Grade 5 Q&A: Chapter 3: The Earth and its Living World

Concept Questions

Q1: What are the main spheres of the Earth discussed in this chapter?

Answer: The main spheres of the Earth discussed are the lithosphere (land), hydrosphere (water), atmosphere (air), and the biosphere (living world).

Q2: What percentage of the Earth's surface is covered by land and water?

Answer: Approximately one-third of the Earth's surface is occupied by land, while two-thirds is covered with water.

Q3: What is the Earth's crust mainly made of?

Answer: The Earth's crust is mainly made of hard rock.

Q4: Name the seven continents of the Earth.

Answer: The seven continents of the Earth are Asia, Europe, Africa, North America, South America, Antarctica, and Australia.

Q5: Which is the largest continent and which is the smallest?

Answer: Asia is the largest continent and Australia is the smallest.

Q6: What are the five major oceans of the world?

Answer: The five major oceans of the world are the Atlantic Ocean, Pacific Ocean, Arctic Ocean, Southern Ocean, and Indian Ocean.

Q7: What is the difference between rills, brooks, streams, and rivers?

Answer: Rills are the smallest streams of water, followed by brooks, then streams, and rivers are the biggest. They are all fresh surface water bodies.

Q8: What is a tributary?

Answer: A tributary is a smaller stream of water that joins a bigger river.

Q9: What is a waterfall?

Answer: A waterfall is formed when a river cascades down a sudden drop in some places.

Q10: What is a lake?

Answer: A lake is a water body formed by water collecting naturally in a low-lying area of land.

Q11: How is ice formed from snow, and what is a glacier?

Answer: In cold regions, water particles in clouds freeze and come down as snow. When layers of snow pile up, they form ice. A glacier is a huge mass of ice that forms when layers of ice pile up in a low-lying area and then slips down a slope at a very slow speed.

Q12: What are icebergs?

Answer: Icebergs are huge blocks of ice floating in the sea.

Q13: What is groundwater and how do we access it?

Answer: Groundwater is a lot of water stored in the underground layers of rock. We access it by means of dug wells and bore wells, and many lakes and wells get water from underground springs.

Q14: What is the atmosphere composed of?

Answer: The atmosphere is composed of a mixture of gases, mainly nitrogen, oxygen, water vapour, and carbon dioxide, along with other gases in small quantities.

Q15: Name the layers of the atmosphere.

Answer: The layers of the atmosphere are the troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, ionosphere, and exosphere.

Q16: Which layer of the atmosphere contains almost all water vapour and where do weather phenomena occur?

Answer: Almost all the water vapour is contained in the troposphere, and all weather-related phenomena such as formation of clouds, rain, fog, winds, and storms take place in this layer.

Q17: What is the importance of the ozone layer?

Answer: The ozone layer in the stratosphere absorbs harmful ultraviolet rays coming from the sun, protecting living things from them.

Q18: What is condensation?

Answer: Condensation is the process of vapour turning into water on cooling.

Q19: What is the water cycle?

Answer: The water cycle is the continuous movement of water on, above, and below the surface of the Earth, involving processes like evaporation, condensation, and precipitation.

Q20: What is meant by 'biosphere'?

Answer: The biosphere is the part of Earth where life exists. It includes parts of the lithosphere (land), hydrosphere (water), and atmosphere (air) where living organisms are found and interact with each other and their non-living environment.

Application-Based Questions

Q21: Where do you get water from?

Answer: We get water from various sources like rivers, lakes, ponds, oceans, groundwater (through wells and borewells), and rain.

Q22: Where do we lay the foundation of buildings?

Answer: We lay the foundation of buildings on the lithosphere, which is the Earth's solid crust.

Q23: What need do we meet through breathing?

Answer: Through breathing, we meet the need for oxygen, which is essential for our body's functions.

Q24: From where does the earth get light and heat?

Answer: The Earth gets light and heat from the Sun.

Q25: In which layer of the atmosphere do we see the rainbow?

Answer: We see the rainbow in the troposphere, as it is the layer where weather-related phenomena like rain occur.

Q26: Mountaineers carry oxygen in cylinders when they climb mountains that are more than 5000 m high. What could be the reason for that?

Answer: Mountaineers carry oxygen because as one goes higher in the troposphere (the layer where mountains are), the air becomes rarer, meaning there is less oxygen available for breathing. At altitudes above 5000 m, the air is too thin to provide enough oxygen naturally for human survival.

