Question

(a) "Improvements in our lifestyle have resulted in greater amounts of waste generation." Give two examples to support the given statement. Suggest one change that we can incorporate in our lifestyle in order to reduce non-biodegradable waste.
(b) The following organisms form a food chain. Write the food chain.
Insect, Hawk, Grass, Snake, Frog
Which of these will have highest concentration of non-biodegradable chemicals? Name the phenomenon.

Answer 1

(a) The above statement can be supported by two facts -

• Recetnly, its been a trend to use disposable materials like cups, plates, spoons etc in marriages and parties. These are usually made up of non biodegradable substances like plastic and styrofoam which eventually result in polluting our environment.
• Another example is the use of disposable plastic cups in trains. These leads to generation of a lot of plastic waste. However, they are being slowly replaced by paper cups to reduce the burden on the environment.

We should try to minimise the use of disposable/ one time use products in our daily lifes.

(b) The food chain is

Grass →Insect →Frog →Snake→ Hawk

The highest concentration of non biodegradable chemicals will be present in Hawk as it occupies the last trophic level.

This phenomenon is termed as biomagnification. It is defined as the increase in the concentration of pollutants or harmful chemicals with the increase in trophic level.