PRASHANT KIRAD
Our Environment
(Options acche se padhna)
VERY SHORT QUESTIONS (1 Mark)
(A) Multiple Choice Questions (MCQ's)
1. Which statement shows interaction of an abiotic component with a biotic
component in an ecosystem?
(a) A mouse fighting with another mouse for food
(b) A grasshopper feeding on a leaf
(c) An earthworm making a burrow in the soil
(d) Rainwater running down into the lake (CBSE Question Bank)
2. Which of the statement is incorrect?
(a) All green plants and blue-green algae are producers
(b) Green plants get their food from organic compounds
(c) Producers prepare their own food from inorganic compounds
(d) Plants convert solar energy into chemical energy (NCERT Exemplar)
3. The decomposers in an ecosystem
(a) Convert inorganic material to simpler forms
(b) Convert organic material into inorganic forms
(c) Convert inorganic materials into organic compounds
(d) Do not breakdown organic compounds (NCERT Exemplar)
4. Which group of organisms are not constituents of a food chain?
(i) Grass, lion, rabbit, wolf
(ii) Plankton, man, fish, grasshopper
(iii) Wolf, grass, snake, tiger
(iv) Frog, snake, eagle, grass, grasshopper
(a) (i) and (iii)
(b) (ii) and (iv)
(c) (i) and (iv)
(d) (ii) and (iii) (Competency Based Question) JOSH METER?
PRASHANT KIRAD
5. What will happen if the population of snakes is increased drastically
in the food chain given alongside?
(a) Population of green plants will decrease
(b) Population of frog will decrease
(c) Population of snakes will decrease
(d) Population of hawk will decrease (Competency Based Question)
6. What will happen if deer is missing in the given food chain given below?
Grass → Deer → Tiger
(a) The population of tiger increases
(b) The population of grass decreases
(c) Tiger will start eating grass
(d) The population of tiger decreases and the population of grass increases
(NCERT Exemplar)
7. Study the given figure of a food web and identify the primary consumer in the
food web.
(a) Mice and Bear
(b) Rabbit and Cat
(c) Rabbit and Fox
(d) Mice and Rabbit (CBSE 2023)
8. Which of the following options correctly represents the food web present in
nature?
(a) Eagle → Snake → Frog → Grasshopper → Grass → Cricket
(b) Eagle → Snake → Frog → Grasshopper ← Grass → Cricket
(c) Eagle ← Snake ← Frog ← Grasshopper → Grass → Cricket
(d) Eagle → Snake ← Frog ← Grasshopper ← Grass ← Cricket (Comp Based Question)
9. Organisms of a higher trophic level which feed on several types of organisms
belonging to a lower trophic level constitute the
(a) Food web
(b) Ecological pyramid
(c) Food chain
(d) Trophic level (NCERT Exemplar)
PRASHANT KIRAD
10. Which organism will have the highest concentration of
non-biodegradable chemicals in the food chain Insect → Frog → Snake → Hawk?
(A) Insect
(B) Frog
(C) Snake
(D) Hawk (2015, 2020, 2023)
(yaha Marks katate h)
Assertion and Reason type of Questions
In the following questions a statement of Assertion is followed by a statement of
Reason.
Mark the correct choice as two statements are given one labeled Assertion (A)
and the other labeled Reason (R). Select the correct answer to these questions
from the codes (a), (b), (c) and (d) as given below:
(a) Both A and R are true, and R is correct explanation of the assertion.
(b) Both A and R are true, but R is not the correct explanation of the assertion.
(c) A is true, but R is false.
(d) A is false, but R is true.
11. Assertion (A): Energy flow in a food chain is always unidirectional.
Reason (R): Energy lost as heat from one trophic level is not available to the
previous level. (Asked in CBSE 2020–21, 2023)
12. Assertion (A): Greater number of individuals are present in the lower trophic
levels of a food chain.
Reason (R): The flow of energy in a food chain is unidirectional. (Asked in CBSE
2020–21, 2022, 2023)
13. Assertion (A): The number of trophic levels in a food chain is limited.
Reason (R): Only 10% of energy is transferred from one trophic level to the next
trophic level. (Asked in CBSE 2019, 2020, 2023)
14. Assertion (A): Accumulation of harmful chemicals is maximum in organisms at
the highest trophic level of a food chain.
Reason (R): Non-biodegradable chemicals increase in concentration at each
successive trophic level through the food chain. (Asked in CBSE 2015, 2020,
2023)
15. Assertion (A): Food chains are responsible for the entry of harmful chemicals
into our bodies.
Reason (R): The length and complexity of food chains vary greatly in different
ecosystems. (Asked in CBSE 2021–22, 2023)
PRASHANT KIRAD
16. Assertion (A): In a food web, if one food chain is disturbed, the entire
ecosystem is affected.