Q27: Why are micro-organisms important?

Answer: Micro-organisms are vital for life on Earth. They play crucial roles in decomposition, breaking down dead organic matter and recycling nutrients back into the soil. They are essential for nutrient cycles (like nitrogen and carbon cycles), aid in digestion in many animals, produce oxygen (e.g., phytoplankton), and are used in various industrial processes like food production (e.g., yogurt, bread) and medicine (e.g., antibiotics).

Q28: Think about all the foodstuffs obtained from the sea. Find more information and write ten lines about them.

Answer: The sea is a rich source of various foodstuffs that are integral to diets worldwide. Fish like salmon, tuna, and cod provide high-quality protein and omega-3 fatty acids, crucial for brain and heart health. Shellfish such as shrimp, crabs, and lobsters are also popular, offering lean protein and essential minerals. Beyond these, edible seaweeds like nori, kelp, and spirulina are gaining recognition for their dense nutritional profiles, including vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. These marine plants are used in salads, soups, and as wraps. Additionally, some cultures consume marine invertebrates like sea urchins and jellyfish. Sustainable harvesting and aquaculture practices are becoming increasingly important to ensure these valuable marine resources are available for future generations, balancing human consumption with ecological health.

Q29: Make a list of the landforms you see in your surroundings and give a description of any two of them.

Answer: (This answer will vary based on the student's surroundings. Example list and descriptions below.)
Example List: Hills, Plains, Valleys, Mountains, Plateaus, Seashore, Rivers, Islands.
Description 1: Plains: Plains are large, flat areas of land with gentle slopes. They are often formed by the deposition of sediment from rivers and are typically very fertile, making them suitable for agriculture and human settlements.
Description 2: Hills: Hills are elevated landforms that are smaller than mountains. They typically have rounded tops and are less steep than mountains. Hills can be formed by erosion, faulting, or volcanic activity.

Exercises

1. What's the solution?

Question: Dark patches appear on the skin after exposure to the sun.

Answer: Dark patches appearing on the skin after sun exposure are often a sign of hyperpigmentation or sun damage. To prevent this, one should use sunscreen with adequate SPF, wear protective clothing (hats, long sleeves), and avoid prolonged sun exposure, especially during peak hours. If patches persist, consulting a dermatologist is advisable.

4. In the following sentences, underline the words that refer to landforms.

1. Anil lives at the foot of a hill.
2. Ria lives in the plateau region.

5. Write a note about the following.

1. Evaporation:

   Evaporation is the process by which water changes from a liquid state to a gaseous state (water vapor) and rises into the atmosphere. This process is primarily driven by heat from the sun.

2. Condensation:Condensation is the process by which water vapor in the air cools and changes back into liquid water droplets or ice crystals, forming clouds. This is the opposite of evaporation.

3. The water cycle . Evaporation of water from the earth due to the heat of the sun, forms water vapour. 2.This vapour is light and moves up in the atmosphere and forms clouds. 3.When these droplets join together and form bigger drops they become heavy and falls down on the earth in the form of rain. 4.This process of evaporation, condensation and rainfall go on in a continuous cycle. This is known as nature’s water cycle.

6. Give two examples of each.

1. Weather-related events: Rain, Snow, Storms, Hail, Fog, Thunderstorms.

2. Sources of water: Rivers, Lakes, Ponds, Oceans, Groundwater, Rain.

7. Draw a labelled diagram showing the water cycle.

Answer: (I cannot draw. However, a typical labelled diagram of the water cycle would include: Sun (driving force), Evaporation (from oceans/lakes), Condensation (forming clouds), Precipitation (rain/snow falling), Collection (rivers, lakes, oceans, groundwater), Transpiration (from plants), Runoff (water flowing over land). Arrows should indicate the direction of water movement.)

Activity

Activity: Find out more information about the different layers of the atmosphere.

Guidance: Students should research the Earth's atmosphere, identifying its main layers: Troposphere, Stratosphere, Mesosphere, Thermosphere, and Exosphere. For each layer, they should find information about its altitude, temperature characteristics, key features (e.g., ozone layer in stratosphere, weather in troposphere), and any significant phenomena that occur within it (e.g., auroras in thermosphere).