Environmental Studies PYQs

Key Points

• Plants prepare their food by the process called photosynthesis.
• During photosynthesis, plants trap solar energy or light energy with the help of chloroplast present in the green leaves and convert it into Chemical energy.
• A pigment called chlorophyll is present in the chloroplasts which is required in trapping sunlight.
• Plants utilize Carbon dioxide and Water for the synthesis of carbohydrates during photosynthesis, oxygen is liberated as a side product.
• This gaseous exchange occurs through the stomata present on the leaf surface.
• In this reaction water gets oxidised and NADP gets reduced.

These events can be demonstrated by the following equation:

\(\rm \underset{(Carbon\ dioxide)}{6CO_2} + \underset{(Water)}{6H_2 O} \xrightarrow[Chlorophyll]{Sunlight} \underset{(Carbohydrates)}{C_6H_{12}O_6} + \underset{(Oxygen)}{6O_2} \)

Important Points

• Three major events taking place in the light reaction of photosynthesis are -
• Photolysis of water - water splits into hydrogen and oxygen.
• Formation of ATP and NADPH/NADPH2
• Photophosphorylation - Utilizing light energy to convert ADP to ATP.
• In a series of reactions, the energy is converted into ATP and NADPH.
• Water is split in the process, releasing oxygen as a by-product of the reaction.

Thus, during the light phase of photosynthesis, water is oxidized and NADP is reduced.

Additional Information

• Oxidation: In any reaction, if oxygen is added or hydrogen is removed or any element loses the electron then such type of reaction is known as an oxidation reaction.
• Reduction: In any reaction, if hydrogen is added or oxygen is removed or any element gains the electron then such type of reaction is known as reduction reaction.

The correct answer is It is methane emitting.

Key Points

• Cooking gas is also called LPG (Liquified Petroleum Gas).
• Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) is a colourless odourless liquid which readily evaporates into a gas.
• LPG (cooking gas) is a mixture of  Butane and propane.
• LPG (cooking gas) is a flammable mixture of hydrocarbon gases that include propane, butane, isobutene, and mixtures of the three LPG gases.
• On liquefaction, petroleum gas changes into a liquid which is called liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG).
• The main constituent of LPG is butane though it contains smaller amounts of ethane and propane also.
• LPG (cooking gas) is stored in steel vessels ranging from small BBQ gas bottles to larger gas cylinders and tanks.
• When a valve provided in the cylinder is opened with the help of a regulator; due to a decrease in pressure, LPG changes into a vapour.
• This vapour flows to the burners through a rubber tubing attached to the regulator.
• They are commonly used for generating heat for the home.
• For example- heating, hot water, cooking including boilers, etc.

Important Points 

Characteristic of LPG:

• It is a clean fuel
• It has a high calorific value
• It burns with a blue flame
• It is composed of propane and butane.
• It is easily transported in a cylinder or tanks.
• It is a good substitute for petrol in spark-ignition engines.

Mistake Points

• Natural gas is composed of methane.
• LPG is not a natural gas so it can’t be methane emitting.

Key Points 

Origin of Species by Natural Selection: 

• It was written by Charles Darwin.
• It was a groundbreaking scientific work by British naturalist Charles Darwin.
• It was originally published in 1859.
• Darwin, through his theory, argued, that organisms gradually evolve through a process he called “natural selection.”
• In natural selection, organisms with genetic variations that are better suited to their environment have an advantage over the organisms of the same species that lack the variation.
• And thus, the better-suited organism or specie, are in turn more likely to survive and more likely to give their features to future generations than the other.
• And such, the cycle of natural selection of the specie is carried out during the course of evolution.

