Environment Class 7 Q & A

NCERT Solutions For Class 7 Geography Social Science Chapter 1 Environment

1.Answer the following questions

1. What is an ecosystem?
2. What do you mean by the natural environment?
3. Which are the major components of the environment?
4. Give four examples of a human-made environment.
5. What is the lithosphere?
6. Which are the two major components of the biotic environment?
7. What is the biosphere?

Answers

1. An ecosystem is a community of living organisms in conjunction with the nonliving components of their environment, interacting as a system. In other words, the relation between the living organisms as well as the relation between the organism and their surroundings constitutes an ecosystem.
2. The natural environment encompasses all living and non-living things occurring naturally. Thus, the natural environment refers to both biotic (plants and animals) and abiotic (land) conditions that exist on the earth that affect human survival and economic activity.
3. The environment includes everything – living and nonliving, may it be Natural (land, water, air and other living things); man made (dams, roads, bridges, parks, buildings, industries, monuments) or man himself ( which includes the himself, his family, his community, his religion, the educational background, the economic environment and the political situation – all these things have an effect upon him)
4. Four examples of human-made environments—buildings, parks, bridges, and roads.
5. The lithosphere is the solid crust or the hard top layer of the earth. It is made up of rocks and minerals and covered by a thin layer of soil. It is an irregular surface with various landforms such as mountains, plateaus, plains, valleys, etc.
6. Plants and animals are the two major components of a biotic environment,
7. The zone of life on Earth, may be called a biosphere.  In a general sense, biospheres are any closed, self-regulating systems containing ecosystems.

2. Tick the correct answer.

1. Which is not a natural ecosystem? (a) Desert (b) Aquarium (c) Forest.
2. Which is not a component of the human environment? (a) Land (b) Religion (c) Community.
3. Which is a human-made environment? (a) Mountain (b) Sea (c) Road.
4. Which is a threat to the environment? (a) Growing plant              (b) Growing population (c) Growing crops.

Answers (i)—(b), (ii)—(a), (iii)—(c), (iv)—(b)

3. Match the following

Answers: 1 -e, 2- a, 3- b, 4-d

4. Give reasons for the following:

1. Man modifies his environment
2. Plants and animals depend on each other.

Answers:

1. Man modifies his environment for:

• He cuts forests and clears land for agriculture, industries, and habitation.
• He tills land for agriculture.
• He uses the land to build buildings, roads, and railways.
• He uses water.
• He pollutes water with industrial wastes
• He uses air for his survival.
• He sets up industries, factories, etc.
• He does numerous other activities for his life, making it comfortable.

2. Plants and animals depend on each other because:

• Plants provide food to animals.
• They, in the form of forests, provide shelter to wildlife.
• Wildlife adds beauty to the forests.
• Animals provide manure to plants for growth.
• Animals also provide beauty to forests.
• Dead animals also provide humus content.
• Plants provide oxygen to animals.
• Animals provide carbon dioxide to plants for food preparation.