in a car, they can use the bus so that it will minimize the pollution.
• Manju told her friends in the future she would develop a car that will run in the presence of sunlight so that it can reduce pollution.

Wood for Chulha

• Durga, who lives in a village in Haryana, spends half a day collecting wood for cooking. Even her daughter helps her in collecting wood.
• For the past three months, she has been suffering from a severe cough due to the smoke developed from burning damp wood.
• Approximately two-thirds (2/3) of the people in our country now use uple, wood, and dried twigs, among other things. These are used for a variety of purposes, including keeping warm, heating water, and lighting.

Summary of What if it Finishes. . .?

• The chapter what if it finishes…? Strongly put forth the issue of natural resources.
• Petrol is naturally found on the Earth’s surface. But it takes millions of years to be formed.
• Due to the availability of the limited resources we have to start conserving them.  
• The different forms of petroleum include petrol, diesel, CNG, LPG, etc. These different forms of petroleum are used in different types of vehicles.
• Even now in villages cow dung and dry wood are used as a form of fuel for cooking.
• The resources that can be renewed should be utilized more. In the last twenty years, the utilization of LPG has gone very high.

The Theme of the Chapter

• The chapter talks about the conservation of natural resources for future generations.
• The chapter emphasizes the use of alternative resources for petroleum.
• It also talks about methods to save the resource so that it will last long.
• The chapter puts light on the disadvantages of using wood as fuel for cooking.

Facts to Remember

• A building known as an oil refinery transforms crude oil into different usable petroleum products like gasoline, kerosene, or jet fuel.
• Although many integrated oil businesses will provide both extraction and refining services, refining is considered a downstream activity in the oil and gas sector.
• Petroleum-based products are used to power vehicles, heat buildings, and generate energy.
• Plastics, polyurethane, solvents, and countless more intermediate and finished commodities are produced by the petrochemical industry in the industrial sector using petroleum as a raw ingredient (a feedstock).
• Cars, buses, trucks, tractors, railroads, and generators all run on diesel. Additionally, it is used to power equipment in manufacturing.
• Frequently, diesel fuel is used to power vehicles like trucks and boats.