Class 10 Geography Chapter 2 Seba Notes |

GEOGRAPHY CHAPTER-2

ENVIRONMENT AND ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS

1. Write in your own words the meaning of environment.

Ans: The condition created by the interaction among the four spheres, ie lithosphere , hydrosphere , atmosphere and biosphere may broadly be called environment. It denotes the condition around an organism or a community of organism and such a condition includes all the necessary elements for survival. These elements are both biotic and abiotic. These biotic and abiotic elements through their interaction create necessary condition or environment for life.

2. Mention some of the biotic and abietic elements of environment. 

Ans: Biotic- Plante, animals, ranging from microbes to large mammals.

Abiotic - Land, water, air including all lifeless objects. 

3. Write the meaning of lithosphere. 

Ans: The Land component of the earth composed of rocks , soils, minerals etc forms the Lithosphere. The lithosphere covers all the contents where we find the mountains chills, plateaus, plains, valleys and coasts. The characteristics of the lithosphere and its change in courses of time depends on the other three coomponents of the earth's environmental system, i.e hydrosphere, atmosphere and bio sphere. 

4 What are the features included in the hydrosphere?

Ans: The features included in the hydrosphere are rivers, lakes and other water bodies distributed in the continents. The status and change in the hydrosphere depend on the states of the lithosphere , atmosphere and biosphere.

5. Write about the composition of the atmosphere. 

Ans: The atmosphere is composed with two elements i.e permanent card temporary elements, Oxygen, Nitrogen , Hydrogen , Carbon- dioxide, Argon etc gases are permanent elements while water vapour smoke, dust particles are temporary elements. 

6. Give an outline of the extent of the biosphere. 

Ans:  The biosphere covers those parts of the earth's environment with life forms occur. These include the earth's surface, down to a few metres from the earth's surface, the seas and oceans and the lowest stratum of the atmosphere where birds and insects fly.

7. Discuss briefly the relation among the four major componentsof environment.

Ans:  The four major components are-

Lithosphere, Hydrosphere, Atmosphere and Biosphere.

These four spheres are interconnected. The condition created by the interaction among the four sphere may be called the environment. The lithosphere comprises the elements of rocks, soils, minerals etc. While hydrosphere contains the whole water body of the world. The atmosphere composes of various important gases. All these elements of these three spheres make the characters of biosphere. That means the biosphere those parts of the earth's environment where life form occur.

The  innumerable elements of four squares through a complicated network of relationships have determined the earth's present environment. The environment is changing both in terms of space and time. Each of the geographical regions of the world has its own characteristics, although they are interrelated. There are regional variations with respect to land, water, climate, natural vegetation and wildlife.

8. Mention the major causes of environmental change. 

Ans:  The major causes of the environmental change are overdoing human activities like human settlement, expansion of agricultural land, growth of industries and urban centres.

Expansion of transport and communication have together disturb the interrelationship among the environmental elements. This has created severe problems in the environmental system.

9. Explain the meaning of environmental problem. 

Ans:  The environment means the combination of four spheres like lithosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere and biosphere. The elements of all these four spheres are the key factors of the constitution of environment. No environmental problem occurs if the quality of the environmental elements and the natural relationship among them remain normal. But at present environment faces various problems due to overgrowing human activities. Factors like spread of human settlement, expansion of agricultural land, growth of industries, expansion of transport and communication have together disturb the interrelationship among the environment elements. This has created the severe problem in the environmental system. The major environmental problems created by these activities are pollution, desertification, global warming etc.

10. Write geographical divisions of the environmental problems. 

Ans:  Environmental problems can be geographically divided into three different areas - Local problems, Regional problems and Global problems.

The local problems may remain confined to small areas. The example of such problem may be the land pollution created by a small scale industry. There are some problems that may occur on a regional basis. The flood problems of the Brahmaputra river, water pollution in a vast industrial region, etc. So there are some another environmental problems that may cover the entire world. Such problems do not have any two graphical area, for example global warming.

11. What is a local environmental problem? Give examples. 

Ans:  At the time passed, the environmental problems are spreading everywhere in the world. Now these problems can be divided into locally, regionally and globally. The local environmental problems may remain confined to a small area. So far as their genesis and spread are concerned, the instances of such problems may be the land pollution created by the small scale industry, water scarcity in winter due to swallowing of wetland, bank erosion problem created by a river, water pollution, land pollution created by a brick industry ,etc.

12. Give two examples of regional environmental problem. 

Ans:  The two examples of regional environmental problems are the flood problem of the river Brahmaputra valley and the water pollution in a vast industrial region.

13. Which problems are considered as global environmental problem? 

Ans:  Global warming, desertification, rise of sea levels, etc. are considered as global environmental problems.

