Preventive Measures - Questions & Answers

EXERCISES

I. Choose the correct option:

1. Climate change is a result of increasing carbon dioxide emissions.
(a) sulphur dioxide (b) carbon dioxide (c) oxygen (d) hydrocarbons

2. Vehicles account for most of the:
(a) carbon monoxide (b) nitrogen oxides (c) particulates (d) carbon dioxide
Answer: (a) carbon monoxide

3. The sharing of car journeys by persons travelling on the same route to save money and fuel:
(a) car-sharing (b) shared cars (c) carpooling (d) pooling-car
Answer: (c) carpooling

4. Which of the following is NOT an advantage of carpooling?
(a) It helps to save money in buying fuel
(b) It helps to save money in maintenance cost of cars
(c) It increases traffic congestion
(d) It helps to use commuting time in useful pursuits
Answer: (c) It increases traffic congestion

5. Which amongst the following is NOT an advantage of Public Transport?
(a) It causes more noise
(b) It is an eco-friendly transport system
(c) It reduces fuel consumption
(d) It helps to save money spent on maintenance of personal vehicles
Answer: (a) It causes more noise

6. Non-smokers who breathe in the smoke exhaled by the smokers:
(a) Secondary smokers (b) Active smokers (c) Passive smokers (d) Indirect smokers
Answer: (c) Passive smokers

7. The buried, combustible deposits of organic materials, formed as a result of heat and pressure in the earth's crust over hundreds of millions of years:
(a) Fossil (b) Fossil Fuel (c) Crude (d) Combustions
Answer: (b) Fossil Fuel

8. Coal : 28% :: Natural gas : 20
(a) 20 (b) 15 (c) 30 (d) 25

9. The major disadvantage of fossil fuels is:
(a) Water Pollution (b) Radioactive Pollution (c) Air Pollution (d) Soil Pollution
Answer: (c) Air Pollution

10. A holistic system of farming, which is primarily aimed at cultivating the land and raising crops in such a way, as to keep the soil alive and in good health in an eco-friendly pollution free environment.
(a) Eco-friendly farming (b) Organic farming (c) Primary farming (d) Preventive farming
Answer: (b) Organic farming

11. Assertion (A): Pollution affects the air we breathe, the water we drink and the soil in which we grow our crops.
Reason (R): A comprehensive set of preventive measures are required to check the growing menace of pollution.
(a) Both A and R are true and R is the correct explanation of A.
(b) Both A and R are true but R does not explain A.
(c) A is true but R is false.
(d) A is false but R is true.
Answer: (b) Both A and R are true but R does not explain A.

II. Short Answer Questions

1. State two negative effects of vehicular emissions.
Answer: Two negative effects of vehicular emissions are global climate change resulting from increasing carbon dioxide emissions, and air pollution which has severe negative health repercussions.

2. Name any two gases emitted by vehicular emissions.
Answer: Carbon dioxide (CO2) and Carbon monoxide (CO).

3. What is meant by carpooling?
Answer: Carpooling refers to the sharing of car journeys by persons travelling on the same route.

4. Name any three modes of public transport used in India.
Answer: Three modes of public transport are city buses, passenger trains, and metro rail.

5. What is a 'No Smoking Zone'?
Answer: A 'No Smoking Zone' is a public place where smoking is prohibited by law to protect passive smokers from second-hand tobacco smoke and to encourage smokers to give up the habit.

6. What are Fossil Fuels? Name any two fossil fuels.
Answer: Fossil fuels refer to buried, combustible deposits of organic materials, formed from decayed plants and animals that have been converted by exposure to heat and pressure in the earth's crust over hundreds of millions of years. Two examples are coal and crude oil.

7. State why should we use fossil fuels judiciously.
Answer: Fossil fuels must be used judiciously because they are non-renewable energy sources being depleted 100,000 times faster than they are formed. Furthermore, their combustion is the primary cause of environmental hazards like air pollution, global warming, and acid rain.

8. State any three measures to save energy.
Answer: Three measures to save energy are: 1) Using extra blankets and sweaters instead of room heaters in winter. 2) Using appliances with 'Energy Star' labels to reduce electricity consumption. 3) Turning off equipment and lights at night and unplugging appliances when not in use.

9. What is Organic Farming?
Answer: Organic farming is a holistic system of farming aimed at cultivating the land and raising crops in a way that keeps the soil alive and in good health by using organic wastes and beneficial microbes to release nutrients for increased sustainable production in an eco-friendly, pollution-free environment.

III. Structured Questions

1. (a) Explain how are vehicles a source of air pollution.
Answer: Vehicles are a major source of air pollution because they emit immense amounts of carbon dioxide which drives global climate change. Additionally, they account for most of the carbon monoxide and a large share of the hydrocarbons, nitrogen oxides (which cause acid rain), and particulates found in the atmosphere of major urban areas.

1. (b) State any two advantages of carpooling.
Answer: Two advantages of carpooling are: 1) It reduces air pollution by decreasing the number of vehicles on the road, thereby cutting down vehicular emissions. 2) It helps to save money in buying fuel and maintenance costs of cars.

1. (c) Why do we need to have an efficient public transport?
Answer: We need an efficient public transport system to curb the increasing trend of private vehicles, which leads to massive emissions and road congestion. Public transport reduces environmental damage, emits far fewer fumes than private cars, requires only 1/5th the energy per passenger per kilometre, causes less noise, saves fuel, and is statistically safer.