Important Points 

Charles Darwin:

• Charles Darwin was born in 1809 in Shrewsbury, England.
• Darwin proposed a theory of evolution called natural selection in the year 1859.
• According to it those populations which are a better fit (reproductively fit) in an environment will be selected by nature and will survive more.
• Darwin's theory of natural selection is popularly known as 'Darwinism'.
• English naturalist Charles Darwin developed the idea of natural selection after a five-year voyage to study plants, animals, and fossils in South America and on islands in the Pacific.
• Darwin conducted a sea voyage in a sailing ship called H.M.S Beagle as a part of his experiments on the theory of evolution.
• Charles Darwin became almost universally thought of as the "Father of Evolution".
• Darwin's process of natural selection has four components:
• Variation
• Inheritance
• High rate of population growth
• Differential survival and reproduction
• Charles Darwin died in 1882 at the age of seventy-three.

Thus, Charles Darwin wrote 'Origin of Species'.

Additional Information

Other important theories of human evolution:

1. Lamarckism: It is also known as the "Theory of inheritance of acquired characters" and was proposed by Jean Baptiste de Lamarck.
2. Mutation Theory of Evolution: It is also known as "Species and Varieties, Their Origin by Mutation" and was proposed by Hugo De Vries.

Key Points

• The Equator:
• It is an imaginary line on the surface of the Earth at the same distance from the North Pole and the South Pole.
• It divides the Earth into the Northern and Southern Hemispheres.
• On the northern side of this line are the Tropic of Cancer at 23½ ° and the Tropic of Capricorn at 23½ ° on the southern side.
• The equator passes through the land or waters of 14 countries.​

​

Additional Information

• The Tropic of Capricorn:
• It is an imaginary line drawn from the west to the east, at 23° 23 '22" parallel to the equator in the southern hemisphere.
• The area to the north of the Tropic of Capricorn and south of the Tropic of Cancer is called the "tropical region".​
• The Tropic of Cancer:
• It is a latitude line drawn from west to east at 23.5 degrees in the Northern Hemisphere, parallel to the equator on the globe.
• It is the northernmost latitude line of the Earth, on which the sun shines vertically in the afternoon.
• The Arctic Circle:
• The position of the Arctic Circle is 66° 33′46.6 ″ north of the equator.
• Its latitude depends on the axial tilt of the Earth

Explanation:

Tropic of Capricorn is 23.5°S above the equator in the Southern hemisphere of Earth where the sun is directly overhead at noon on December 21.

Diagram showing Other important lines:

The correct answer is The Hague.

Key Points

• The headquarters of the International Court of Justice is located at The Hague.
• Joan Donoghue is the president of the International Court of Justice.
• The International Court of Justice was established in June 1945 by the Charter of the United Nations and began work in April 1946.
• Dalveer Bhandari is the current Indian member of the International Court of Justice.

Important Points

• The International Court of Justice is composed of 15 judges elected to nine-year terms of office by the United Nations General Assembly and the Security Council. These organs vote simultaneously but separately.
• In order to be elected, a candidate must receive an absolute majority of the votes in both bodies. This sometimes makes it necessary for a number of rounds of voting to be held.
• In order to ensure a degree of continuity, one-third of the Court is elected every three years. Judges are eligible for re-election. Should a judge die or resign during his or her term of office, a special election is held as soon as possible to choose a judge to fill the unexpired part of the term.
• The Court may not include more than one national of the same State. Moreover, the Court as a whole must represent the main forms of civilization and the principal legal systems of the world.
• Once elected, a Member of the Court is a delegate neither of the government of his own country nor of that of any other State.

Additional Information

• The headquarters of the United Nations is in New York City.
• Geneva is the headquarters of the World Trade Organisation.

• The National Anthem of India was adopted by the constituent assembly on 24^th January 1950.
• It was first sung on 27 December 1911 in the Kolkata session of INC( Indian National Congress).
• Composed by: Poet Rabindranath Tagore.

Key Points

• The National Flag of the Indian Union was adopted on 22 July 1947.
• The National Anthem of the Indian Union was adopted on 24 January 1950.
• The Constitution was passed and adopted by the assembly on 26 November 1949.

