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Answer is (C) Tundra

A) Tropical Evergreen Forests

• Mediterranean regions are marked for hot dry summers and mild rainy winters. 
• Citrus fruits such as oranges, figs, olives and grapes are commonly cultivated here. 
• Vegetation here adapt themselves to dry summers with the help of thick bark and wax coated leaves, which help them reduce transpiration. 
• Other regions do not have rainy winters but rainy seasons.
• Vegetation in other regions shed their leaves.

All organisms in the biosphere use energy to work and convert one form of energy into another. The Sun is the ultimate source of energy for the biosphere as a whole. The solar energy gets transformed into other forms of energy through the various components in the ecosystem. The producers, consumers and the decomposers contribute a lot to the energy flow in an ecosystem.

Abiotic components include the non-living, inorganic, physical and chemical factors in the environment, 

e.g., Land, Air, Water, Calcium, Iron, etc.

An ecosystem consists of three basic components, namely

(A) Abiotic components 

(B) Biotic components and 

(C) Energy component.

An ecosystem is a community, where all living organisms live and interact with one another and also with their non-living environment such as land, soil, air, water etc. Ecosystems range in size from the smallest units (e.g. bark of a tree) that can sustain life to the global ecosystem or ecosphere. (e.g. Cropland, Pond ecosystem, Forest ecosystem, Desert ecosystem etc.). Biosphere harbours all ecosystems on the earth and sustains life forms including mankind.

Components of ecosystem:

An ecosystem consists of three basic components, namely

(A) Abiotic components

(B) Biotic components and

(C) Energy component 

(A) Abiotic Components:

Abiotic components include the non-living, inorganic, physical and chemical factors in the environment,

e.g. Land, Air, Water, Calcium, Iron etc.

(B) Biotic Components:

Biotic components include plants, animals and micro organisms.

Biotic components can be classified into three categories:

• Producers are self nourishing components of the ecosystem. Hence they are called Autotrophs. They are found both on land and water,

e.g. Plants, Algae, Bacteria etc.

• Consumers are those that depend on producers, directly or indirectly. Hence they are called Heterotrophs.

(C) Energy Components: All organisms in the biosphere use energy to work and convert one form of energy into another. The Sun is the ultimate source of energy for the biosphere as a whole. The solar energy gets transformed into other forms of energy through the various components in the ecosystem. The producers, consumers and the decomposers contribute a lot to the energy flow in an ecosystem.

1. The growth of sedantary farming greatly accelerated the pace of technological and social change. 

2. Still the man used the physical energies of human and animals to use the agricultural and manufacturing tools. 

3. He used wheel to make pots, plough to plough his fields and boats to transport his goods and kiln of blacksmith to make his tools. 

4. He burnt firewood to cook his food. 

5. Thus when they began agriculture man used merely the physical energy of human beings and animals.

1. Biosphere extends from the deep ocean trenches to lush rain forests.

2. People play an important role in maintaining the flow of energy in the biosphere.

3. There are places on earth that are both biologically rich and deeply threatened.

4. Hence Biosphere provides a stable ecosystem.

A Biosphere Reserve is a special ecosystem or specialized environment with flora and fauna that require protection and nurturing. There are 18 Bioshpere Reserves in India.

1. Producers

2. species 

3. sun

4. Saprotrophs

5. Lass of biodiversity

6. Ecology

7. Prairies 

8. An Oasis

Functions of an ecosystem: 

The living organisms form an interacting set of flora and fauna which are organized into trophic levels, food chains and food webs. The functioning of an ecosystem depends on the pattern of the energy flow, as it helps in the distribution and circulation of the organic and inorganic matter within an ecosystem. Energy flow generally takes place in a hierarchical order in an ecosystem through various levels. These levels are called trophic levels. The chain of transformation of energy from one group of organisms to another, through various trophic levels is called a food chain. A system of interlocking and interdependent food chains is called a food web.

1. March 3rd 

2. March 21st 

3. March 22nd

4. April 22nd 

6. June 8th

A healthy eco system provides clean water, pure water, enriched soil, food, raw materials, medicines etc. Hence stable biosphere has to be conserved.

(a) Autotrophs

Aquatic biome is a group of living organisms that live and interact with one another and its aquatic environment for nutrients and shelter. Like terrestrial biomes, aquatic biomes are influenced by a series of abiotic factors. It is broadly classified as fresh water biomes and marine biomes.

A. Fresh water Biomes: It comprises lakes, ponds, rivers, streams, wetlands etc. It is influenced by various abiotic components such as the volume of water, water flow, composition of oxygen, temperature, etc. Humans rely on freshwater biomes for drinking water, crop irrigation, sanitation and industry. Water lily, lotus, duck weeds etc. are the common plants found here. Trout, salmon, turtles, crocodiles etc. are the animals found here.

