-: Questions :-

Q1. Who first coined the term Ecology?
Answer: The term Ecology was first coined by the German biologist Ernst Haeckel in 1866.

Q2. What is the etymological meaning of the term Ecology?
Answer: The word ecology comes from the Greek words Oikos meaning “home” or “habitat” and logos means study, thus it is the “study of home or environment.”

Q3. What is environment?
Answer: The environment is everything that surrounds or affects an organism during its lifetime. It may be defined as the sum total of water, air, and land, and their inter-relationships with humans, other living organisms, and property.

Q4. Define ecology.
Answer: Ecology is the study of the interrelationships between organisms and their environment.

• Ernst Haeckel: “The body of knowledge concerning the economy of nature – the investigation of the total relations of the animal, both to its inorganic and organic environment, including relations with animals and plants with which it comes directly or indirectly into contact.”
• Eugene P. Odum: “The study of structure and function of nature.”

Q5. What are the two components of water?
Answer: Water (H₂O) is a compound of two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom.

Q6. What do you mean by ecological balance?
Answer: Ecological balance is the delicate equilibrium in natural ecosystems, where living organisms interact with each other and their environment harmoniously, maintaining stability and sustainability.

Q7. What is physical environment?
Answer: The physical environment includes non-living components such as air, water, land, sunlight, rainfall, temperature, pressure, humidity, and wind.

Q8. What is social environment?
Answer: The social environment refers to the immediate physical and social setting in which people live, including culture, people, and institutions influencing the individual.

Q9. What are the basic elements of environment?
Answer: Three chief elements are :

1. Gas (air)
2. Liquid (water)
3. Solid (soil)

Q10. What do you mean by water cycle?
Answer: The water cycle is the continuous process of evaporation, transpiration, and precipitation, cycling water between the atmosphere and Earth’s surface.

Q11. What is phytoplankton?
Answer: Phytoplankton are microscopic floating plants found in the top layer of water in aquatic ecosystems. They are the primary producers in the food chain.

Q12. What is smog?
Answer: Smog is a type of air pollution that reduces visibility, formed from a mixture of smoke, fog, and harmful pollutants like nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide, and ground-level ozone

Q13. What are the major greenhouse gases?
Answer: Carbon dioxide, Methane, Nitrous oxide, Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), and other gases.

Q14. What do you mean by Greenhouse Effect?
Answer: The Greenhouse Effect is the warming of Earth caused by greenhouse gases trapping heat in the atmosphere, keeping the average temperature around 15°C.

Q15. What is global warming?
Answer: Global warming is the slow increase in Earth’s average temperature, mainly due to increasing CO₂ from deforestation and burning fossil fuels.

Q16. What is acid rain?
Answer: Acid rain forms when sulphur and nitrogen oxides react with water vapour in the atmosphere, producing sulphuric and nitric acids, which then fall as rain.

Q17. What do you mean by food chain and food web?
Answer:

• Food Chain: Transfer of food energy from producers to herbivores, then carnivores, in a single direction.
• Food Web: A network of interconnected food chains, showing multiple feeding relationships in an ecosystem.

Essay Type Questions :

Q1. Define ecosystem. What are the different components of an ecosystem? Describe with examples.
Answer: An ecosystem is a self-sufficient natural unit where living organisms interact with the non-living environment to form a balanced and stable system. Examples of ecosystems include ponds, lakes, deserts, forests, grasslands, and man-made systems such as crop fields.

An ecosystem has two main components: abiotic and biotic. The abiotic components include climatic factors such as rainfall, temperature, light, wind, and humidity, which provide energy for processes like photosynthesis, and edaphic factors such as soil, pH, and minerals that affect plant growth. The biotic components include producers such as green plants and algae that prepare food through photosynthesis, consumers such as herbivores, carnivores, and omnivores that depend on plants or other animals for food, and decomposers such as bacteria and fungi that break down dead material and return nutrients to the soil.

Q2. What is ecology? Discuss its subject matter.
Answer: Ecology is the study of interactions between organisms and their environment, including human beings. It helps in understanding how living things depend on and influence each other and their surroundings.

Subject Matter of Ecology are :

1. Molecular Ecology: Studies proteins and their interactions with the environment
2. Organismal Ecology: Studies the behavior and physiology of individual organisms
3. Population Ecology: Examines factors affecting population size and genetics
4. Community Ecology: Studies interactions among populations of different species
5. Ecosystem Ecology: Explores relationships between living and non-living components
6. Landscape Ecology: Looks at energy and material exchanges between ecosystems
7. Global Ecology: Studies interactions among the Earth’s ecosystems, land, atmosphere, and oceans

Q3. What is the importance of studying ecology?
Answer: Ecology helps us understand the relationships between plants, animals, and their environment. It promotes the sustainable use of natural resources and reduces the impact of human activities on nature. Studying ecology also aids in managing species populations and maintaining ecological balance. Additionally, it helps us understand how human societies adapt to their environment. Overall, ecology provides essential knowledge for conserving nature and ensuring harmony between humans and the environment.

Q4. What is ecological balance? Discuss man as a main factor disturbing ecological balance.
Answer: Ecological balance is the natural harmony in which living organisms interact peacefully with each other and with their environment. This balance ensures that ecosystems function properly and all species can survive together.

Human activities have disturbed this balance in many ways. Climate change caused by greenhouse gases leads to global warming, while pollution of air, water, and soil harms plants and animals. Deforestation and habitat destruction reduce biodiversity, and overpopulation and industrialization put pressure on natural resources. It is important to adopt sustainable practices to restore and maintain ecological balance.

Q5. Discuss the relation between ecology and environment.
Answer: The environment is the natural place where organisms live. It includes living things like plants, animals, and humans, and non-living things like air, water, soil, and climate. Ecology is the study of how these organisms interact with each other and with their environment.

The relationship between ecology and environment is two-way. The environment affects the way organisms live, grow, and behave. At the same time, human activities like farming, building cities, and using resources also change the environment. Ecology helps us understand these interactions and shows how we can protect the environment and maintain balance in nature.