Additional Information 

Important facts about the Constituent Assembly

• In 1934, M N Roy first proposed the idea of a constituent assembly.
• The demand was taken up by the Congress Party in 1935 as an official demand.
• The British accepted this in the August Offer of 1940.
• Under the Cabinet Mission plan of 1946, elections were held for the formation of the constituent assembly.
• The members of this assembly were elected indirectly, that is by the members of the provincial assemblies by the method of a single transferable vote of proportional representation
• The constituent assembly was formed for the purpose of writing a constitution for independent India
• Initially, the number of members was 389.
• After partition, some of the members went to Pakistan and the number came down to 299.
• Out of this, 229 were from the British provinces and 70 were nominated from the princely states.
• Dr Sachchidananda Sinha was the first temporary chairman of the Constituent Assembly.
• Later, Dr Rajendra Prasad was elected as the President and its Vice President was Harendra Coomar Mookerjee.
• The assembly first met on 9 December 1946.
• On 13 December 1946, Jawaharlal Nehru moved the ‘Objective Resolution.
• The National Flag of the Union was adopted on 22 July 1947
• On 24 January 1950, ‘Jana Gana Mana’ was adopted as the national anthem
• The final document had 22 parts, 395 articles and 8 schedules.
• The assembly had met for 11 sessions
• The last session was held during 14 – 26 November 1949.
• The constitution was passed and adopted by the assembly on 26 November 1949.
• The constitution came into force on 26 January 1950 (which is celebrated as Republic Day).

Key Points

Pushkar Fair:

• Pushkar fair is one of India's biggest cattle (camel) fair.
• Pushkar fair is also known as Pushkar Camel Fair or locally Kartik Fair.
• It is an annual fair that is also known as Kartik Mela or Pushkar ka Mela.
• It is held in the Pushkar city of Ajmer district of Rajasthan.
• The Pushkar fair is one of the largest camel, horse, and cattle fairs in India.
• Apart from the cattle trade, it is an important pilgrimage for Hindus to Pushkar Lake.
• Cultural events and competitions at this fair include Matka bust, longest moustache, contest, bridal contest, camel race, and others.

​Thus, the Pushkar Fair is held at Ajmer.

Additional Information

Other important fairs of India:

Explanation:

• UV-C Rays are most dangerous because they penetrate the second layer of skin and causes skin cancer.

• The three types of UV rays and their effects are as follows:

• E = hν [ν = frequency]

• E ∝ ν

• From this equation, you can see that as wavelength increases, the frequency of the wave decreases.

• The energy associated with a wave is directly proportional to its frequency.

• Hence, the higher the frequency, the shorter the wavelength and the higher the energy of the wave.

• Hence, UV C having a wavelength of 100nm has the highest damaging effect, i.e. more dangerous, when compared to UV A.

​

• Although UV C is more dangerous they do not pass through the Earth's atmosphere.
• It is completely absorbed by the ozone layer.
• UVC radiation can cause severe burns of the skin and eye injuries (photokeratitis).
• These changes occur rapidly when coming in contact with UV C when compared to UV A.

• Biosphere refers to the narrow zone between the lithosphere, atmosphere, and hydrosphere where life exists.
• The biosphere consists of living organisms both plants and animals.
• Here, the physical environment (lithosphere, atmosphere, and hydrosphere) interacts with each other and supports life.
• It is also known as the ecosphere

Key Points

Components of an ecosystem:

Biotic Components: 

• It includes producers, consumers and decomposers.
• All living things have a direct or indirect influence on other organisms in an environment.
• Example: plants, animals, humans, fungi, microorganisms etc.

Abiotic components: 

• All the inorganic components of the ecosystem, non-living physical and chemical composition of nature are abiotic components.
• Example: land, stones, soil, phosphorus, protein, water, humus (organic waste), air etc.

The abiotic components of the biosphere include:

• Inorganic substances such as oxygen, carbon dioxide, nitrogen, and water.
• Organic components like proteins, fats, and carbohydrates, which connect abiotic and biotic elements.
• Climatic factors, which are divided into atmospheric and edaphic factors.

