Which of the following is/are the function(s) of environment? 1. Supplying resources 2. Sustaining life 3. Providing aesthetic services Select the correct answer using the code given below :
- A.1 only
- B.2 and 3 only
- C.1,2 and 3
- D.1 and 3 only
Correct answer
Explanation
The correct answer is C, 1, 2 and 3. Supplying resources, sustaining life and providing aesthetic services are all functions of the environment.
The environment is the total of all the living and non-living things around us. Economists list four main functions it performs. It supplies resources, both renewable ones like forests and fish and non-renewable ones like coal and minerals. It assimilates waste produced by people and industry. It sustains life through the sun, soil, water and air on which all living things depend. And it provides aesthetic services, such as the beauty of mountains, rivers and forests that people enjoy. Trouble begins when we take resources faster than they are renewed or dump waste faster than nature can absorb it.
A is wrong because it leaves out sustaining life and aesthetic services. B is wrong because it leaves out the supply of resources. D is wrong because it leaves out sustaining life, the most basic function of all.
Exam tip: the four functions are supplying resources, assimilating waste, sustaining life and providing aesthetic services.
Practice Questions
View allWhich one of the following statements with regard to growth of coral reefs is not correct?
- A.Coral can grow abundantly in freshwater.
- B.It requires warm water between 23 °C-25 °C.
- C.It requires shallow saltwater, not deeper than 50 metres.
- D.It requires plenty of sunlight to aid photosynthesis.
Show answer
Reef-building corals are marine animals and die in fresh water, so this statement is false. Corals are tiny polyps that build skeletons of calcium carbonate and live with algae called zooxanthellae inside their tissues.
Read the full explanation →Which one of the following biosphere reserves is spread over three States in India?
- A.Nilgiri
- B.Achanakmar-Amarkantak
- C.Seshachalam
- D.Agasthyamalai
Show answer
The Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve spreads across Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka. Set up in 1986, Nilgiri was India's first biosphere reserve, and in 2000 it became the first Indian reserve on UNESCO's World Network of Biosphere Reserves.
Read the full explanation →Which of the following is/are renewable source(s) of energy? 1. Fossil fuel 2. Biofuel 3. Uranium 4. Hydropower Select the correct answer using the code given below.
- A.2 only
- B.3 and 4
- C.1 and 3
- D.2 and 4
Show answer
Biofuel and hydropower are renewable because nature replaces them within a human lifetime, while fossil fuels and uranium are not.
Read the full explanation →Which one of the following is NOT decomposed by bacterial action ?
- A.Vegetable remains
- B.Plastic materials
- C.Animal carcasses
- D.Wastes of flowers
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Ordinary plastics are non-biodegradable, so bacteria and fungi cannot break them down in any useful length of time. Most plastics, such as polyethylene, polypropylene and PVC, are long synthetic polymers made from petroleum.
Read the full explanation →According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which one of the following is the largest source of sulphur dioxide emissions?
- A.Locomotives using fossil fuels
- B.Ships using fossil fuels
- C.Extraction of metals from ores
- D.Power plants using fossil fuels
Show answer
The EPA names the burning of fossil fuels by power plants and other industrial facilities as the largest source of sulphur dioxide.
Read the full explanation →