B. Marine Biomes: They are the largest aquatic biomes on earth. They are continuous bodies of salt water and provide a wide range of habitats for marine plants and animals. Coral reefs are a second kind of marine biomes within the ocean. Estuaries, coastal areas where salt water and fresh water mix, form a third unique marine biome. As water provides maximum mobility to marine organisms, nutrients are circulated more quickly and efficiently here than the terrestrial biomes. Apart from animals, plants such as kelp, algae, phytoplankton etc. also grow in water. Aquatic biomes are not only important for plants and animals, but also for humans. Humans use aquatic biomes for water, food and leisure activities. Some of the threats and issues to aquatic biomes are overfishing, pollution and rise in sea level.

People who live here practice food gathering and hunting. They move their temporary settlements frequently in search of pastures. Transportation becomes very difficult here and is carried on by camels. Reptiles like snakes, lizards, scorpions etc., are most commonly found here.

This biome experiences long severe winter and short cool summer. Due to the prevailing of low temperature and short growing seasons, the net primary productivity is very low in tundra.

The major terrestrial biomes of the world are: 

A. Tropical Forest Biomes

B. Tropical Savanna Biomes

C. Desert Biomes 

D. Temperate Grassland Biomes

E. Tundra Biomes

(b) Decomposers

(b) Heterotrophs

(b) because the temperature is too warm

• With the beginning of agriculture and use of better tools give rise to larger, more elaborate and commodious housing and the construction of community ritual centres. 
• Sun-dried bricks, interwoven branches usually plastered with mud and stone structures were associated with early agricultural communities. 
• Houses in early agricultural settlements included special storage areas. They were centered on clay or stone hearths that were ventilated by a hole in the roof. 
• To defend their cities from the rival nomadic settlements, they fortified their cities.
• The people had devised ways of storing rain water and rechanneling river water to irrigate plants. 
• The reservoirs and canals, dikes and sluices that permitted water storage were constructed.

• With the development of agriculture humans began to radically transform the environment in which they lived.
• They cleared the lands around their settlements and controlled the plants that grew and the animals that grazed on them.
• They devised ways of storing rain water and rechanneling river water to irrigate plants.
• They built reservoirs, dug canals, dikes and sluices that permitted water storage.
• They domesticated major food crops, plants such as flax and cotton and began to cultivate them.
• Men also took lead in taming, breeding and raising the large animals associated with both farming and pastoral communities.
• Thus human beings impacted the land water, plants and animals around them when they began agriculture and animal rearing.

1. Habitat 

2. Consumers 

3. Food web 

4. A biome

5. Xerophytes 

6. Estuary

(a) Saline and sandy

Deserts are usually found on the western margins of the continents between 20° and 30° N and S latitudes. The annual rainfall is less than 25 cm in these regions. Due to the lack of rainfall and arid conditions, these regions do not possess any vegetation but have special vegetation type called Xerophytes. As the soil is sandy and saline, deserts remain agriculturally unproductive. Drought resistant thorny scrubs and bushes, palms are found here.

Tribal people who live here practice food gathering and hunting. They move their temporary settlements frequently in search of pastures. Transportation becomes very difficult here and is carried on by camels. Reptiles like snakes, lizards, scorpions etc., are most commonly found here.

(C) A is true; R is false

• The farmers use a particular chemical called Diclofenac to treat cattle. 
• When the cattle die their flesh retain this chemical. 
• When their flesh is consumed by vultures, diclofenac leads to kidney failure in them and they die. 
• So the population of vultures is decreasing.

A) Kidney failure

• The increase in population create great pressure on earth as well as its resources. 
• The entire earth was reshaped to suit the needs of humans.
• The surface of the earth received a great push with the industrial revolution and process of colonization. Industrial production needs raw materials on an unprecedunted scale. 
• Industrial countries began to search for diverse kinds of raw materials and sources of energy. 
• They dug deep wells and tried to find out what lay underneath. 
• Systematic mining, cutting of forests, building of factories and fields and roads took place all over the world. 
• The cumulative impact of industrial pollution causes greenhouse effect and global warming. 
• The greenhouse effect could cause decrease in precipitation and soil moisture content and decrease of snow cover and finally decrease in rainfall.
• The increased surface temperature would cause melting of glaciers and lead to flooding of coastal areas.

• The earth radiates whatever heat it receives from the sun into the sky. 
• The greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, methane, chloro flouro carbons trap the heat reflected by the earth into the sky and thus maintain a constant surface temperature. 
• This mechanism is known as Greenhouse effect.

