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Our Environment — Question 7

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Question 7

What are the problems caused by the non-biodegradable wastes that we generate?

Answer

Non-biodegradable wastes cause various problems like:

  1. Soil and water pollution — The unused chemical fertilizers, residual pesticides, plastics etc. cause contamination of soil and water.
  2. Bio-magnification — The chemicals or heavy metals from non-biodegradable wastes enter the food chain and increase in their concentration in successive trophic level. These chemicals may cause cancer and other diseases.
  3. Dumping — Since they do not degrade, their dumping becomes a serious problem. Chemicals leach from dumping grounds and contaminate ground water.
  4. Microplastics — Microplastics are extremely small pieces of plastic that may enter the body through food or water. They are very harmful for our body.
  5. Clogging of drains — Non-biodegradable wastes, mostly plastic lead to clogging of drains.
  6. Ecological imbalance — Non-biodegradable wastes lead to ecological imbalance in following ways — many stray cattle die by consuming polythene bags, contamination of water bodies kill many aquatic organisms, non-biodegradable chemicals lead to eutrophication killing aquatic animals.
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Science | Chapter 13: Our EnvironmentWeb Content

Chapter 13: Our Environment — Quick Revision Guide

Introduction

Our environment is a complex web of living and non-living components. This chapter covers ecosystems, food chains, energy flow, ozone layer depletion, and waste management.

Key Points at a Glance

  1. Ecosystem: biotic (producers, consumers, decomposers) + abiotic (temperature, water, soil, light)
  2. Food chain: linear energy transfer; Grass → Grasshopper → Frog → Snake → Hawk
  3. Trophic levels: T1 (producers), T2 (primary consumers), T3, T4; usually 4–5 levels max
  4. 10% law (Lindeman): only 10% energy transfers to next level; rest lost as heat in life processes
  5. Food web: interconnected chains; more stable; if one species declines, alternatives exist
  6. Biological magnification: non-biodegradable chemicals (DDT) concentrate at higher trophic levels
  7. Ozone (O3) in stratosphere absorbs UV; CFCs deplete ozone; Montreal Protocol (1987) limits CFCs
  8. Biodegradable waste: broken down by microorganisms; composting, vermicomposting, biogas
  9. Non-biodegradable waste: persists; plastic, glass, DDT; reduce, reuse, recycle
  10. Problems: biomagnification, plastic pollution, e-waste toxicity, air pollution from burning waste

Real-World Connections

Banning single-use plastic reduces pollution; composting reduces landfill load; ozone layer is slowly recovering; understanding food chains helps conservation; DDT ban protected bird populations.

Quick Self-Test (5 Questions)

  1. What is the most important concept you learned from this chapter?
  2. Can you write three key equations/formulae from this chapter from memory?
  3. Draw a labelled diagram relevant to this chapter without looking at your notes.
  4. Explain one real-world application of a concept from this chapter.
  5. What is one common mistake students make in this chapter, and how can you avoid it?

Further Study

  • NCERT Textbook Chapter 13
  • NCERT Exemplar Problems
  • Bright Tutorials Detailed Notes: ch13-our-environment.html
  • Bright Tutorials Practice Questions: ch13-our-environment.html
  • Previous Year CBSE Board Papers

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