1. (d) Who are passive smokers? How does smoking harm passive smokers?
Answer: Passive smokers are the people nearby who involuntarily breathe in the second-hand smoke exhaled by smokers. It harms them because exposure to second-hand tobacco smoke significantly increases their chances of developing health problems like lung cancer, asthma, bronchitis, and sudden infant death syndrome in children.

2. (a) Name any two legal provisions meant to deter smoking.
Answer: Two legal provisions are: 1) The introduction of a mandatory specific statutory health warning on cigarette packs in 1975. 2) The nationwide prohibition of smoking in public places implemented from October 2 under the Prohibition of Smoking in Public Places Rules 2008.

2. (b) State any two advantages of having a 'No Smoking Zone'.
Answer: Two advantages are: 1) It drastically reduces the possibility of second-hand tobacco smoke being inhaled by non-smokers. 2) It significantly reduces healthcare costs by lowering the chances of diseases caused by smoking.

2. (c) Why do we need to reduce our dependency on fossil fuels?
Answer: We need to reduce our dependency on fossil fuels because their reserves are highly limited and are depleting at an alarming rate. Additionally, they are the main source of severe environmental hazards like air pollution, acid rain, and global warming, which collectively cause severe respiratory diseases and ecosystem destruction.

2. (d) Describe the measures an individual can take to reduce consumption of energy and to create a cleaner environment.
Answer: An individual can take several steps, such as wearing extra clothing instead of using heaters or air conditioners, sealing doors and windows for proper home insulation, buying Energy Star labeled appliances, using low-flow shower-heads to save water and heating energy, turning off unused lights, painting walls in light colors to reflect natural sunlight, and replacing old incandescent bulbs with energy-efficient CFLs or LEDs.

3. (a) Why is 'Organic Farming' so called?
Answer: It is called 'Organic Farming' because it entirely excludes synthetic inputs like artificial fertilizers and pesticides. Instead, it relies on organic and biological components like crop residues, animal manures, organic wastes, and biological pest control to cultivate crops and maintain soil health naturally.

3. (b) State any two principles of Organic Farming.
Answer: Two key principles are: 1) Organic farming should sustain and enhance the health of soil, plants, animals, and humans as one and indivisible. 2) Organic farming should be based on living ecological systems and cycles, work with them, emulate them and help sustain them.

3. (c) What are the main characteristics of Organic Farming?
Answer: The main characteristics include protecting the long-term fertility of soils by maintaining organic matter, providing crop nutrients indirectly through soil micro-organisms, maintaining nitrogen self-sufficiency through biological nitrogen fixation and legumes, and preventing weeds, diseases, and pests by relying entirely on crop rotations, natural predators, and diversity rather than harmful chemicals.

3. (d) State why is Organic Farming gaining popularity in recent times.
Answer: Organic farming is gaining massive popularity because it is an eco-friendly alternative to modern chemical farming. It protects humans and the environment from toxic pesticides, sustainably maintains soil fertility, recycles organic wastes, conserves water, naturally controls pests, and carefully ensures the conservation of natural wildlife habitats.

IV. Classification of Pollutants

(a) Study the pictures given below. State how pollution can be reduced.
Answer: In picture (i) showing vehicular congestion, pollution can be drastically reduced by promoting carpooling and switching to public transport. In picture (ii) showing industrial and environmental degradation, pollution can be minimized by restricting the use of fossil fuels, employing energy-saving techniques, and shifting towards renewable, cleaner alternative energy sources.

(b) From the pictures given below identify those that reduce energy consumption. Give reasons to support your answer.
Answer: Picture (i), which displays a solar panel, reduces traditional energy consumption. The reason is that solar panels harness sunlight—a renewable, clean, and eco-friendly energy source—thereby directly reducing the reliance on, and consumption of, non-renewable and highly polluting fossil fuels like the wood/coal burning depicted in picture (ii).

V. Thinking Skills

1. Preventive measures being taken to check all types of pollution are too slow and too less. What do you think need to be done to check the menace of pollution before it is too late?
Answer: To combat the rapid menace of pollution, there must be a massive and urgent acceleration in transitioning completely away from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources like solar and wind power. Additionally, governments must strictly enforce environmental protection laws, rapidly expand efficient public transportation infrastructures, mandate proper industrial waste management, and promote nationwide adoption of organic farming and energy-conserving habits.

2. The daily grind leaves no room to think about the haze and the smog or other types of pollution. In this scenario, how can the preventive measures be implemented to check pollution? Give reasons to support your answer.
Answer: Preventive measures can be seamlessly integrated directly into daily routines requiring no extra time. By forming a carpool for the daily work commute, using public transport, automatically turning off lights when leaving a room, or choosing to install energy-efficient LED bulbs at home, individuals subconsciously implement powerful preventive measures. These small, built-in habits save money and significantly lower individual carbon footprints without disrupting daily schedules.

VI. Practical Work

1. Make a Power Point presentation showing the advantages of using Public Transport.
Answer: [Student Practical Project: Key points to include in the presentation are environmental protection via reduced emissions, extreme energy efficiency (1/5th energy per passenger per km), saving national foreign exchange on fuel imports, eco-friendliness with less noise pollution, preservation of road space without needing personal parking, saving personal vehicle maintenance costs, and a much higher safety record averting road accidents.]

2. Make a Case Study of two States in India showing the success of Organic Farming.
Answer: [Student Practical Project: Research case studies outside the chapter, focusing on states like Sikkim, which is fully recognized for completely shifting to 100% organic agriculture, and detailing the benefits seen in soil health and local economies.]