14. Mention the major environmental problems of the world. 

Ans:  The major environmental problems of the world are pollution, desertification, landslide, soil erosion, artificial flood, rise of sea level and global warming. The impact of these problems felt in the lithosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere and atmosphere.

15. Give the meaning of the term pollution. 

Ans:  The process of contamination of the environment by harmful substances is simply called pollution. Many of the man made substances, if added largely to the environment, it may harm to the biotic world. Such substances are generally called pollutants. The major elements of environment - land, water and air being polluted for various reasons may cause hrm to human beings and other life forms.  

16. What is water pollution? How does it occur? 

Ans:  The normal state or quality of water gets changed when certain chemical substances, particles, microbes, radiation are added to or passed through it. The process of such change in water is called water pollution.

Generally, the industrial and urban waastes pollute the water of the river flowing through or by the side of the town. The sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxide present in the atmosphere may cause down in the form of acid rain and pollute the water bodies. The application of the chemical fertilizer, inseticides, pesticides, etc. in the agicultural field disrupts the normal condition of the water covered with that land and cause water pollution.

17. Write a short note on land pollution. 

Ans:  The normal composition or quality of land gets disrupted due to mixing of some harmful, unnecessary substances and form a new process is called land pollution. It is occured when it comes into contact with certain chemicals, poisonous metals, industrial wastes, radioactive substances, acid rain, chemical fertilizer, pesticides used in the agricultural land and so on. Due to land pollution, land looses its natural properties and fertility, this causes the decrease of crop productivity capacity.

18. Write how air is polluted. 

Ans:  The accurate proportion of Nitrogen, Oxygen, Carbon dioxide, Argon gases, etc. keep the atmosphere in a balance in somewhat disturbed, the normal state of the atmosphere may be changed, if certain solid, liquid or gaseous substances are added to the atmosphere by some natural or human processes. If such a change causes some harm to the biotic and abiotic elements, then the atmosphere is said to be polluted.

19. What is a desert? Give the definition of desertification. 

Ans:  A vast landmass where rainfall is scarce but evaporation is more, the entire environment is dry, natural vegetation is also found scarce. Such type of characteristics occuring landmass is called desert.

Desertification is such a process which renders the productive areas of a tropical region a desert like situation. The term desertification however denotes the spread of the desert to this peripheral areas.

20. Mention the causes of desertification.

Ans:  Desertification is caused due to a number of natural and human factors. Among the natural factors drought and global warming are found significant. Among the human factors overgrazing expansion of agriculture and deforestation are important.

21. Is it possible to control desertification?

Ans:  As desertification is linked with the global warming and global warming linked with the air pollution. So the solution of the problems of desertification is now a challenging task for the people of the world. Without international cooperation it will not be possible to resolve this issue. The problem will be more intensive if human activities are directed against nature.

22. What is global warming? Mention its causes. 

Ans:  The gases like carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, water vapour help in increasing the temperature in the atmosphere. The gases normally help in maintaining a balance in the temperature on the earth surface and in the atmosphere. But somehow, the volume of these gases increased which causes the increase of temperature in the atmosphere. This is called global warming. The role of carbon dioxide among all greenhouse gases in global warming is the most significant. We all know that the use of fossil fuels started increasing gradually after the industrial revolution and just to meet the demands of certain industries cutting of trees also increased. As a result, the proportion of carbon dioxide gas in the atmosphere started rising. In addition to human activities, volcanic eruption also caused increase of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Moreover there has also been increase in the proportion of gases like methane, nitrous oxide, chlorofluorocarbons(CFCs), etc. All these gases have caused increase in the atmospheric and earth's surface temperature by trapping more and more solar energy.

23. What are the probable consequences of global warming? 

Ans:  The global warming is the most burning matter in relation to the environment. The probable consequences of global warming are- 

(a) Melting of glaciers that led to the rising of the level of sea water.

(b) Coastal areas will be submerged due to the rising of the water level from sea.

(c) Deforestation, desertification, etc are also another consequences of global warming.

24. Write how to control global warming.

Ans:  There are many ways to control global warming. Some of them are -

(a) Reduce, Reuse and Recycle:

We should reduce our need to buy new products or use less, resulting in a smaller amount of waste. Reusing bottles, plastic containers, etc are worth mention in this regard. Recycling things are also a method to reduce waste.

(b) Go solar:

Many people have got the energy efficient band wagon of solar energy. Having solar panels installed store a valuable amount of solar energy which we can use to lit bulbs etc.

(c) Planting:

Planting trees can help much in reducing global warming than any other method. Not only give oxygen but also take in carbon dioxide which is the main cause of global warming.