(A) Both assertion (A) and reason (R) are true; R explains A

Answer is (C) Vulture

Global warming : 

1. Global warming is the increase of Earth’s average surface temperature due to effect of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide emissions from burning fossil fuels. 

2. In Global warming the heat received by the earth is trapped into the atmosphere and is not released into the sky.

Reasons for global warming : 

• Release of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere by power plants by burning the fossil fuels. 
• Release of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere by burning gasoline by automobiles. 
• Methane emissions from animals agriculture. 
• Deforestation especially tropical forests for wood, pulp and farmland. 
• Increase in usage of chemical fertilizers on croplands.

1. The Earth is a unique planet that has life thriving on it
2. Air, water, and moderate temperature have made life possible on the earth.
3. AH, forms of life have an integral connection with the land, air, water, and sunshine around them.
4. Many forms of life are symbiotic that is they live by exchanging essential substances with each other.
5. Plants are the primary food producers.
6. Any disturbance in the cycle of life can create an ecological crisis.

Since all living and non-living things on earth are in one way or the other connected to each other, change affecting one, in due time affects all others too.

Earth is called Living Planet because it is the home of various forms of life. 

• Industries release chemical wastes into the rivers and streams. 
• These chemicals like mercury are consumed by the micro organisms in water.
• These micro organisms become the food of the fishes. 
• When human beings consume these fishes they too absorb quantities of mercury that are detrimental to human health. 
• Thus all living and non-living things on earth are in one way or other connected to each other, changes affecting one affects all others too.

Yes, All living and non-living things on the earth are in one way or the other connected to each other, changes affecting one, in due time affects all others too.

Example 1 :

Vultures feed upon dead animals like cattle. However, people started noticing that Vultures have virtually disappeared and are sighted very rarely. Finally, they found that farmers use a particular chemical called Diclofenac to treat cattle. When the cattle die their flesh retains. This Chemical when their flesh is consumed by vultures, diclofenac leads to kidney failure in them and they die within a week or so. In this way vultures have come very close to extinction.

Example 2 : 

The disturbance caused by mixing of some poisonous substances in air or water or soil the metals like mercury are consumed by microorganisms in water and in turn become the food of a large number of fishes when human beings consume these fishes they too absorb quantities of mercury that are detrimental to their health.

Correct Answer is: (a) Earth

The variety of flora (plants) and fauna (animals) in a region is known as biodiversity.

Define The Following:

1. Biosphere : Biosphere is the part of the earth where life exists. 

2. Ecological imbalance : In a natural environment, there is a perfect balance between the various organisms living together in the biosphere. This is known as ecological imbalance.

3. Global warming : The temperature of the earth is increasing slowly over the years. For the last few years global temperature has increased. This phenomenon is termed as Global warming.

4. Greenhouse effect : Increasing of green house gases is causing an increase of temperature. This is called ‘Greenhouse effect’.

5. Ozone depiction : In recent years the use of air conditions, refrigerators, sprays and deodorants are destroying the ozone due to the synthetic chemicals released into the atmosphere, primarily chlorofluorocarbons

6. Acid rain : Acid rain contains high amounts of acids particularly sulphuric acid and carbon monoxide.

The distribution of different kinds of ecosystem b. The total number of species in a region c. The number of endemic species in an area d. The genetic diversity in an individual species 5. The sub-population of an individual species which embrace the genetic diversity. 

Areas rich I species diversity are called the Hot spots of biodiversity.

A distinct group of life forms and the environment in which they are found is called ‘Biomes’. In other words, Biome is a plant and animal community that covers a large geographical area. On the basis of the dominant life form, six major biomes are identified.

a. Forest biomes: Trees are the dominant life form of forest biome. High temperature, humid climate and soil moisture help for thick tree cover. Equatorial region is dominant with forest biome. 

b. Savanna biome: It is the transitional biome between the forest biome and grassland biome. Savanna biome comprises of trees with grasses and herbs. It occupies areas of low and seasonal rainfall. 

c. Grassland biome: in this biome grasses constitute the dominant vegetation. It is dominant in the moderate soil water deficit regions, semi-arid areas of dry tropical, sub-tropical and mid-latitude regions.

d. Desert biome: It includes organisms capable of surviving in moderate to severe water deficit for most of the year. In this region temperature may range from hot to cool. Most common plants found in this belt are xerophytes. 

e. Tundra biome: It includes small plants that can grow quickly during a short warm to cool summer season, in the low temperature and high latitudinal areas. 

f. Aquatic biome: Aquatic regions house numerous species of plants and animals, both large and small. This is where life began billions of years ago. Without water, most life forms would be unable to sustain themselves and the Earth would be a barren, desert-like place. Ponds, lakes, rivers, wetlands and oceans are sources of aquatic biomes.

(c) Water pollution