Chapter 15

Forests

1. Visit a forest near your house and note down the name of 5 plants found in the forest. Also
take photographs of those plants and make a scrap book.
2. A forest is able to function as an independent unit, justify.
3. Over the years, the area under the forest cover has decreased steadily, why?
4. Fill in the blanks
a) A ________ is an area with a high density of trees.
b) The ____________ components of the forest include the soil, water and minerals.
c) The sequence of ‘who eats whom’ makes up a __________.
d) The ___________ is made up of bushes, shrubs and young trees that are adapted to
living in the shade of the canopy.
e) The ____________ layer exists in tropical rain forest.
f) Trees in the Arctic Circle tend to be ________ shaped so that leaves from top to bottom
make the most of the available sunlight.
g) Forests are known as the ___________ of the earth.
h) _____________ is the indiscriminate cutting or over-harvesting of trees.
i) ________ tree is popularly known as the miracle tree.
j) _______ or the Himalayan cedar is a species of cedar native to western Himalayas,
north-east and north-central India.
k) The banyan tree is ____________ and lives for incredible length of time.
5. State whether given statements are true/false
a) Sal is a large sub-deciduous tree, is worshipped by the Buddhists and the Hindus.
b) Forests are being lost due to an increase in deforestation and encroachment.
c) Deforestation produces humus and maintains soil fertility.
d) Decomposers break down the rough woody fibres of trees thus enabling the nutrient
cycle to begin all over again.
e) Human beings began their life on earth as food growers.
6. Define the following
a) Forest
b) Biotic component
c) Abiotic component
d) Food web
e) Deforestation
7. Multiple choice questions
A. The living component of the forest is
a) Biotic component b) Abiotic component c) soil and water
B. The forest cover on earth is steadily decreasing due to
a) Agriculture b) Industry c) housing and developmental activities
d) all the reasons mentioned above.
C. The producer in all food chains and web is
a) Herbivores b) Carnivores c) Plants d) none of the above
D. Forests are known as lungs of the earth because they are
 a) Reservoirs of nitrogen b) Reservoirs of oxygen c) Reservoirs of water
d) none.
8. Give reasons for the following
a) The term food web is a better description for a forest than a food chain.
b) Each layer of forest has different set of plants and animals.
c) Trees like spruce, pine and fir trees found near the Arctic Circle have leaves modified to
form needles.
d) Forests are important for maintaining and regulating water flow to the lower layers of
soil.
e) Forest acts as a major carbon store.
9. The shape of crowns of trees has lot to do with where it is located, justify this with help of
example.
10. Why decomposers are considered important members of food chain and food web?
11. Name the largest mangrove area in India and what helps them to grow in that area?
12. What is the forest floor made up of and what does it support?
13. What is canopy? Why is it considered most productive part of tree?
14. List down 5 importance of forest.
15. Name the national tree of India and state why it is thought as an immortal tree?
16. Even today the Neem tree is the focal point of village, why?
17. Name the following
a) The tree known as Miracle tree
b) A tall evergreen tree that has more than 700 species all over the world
c) Large coniferous tree that has height of 40-50m,diameter of trunk-upto3m
d) Large sub-deciduous tree that is worshipped by Buddhists and Hindus in India
e) The golden shower tree deciduous tree called Indian Laburnum
f) The sorrow –less tree
18. What will happen if one of the links of is removed from a food chain?
19. All animals whether herbivore, carnivore or omnivore ultimately depend on plants for food,
explain this with help of a food chain.
20. What is deforestation? How does it affect the forest?
21. How is the deforestation affecting the carbon-cycle?
22. List 4 major consequences of the deforestation
 Chapter 16

Water

1. Look around the city you stay in make a note of natural sources of water and state how it is
used by people.
2. List down the various task for which you use water every day and also ascertain the amount
of water used by you.
3. Fill in the blanks
a) The water present in _____ and _____ is very salty and cannot be used for daily needs.
b) Water exists in its frozen form on ________ ice caps and __________.
c) Water in its_________ form is available in air that surrounds us.
d) With ___________ in population the demand for water has __________.
e) All activities produce a lot of water which is dirty and has many impurities, such a water
is known as ___________.
f) The network of pipes the waste water or sewerage away is called the_______ system.
g) Water bodies on the earth receives water mainly from_______.
h) We should try to __________ rain water and not allow it to go waste.
i) The ________ hardens and blocks the pipe of the sewerage system.
4. State whether given statements are true/false
a) Waste water is produced in office, hospitals and factories.
b) Increase the quantity of waste water produced in our homes.
c) Unnecessary cutting of trees should be checked and more trees should be planted to
increase the rainfall and purify the air.
d) We should water the plants with the help of pipe.
e) As the amount of rainfall decreases, farmers depend more on ground water for
irrigation.
5. Multiple choice questions
A. Water is present in all its ______ forms on earth.
a) 3 b) 2 c) 5 d) 4
B. Water from _______ is purified and then supplied to home and offices.
a) Oceans b) seas c) River or lakes d) ground
C. The amount of rainfall has decreased due to
a) Deforestation b) increase in construction activity c) increase in number of
industries d) all the above
D. Which one is not the right measure to avoid the wastage?
a) Turn off the tap while brushing the teeth b) get the leaking taps repaired
immediately c) Always bathe under a shower d) water plants with a mug
instead of pipe.
6. Define the following
a) Waste Water
b) Rain water harvesting
c) Ground water
d) Water table
 e) Sewage
7. Give reasons for the following
a) We should not throw cooking oil in the drain.
b) Unnecessary cutting of trees should be checked and more trees should be planted.
c) Farmers should use sprinklers and drip irrigation technique for irrigating the fields.
d) We should not throw chemicals like paints, medicines and engine oil in the drain.
e) The rainfall in most of the regions of world has decreased.
8. Name the 3 states in which water is found and where do you find water in these states?
9. Even though three –fourth of earth is covered with water, we still face shortage of water,
why?
10. How can we play a role in active waste water management?
11. What are various activities that lead to formation of waste water?
12. What is Rain water harvesting? How can rain water be harvested?
13. State at least 4 steps that we should adopt in our life to avoid wastage of water.
14. How does rain water become part of waste water?
15. In olden times when there was no system of water supply how did people get water?
16. Colour the sectors representing the water in oceans and seas, rivers and lakes or fresh water
and state the percentage of water present in both cases.

17. What could lead to rise in the level of water in seas and oceans?
18. What is the sewerage system? What is its function?
19. Why should the drainage system not have open drains?
20. How can the waste water get mixed with ground water?
21. ‘Water is present in abundance but is still scarce’, justify.