In summary, the abiotic elements of the biosphere consist of inorganic substances, organic components, and climatic factors.

Important Points

• Fungi or fungus is a living organism which is found in the form of yeast moulds and mushrooms.
• It is a separate Kingdom of living things different from plants and animals. ​

 Thus, fungi is not an abiotic component of the biosphere.

Key Points

Gir National Park:-

• Gir National Park and Wildlife Sanctuary, also known as Sasan Gir, is a forest and wildlife sanctuary near Talala Gir in Gujarat, India.
• It is located 43 km (27 mi) north-east of Somnath, 65 km (40 mi) south-east of Junagadh and 60 km (37 mi) south-west of Amreli.
• It was established in 1965, with a total area of 1,412 km2 (545 sq mi), of which 258 km2(100 sq mi) is fully protected as a national park and 1,153 km2 (445 sq mi) as a wildlife sanctuary.
• It is part of the Khathiar-Gir dry deciduous forests ecoregion.

Gir National Park is known for its Asiatic Lions.

Important Points

Facts about Gir National Park

• It is located in the Gujarat state of India.
• It was established in 1965 with a total area of 1,412 km2 of which 258 km2 is fully protected as a national park and 1,153 km2 as a wildlife sanctuary.
• As per the 14^th Asiatic Lion Census 2015, the population of Asiatic Lions was 523.
• Nawab of Junagadh established the sanctuary considering the drastic decline in Lions’ population due to hunting.
• It is the only area in Asia where Asiatic lions occur and is considered one of the most important protected areas in Asia because of its biodiversity.
• The seven major perennial rivers in the Gir region are -
• Hiran, Shetrunji, Datardi, Shinoda, Machhundri, Godavari and Raval.

Additional Information

The following National parks are most famous in India:

The correct answer is the World Wildlife Fund. 

Key Points

• World Wildlife Fund is an international non-government organization established in 1961 and headquartered at Gland, Switzerland.
• It aims at Preservation and reduction of human impact on the environment.
• It is the world's largest conservative organization.
• Its Prime objective is to conserve the world's biological diversity, ensuring the use of renewable resources and promoting the reduction of pollution and wasteful consumption.
• Its logo is a giant panda named after Chi-Chi.

Important Points

• It publishes various reports like the living planet report.
• It is also responsible for the organization of earth hour.
• The living planet report is published biennially since 1998.

Ganga originates from the Gangotri glacier in the Western Himalayan Range in Uttarakhand.

• ​Gangotri glacier
• ​Gangotri Glacier is located in Uttarkashi District, Uttarakhand, India in a region bordering Tibet.
• This glacier, one of the primary sources of the Ganges, is one of the largest in the Himalayas with an estimated volume of over 27 cubic kilometres.

Additional Information

• Milam Glacier
• Milam Glacier is a major glacier of the Kumaon Himalaya.
• It is located in the tehsil of Munsiyari, part of the Pithoragarh district of Uttarakhand, India, about 15 kilometres northeast of Nanda Devi.
• It ranges in elevation from about 5,500 meters to about 3,870 meters at its snout.
• The river Gori Ganga has its source here.

Key Points

• The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) is a statutory organization constituted in September 1974 under the Water Prevention and Control of Pollution Act, 1974.
• Further, CPCB was entrusted with the powers and functions under the Air Prevention and Control of Pollution Act, 1981.
• The Central Pollution Control Board is led by its chairman; this chairman is appointed by the Central Government.
• This entire board comes under Central Government.
• According to Section-3, the Central Pollution Control Board can have a maximum of five officials nominated by the Central Government and not more than five persons nominated by the Central Government from amongst the members of State Boards.
• The Central Pollution Control Board is the apex organization in the country in the field of pollution control.
• It is a technical wing of the Ministry of Environment and Forest. It comes under the Government of India.
• It is a government organisation that comes under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate change. It promotes the cleanliness of streams and wells to control water pollution.
• Prakash Javadekar is the current union minister of Environmental, Forest and Climate change.

