[Mission 2024] STATIC QUIZ, 12 September 2023 – Environment

Solution: a)

Ocean acidification refers to a reduction in the pH of the ocean over an extended period of time, caused primarily by uptake of carbon dioxide (CO₂) from the atmosphere. Nitrogenous compounds contribute fraction to ocean acidification.

Sea grass has ability to control ocean acidification.

Solution: b)

Grasslands are known by different names in different regions.

Tropical Grasslands are:

• East Africa- Savanna
• Brazil- Campos
• Venezuela- Llanos

Temperate Grasslands are:

• Argentina- Pampas
• America- Prairie
• Africa- Veld
• Asia- Steppe
• Australia- Down

Solution: b)

Statement 2 is incorrect.

The mechanisms used by most mammals to regulate their body temperature are similar to the ones that we humans use. We maintain a constant body temperature of 370C. In summer, when outside

temperature is more than our body temperature, we sweat profusely.

The resulting evaporative cooling, similar to what happens with a desert cooler in operation, brings down the body temperature. In winter when the temperature is much lower than 370C, we start to

shiver, a kind of exercise which produces heat and raises the body temperature. Plants, on the other hand, do not have such mechanisms to maintain internal temperatures.

Thermoregulation is energetically expensive for many organisms. This is particularly true for small animals like shrews and humming birds. Heat loss or heat gain is a function of surface area. Since small animals have a larger surface area relative to their volume, they tend to lose body heat very fast when it is cold outside; then they have to expend much energy to generate body heat through metabolism. This is the main reason why very small animals are rarely found in polar regions.

Solution: d)

The irritant red haze in the traffic and congested places is due to oxides of nitrogen. Higher concentrations of NO2 damage the leaves of plants and retard the rate of photosynthesis. Nitrogen dioxide is a lung irritant that can lead to an acute respiratory disease in children. It is toxic to living tissues also. Nitrogen dioxide is also harmful to various textile fibres and metals.

Solution: d)

What are the key elements that lead to so much variation in the physical and chemical conditions of different habitats? The most important ones are temperature, water, light and soil. We must remember that the physico-chemical (abiotic) components alone do not characterise the habitat of an organism completely; the habitat includes biotic components also – pathogens, parasites, predators and competitors – of the organism with which they interact constantly.