Reason (R): All organisms are interdependent for energy and nutrition. (Asked in
CBSE 2019, 2021, 2024)
17. Assertion (A): Producers form the first trophic level in all food chains.
Reason (R): Producers prepare food through photosynthesis using sunlight,
carbon dioxide, and water. (Asked in CBSE 2019, 2020).
(ho jaayenge aaram se)
SHORT ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS
(2 and 3 Marks)
18. What is meant by the environment?
a) Name its two main components.
b) Give one example of each component.
19. Define an ecosystem.
a) Give two examples of natural and artificial ecosystems.
b) Why is a pond considered a natural ecosystem?
20. What are the biotic and abiotic components of an ecosystem?
a) List any three abiotic components.
b) How do abiotic components affect biotic components?
21. What are producers, consumers, and decomposers?
a) Give one example of each.
b) Why are decomposers called recyclers of nature?
22. Define a food chain.
a) Construct a terrestrial and an aquatic food chain.
b) Why is the flow of energy in a food chain said to be unidirectional?
23. What is a trophic level?
a) Name the trophic level occupied by the following: grass, frog, hawk.
b) Why are the number of trophic levels limited in a food chain?
24. State and explain the 10% law of energy transfer.
a) If 10,000 J of energy is available at the producer level, how much will be
available to tertiary co
nsumers?
PRASHANT KIRAD
(pahle points socho firr likho)
LONG ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS (5 Marks)
25. What is a food chain? Explain its characteristics and significance. Construct a
food chain showing four trophic levels. (CBSE 2017, 2020, 2023)
26. What is biological magnification? How does it occur? Explain its impact on
various trophic levels with an example. Suggest two ways to reduce its effects.
(CBSE 2015, 2019, 2023)
27. What are decomposers? Explain their role in the ecosystem. How would the
absence of decomposers affect the environment? (CBSE 2011, 2014, 2020, 2023)
28. Describe the causes and effects of ozone layer depletion. What steps have
been taken at the international level to limit this damage? (CBSE 2010, 2015, 2023)
29. Distinguish between biodegradable and non-biodegradable substances.
Explain their impact on the environment. How can we reduce the problems caused
by them? (CBSE 2009, 2014, 2020)
30. Describe the structure and functioning of a natural ecosystem like a pond.
(CBSE 2017, 2022)
Case Study/Source Based Question
31. In a small village near a river, farmers began using chemical fertilizers and
pesticides to increase crop yield. These chemicals eventually washed into the river
through rainwater and accumulated in aquatic plants. Small fish feeding on these
plants absorbed these chemicals, which then passed on to larger fish, and finally
to birds and humans who consumed the fish.
After a few years, villagers observed a decline in fish population, birds with weak
eggshells, and some health issues in people consuming fish regularly.
Environmentalists explained that these problems were due to biological
magnification.
Meanwhile, an environmental group also observed that nearby grasslands,
with less human interference, maintained a healthy balance between
producers, herbivores, and carnivores through a stable food chain.
Questions:
(a) What do you understand by biological magnification?
(b) Arrange the organisms mentioned in the aquatic ecosystem (plants, small fish,
large fish, human) in a food chain.
PRASHANT KIRAD
(c) Which organism in this food chain will have the highest concentration of harmful
chemicals and why?
(d) Mention any two harmful effects of excessive use of pesticides on the
environment.
(e) Suggest two ways by which farmers can protect their crops without harming the
ecosystem.
PK Special [KBC]
32. If energy is neither created nor destroyed, why does the total energy available
to living organisms decrease with each trophic level? Explain using the law of
conservation of energy.
33. In a forest, rabbits and deer both eat grass. If all tigers are removed, will the
population of grass immediately increase? Why or why not? (Hint: think of indirect
effects in a food web.
34. Can a pyramid of biomass ever be inverted while a pyramid of energy cannot?
Explain with an aquatic example and justify scientifically.
35. If DDT concentration increases in water but no fish are present, will
biomagnification still occur? Explain why biological activity is essential for
magnification of pollutants.
36. If decomposers convert dead organisms into simpler substances, why are they
placed at the end of the food chain rather than at the beginning, even though they
“recycle” nutrients?
37. Humans are at the top of several food chains, yet they depend on the stability of
lower trophic levels for survival. Explain how human overuse of pesticides can
indirectly threaten their own food security.
38. Suppose all producers in an ecosystem become more efficient and start storing
20% more solar energy.
a) Will this increase the length of the food chain?
b) Explain why or why not, in terms of energy availability and ecological balance.
39. In a hypothetical sealed biosphere, decomposers are removed but producers
and consumers remain. Predict and justify the long-term changes in:
a) Oxygen levels,
b) Nutrient recycling, and
c) Biomass accumulation.
PRASHANT KIRAD
SOLUTIONS
VERY SHORT ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS:
1. (c)
2. (b)
3. (b)
4. (d)
5. (d)
6. (d)
7. (d)
8. (c)
9. (a)
10. (d)
11. (A)
12. (B)
13. (A)
14. (A)
15. (B)
16. (A)
17. (A)