Thus, Central Pollution Control Board is primarily concerned with the measurement of pollution in India.

Additional Information

• A volcano is an opening in the earth's crust.
• Through it gasses, molten rocks material. ash. stream, etc are emitted outward in the course of an eruption.

​​Volcanoes are also classified as:

• Active volcanoes: An active volcano is a volcano that has had at least one eruption during the past 10,000 years.
• Dormant volcanoes: A dormant volcano is an active volcano that is not erupting but is supposed to erupt again.
• Extinct volcanoes: An extinct volcano has not had an eruption for at least 10,000 years and is not expected to erupt again in a comparable time scale in the future.

Important Points

• Cotopaxi volcano is situated in the Andes Mountains.
• It erupted from August 2015 to January 2016.
• It is the world's largest Mountain range running along with South America and passes through Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Argentina and Chile.

Thus, ‘Cotopaxi’ is an active volcano situated in Andes.

Additional Information

Other most active volcanoes in India:

Key PointsTsangpo:

• The Brahmaputra River is one of the last largely free-flowing rivers emanating from the Tibetan Plateau.
• Brahmaputra river originated from the Chemayungdung glacier of the Kailash range near the Mansarovar lake.
• Yarlung Zangbo is the Tibetan name for the upper course of Brahmaputra.
• The Yarlung Zangbo also called Yarlung Tsangpo.
• The Yarlung Tsangpo is the deepest canyon created by the Brahmaputra in Tibet.
• In Tibet, Brahmaputra is known by the name Tsangpo.
• In Bangladesh, Brahmaputra is known by the name Jamuna.
• Major tributaries of Brahmaputra are the Subansiri, Kameng, Manas, Lohit, Tista, and Sankosh.
• The river Brahmaputra empties into the Bay of Bengal.
• The Brahmaputra is also known as the 'red river'.
• The tributaries of the Brahmaputra river are Teesta River, Lohit, Danba Qu, Subansiri River.​

​Thus, the Tsangpo river of Tibet, in India, is known as the Brahmaputra.

Additional Information

Other major rivers in India:

Explanation:

Feeding relation in the natural surrounding:

Food chain: 

• A food chain shows the feeding relationship between different organisms in a particular environment and/or habitat.
• A food chain shows how energy is passed from the sun to producers, from producers to consumers, and from consumers to decomposes such as fungi.
• They also show how animals depend on other organisms for food.

Key Points

Tropic level: 

• Based on the source of their nutrition or food, organisms occupy a specific place in the food chain that is known as their trophic level.
• Producers belong to the first trophic level, herbivores (primary consumer) to the second and carnivores (secondary consumer) to the third. The important point to note is that the amount of energy decreases at successive trophic levels.

Important Points

• Primary producers are at first tropic level - They produce food on their own with the help of photosynthesis. Ex- plants, trees.
• Primary Consumers are the herbivores animals, whose nutrition is directly based on plant products. Ex- Cow, deer, grasshoppers, small insects etc.
• Secondary consumers are carnivorous animals Like- small birds, wolfs etc.
• Tertiary Consumers are also carnivorous but they feed on secondary consumers.

So, In a food chain of the grassland ecosystem, the top consumers are carnivores.

Additional Information

• Producers: Such species that producers their own food from nature. Eg plant, grass.
• Herbivores: Only consume green vegetables and plants they are totally dependent on the earth. Eg- goat, rabbit.
• Carnivorous: They mainly consume secondary consumers such as rabbits, got etc. Eg- lion, tiger.
• Omnivores: These consumers eat both plants and meats. Eg- beer, pig.
• Decomposer: An organism that breaks down dead materials or waste products through decomposition. Eg- bacteria, fungi.

The correct answer is Troposphere.

• Weather is the state of the atmosphere which refers to the day-to-day temperature and precipitation activity.
• For example, the degree to which it is hot or cold, wet or dry, calm or stormy, clear or cloudy.

