Class 10 Science: Our Environment important questions

Our Environment is a chapter of Class 10 Science for the Andhra Pradesh State Board. These 16 questions are marked Very Important, Important or Practice, and each answer has been checked by our team. Use them to revise, not as a prediction of what will come in the exam.

1. Practice · 1 marks

   1. Draw the recycling logo.

   Three bent arrows forming a triangle, each pointing to the next in a continuous loop. They stand for reduce, reuse and recycle: materials go round and round instead of becoming waste.

2. Important · 2 marks

   2. Define trophic level and name the different trophic levels in a food chain.

   Each step or level of a food chain where energy is transferred is a trophic level. 1) Producers: green plants (first level). 2) Primary consumers: herbivores. 3) Secondary consumers: small carnivores. 4) Tertiary consumers: large carnivores.

3. Important · 4 marks

   3. People in your area throw plastic bags into nearby streams. What environmental problems may arise, and how would you create awareness?

   Problems: 1) The bags block the water flow, causing stagnation and flooding. 2) The water becomes polluted and breeds mosquitoes. 3) Fish and other animals swallow plastic or get trapped and die. 4) Plastic does not decompose; it breaks into tiny pieces that enter the food chain. Awareness: hold meetings, put up posters and perform street plays; organise stream clean-up drives; ask shops to give cloth or jute bags; request the panchayat or municipality to place dustbins and collect waste regularly.

4. Important · 4 marks

   4. Which is the better way to dispose of waste, burning or composting? Justify.

   Composting is better for biodegradable waste. 1) It turns kitchen and garden waste into manure that makes soil fertile. 2) It does not pollute the air. 3) It reduces the waste sent to dumping grounds. Burning releases smoke, carbon dioxide and toxic gases (especially from plastic), causing air pollution and breathing problems, and the useful nutrients are lost.

5. Practice · 1 marks

   5. Write a slogan on waste management.

   "Reduce, reuse, recycle: today's waste is tomorrow's resource."

6. Practice · 1 marks

   6. Expand UNEP.

   United Nations Environment Programme.

7. Important · 2 marks

   7. Ozone (O₃) is formed by three oxygen atoms. Oxygen (O₂) is essential for aerobic life, while ozone is a deadly poison; but high in the atmosphere, ozone shields the Earth from the Sun's harmful ultraviolet (UV) radiation, which can cause skin cancer. 1) How does the ozone layer protect us? 2) What is the effect of ultraviolet rays on human health?

   1) The ozone layer in the upper atmosphere absorbs most of the harmful UV radiation from the Sun, so it does not reach the Earth's surface. 2) UV rays can cause skin cancer, cataracts (eye damage) and sunburn, and can weaken the immune system.

8. Important · 2 marks

   8. What will happen if all the organisms in one trophic level are killed?

   The food chain will break. Organisms at the next level will lose their food and may starve and die. Organisms at the level below will have no predators and may multiply too much. The balance of the whole ecosystem will be disturbed.

9. Important · 4 marks

   9. What problems are caused by the non-biodegradable waste we generate?

   1) It does not decompose, so it piles up on land and in water bodies. 2) Plastic blocks drains and causes flooding. 3) Animals swallow plastic and die. 4) Harmful chemicals leak into soil and water, and enter the food chain. 5) Burning it pollutes the air with toxic gases. 6) It spoils the beauty of the surroundings and spreads disease.

10. Practice · 1 marks

    10. Suggest an eco-friendly method to increase crop yield.

    Use organic manure or vermicompost instead of chemical fertilisers. (Also: crop rotation, biofertilisers and natural pest control.)

11. Practice · 1 marks

    11. Farmer Ramaiah grows paddy in the same field year after year. His yield is falling, his costs are rising and he keeps making losses. What should he do? A) Use more fertilisers. B) Follow new irrigation techniques. C) Change the crop. D) Use effective chemical pesticides.

    C) Change the crop (crop rotation). Growing different crops, especially legumes, restores soil nutrients and breaks the life cycle of pests, so yield improves without extra chemicals.

12. Important · 4 marks

    12. Many human activities cause ozone depletion. List these activities and suggest ways to protect the ozone layer.

    Causes: chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) used in refrigerators, air conditioners and aerosol sprays; halons in some fire extinguishers; certain industrial solvents. These chemicals break down ozone in the upper atmosphere. Suggestions: 1) Use CFC-free refrigerators and ACs, and service them so gases do not leak. 2) Avoid aerosol sprays that contain CFCs. 3) Dispose of old appliances properly. 4) Support laws and agreements, like the Montreal Protocol, that phase out ozone-depleting substances, and spread awareness.

13. Important · 4 marks

    13. Ramu believes single-use plastic makes life easy and is a boon for the 21st century. Do you support him? Why?

    No. Single-use plastic is non-biodegradable, so it stays in the environment for hundreds of years. It pollutes land and water, blocks drains and causes flooding, and harms animals that swallow it. Burning it releases toxic gases. It is convenient for a moment but harmful in the long run. Better choices: cloth or jute bags, steel bottles and reusable containers.

14. Important · 2 marks

    14. Design two slogans on preventing food wastage.

    1) "Take what you can eat, eat what you take." 2) "Waste no food: someone, somewhere, is hungry."

15. Important · 4 marks

    15. Most of the waste we produce every day is non-biodegradable and causes health and environmental problems. Suggest solutions.

    1) Reduce: avoid single-use plastic and over-packaged products. 2) Reuse: use bags, bottles and containers many times. 3) Recycle: send plastic, paper, glass and metal for recycling. 4) Segregate waste at home into wet (biodegradable) and dry (non-biodegradable). 5) Compost kitchen and garden waste. 6) Dispose of hazardous waste, like batteries and e-waste, at proper collection centres. 7) Spread awareness in school and in the neighbourhood.

16. Important · 4 marks

    16. Four students want to make farmers aware with the message 'Say no to pesticides'. How would you help their campaign?

    1) Make posters and charts, and perform a short street play in the village. 2) Explain biological magnification: pesticides enter the food chain, and their amount increases at each level, reaching humans in the highest concentration and causing health problems. 3) Explain that pesticides also kill useful insects and pollute soil and water. 4) Suggest alternatives: organic farming, neem-based pest control, crop rotation and integrated pest management. 5) Invite an agriculture officer to speak to the farmers.