Key Points

Troposphere: 

• It is the lowest layer of the atmosphere - in which we live.
• It contains most of our weather - clouds, rain, snow.
• The lowest part of the Troposphere is called the boundary layer and the topmost part is called the tropopause.

Additional Information

About Layers of the Atmosphere:

Stratosphere:

• This layer extends upwards from the tropopause to about 50 km.
• It contains much of the ozone in the atmosphere.
• The temperature in Stratosphere is highest over the summer pole and lowest over the winter pole.

Mesosphere:

• Above the stratosphere is the mesosphere. It extends upward to a height of about 85 km above our planet. Most meteors burn up in the mesosphere.
• The coldest temperature in the Earth's atmosphere, about -90 °C is found near the top of this layer.

Thermosphere: 

• This layer is found above Mesopause from 85 to 800 km.
• This the warmest layer of the atmosphere. Aurora and satellites occur in this layer.

Exosphere​:

• ​This is the outermost layer of the atmosphere.
• It contains mainly oxygen and hydrogen atoms they are so few that they rarely collide.
• They follow ballistic trajectories under the influence of gravity, and some of them escape directly into space.

Ionosphere​:

• The ionosphere is a very active part of the atmosphere, and it grows and shrinks depending on the energy it absorbs from the Sun.
• The name ionosphere comes from the fact that gases in these layers are excited by solar radiation to form ions, which have an electrical charge.
• It overlaps the mesosphere, thermosphere, and exosphere.

United Nations Organization (UNO):

• The UNO was formed on 24 October 1945.
• It was founded in San Francisco, USA.
• The headquarters were shifted to New York in 1946.
• At present, 193 countries are members of the UN.
• South Sudan is the latest and the 193^rd member to join the UN in 2011.

Key Points

Organs of the UNO:

• The United Nations (UN) has six main organs.
• They are:
• The General Assembly,
• The Security Council,
• The Economic and Social Council,
• The Trusteeship Council,
• The Secretariat and
• The International Court of Justice.

Important PointsThe Security Council:

• The Security Council has primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security
• UN security council is part of the United Nations, aimed at maintaining peace and security. It is consists of 15 members in which 5 are permanent while the other 10 are non-permanent members.
• The permanent members are China, Russian Federation, France, the USA and the United Kingdom.

​Thus, the number of permanent members of the UN Security Council is 5.

Additional Information

• The Headquarters of the UN is in New York, USA.
• Founded on 24 October 1945.

Key PointsSariska Tiger Reserve

• Sariska Tiger Reserve is a tiger reserve in Alwar district, Rajasthan, India.
• It stretches over an area of 881 km2 (340 sq mi) comprising scrub-thorn arid forests, dry deciduous forests, grasslands, and rocky hills.
• It was given the status of a tiger reserve making it a part of India's Project Tiger in 1978.
• It is the first reserve in the world with successfully relocated tigers.
• It is established in 1955 under the state government of Rajasthan for the conservation of tigers.

​Thus, Sariska National Park is situated in Rajasthan.

Additional Information

Other National Parks in Rajasthan:

1. Ranthambore National Park
2. Keoladeo National Park (Bird century)
3. Desert National Park
4. Darrah National Park
5. Sariska National Park.

Key Points

• An ecosystem is the basic ecological unit in which living organisms interact among themselves and with their surrounding physical environment.
• Except for the deep sea hydro-thermal ecosystem, the sun (sunlight) is the only source of energy for all ecosystems on earth.
• Out of the total incident solar radiation, only 50% of it is photosynthetically active radiation (PAR).
• Plants capture only 2-10 per cent of the PAR and this small amount of energy sustains the entire living world. So, there is the unidirectional flow of energy from the sun to producers and then to consumers.
• The energy is transferred in an ecosystem in the form of food which is degraded and lose a major part of food energy as heat during metabolic activities, this can be explained by Lindeman’s 10 per cent law which says only 10% of energy is transferred from one trophic level to the next higher trophic level.

​Thus, the main source of energy in an ecosystem is the sun.

  

Additional Information