Environmental Pollution: Water, Air, Noise and Land (Class 12 Geography, India: People and Economy, Chapter 9)

Understand Environmental Pollution: Water, Air, Noise and Land

Key quotations

Short lines worth knowing by heart: who says them, when, and why they matter.

• Pollution can be classified into (i) air pollution, (ii) water pollution, (iii) land pollution and (iv) noise pollution.

  NCERT, India: People and Economy, Chapter 9: Opening of the section "Environmental Pollution".

  The four-way classification that frames every answer.

Environmental Pollution: Water, Air, Noise and Land: key facts

Classification

• •By medium of transport and diffusion
• •air
• •water
• •land
• •noise

Pollution = release of substances and energy from human waste.

Water pollution

• •Industrial + agricultural + cultural activities
• •industry most significant
• •leather, pulp and paper, textiles, chemicals
• •nitrate rise from fertiliser
• •diarrhoea, intestinal worms, hepatitis

About one-fourth of communicable diseases in India are water-borne (WHO).

Air pollution

• •Combustion of fossil fuels
• •mining
• •industries
• •oxides of sulphur and nitrogen
• •respiratory, nervous, circulatory diseases
• •urban smog
• •acid rain

First rain after summer has lower pH.

Noise and land

• •Noise: factories, construction, automobiles, aircraft, sirens, loudspeakers
• •traffic is the biggest nuisance
• •Land: improper activities, untreated industrial waste, pesticides and fertilisers

Sea-traffic noise is confined to the harbour.

How to answer Environmental Pollution: Water, Air, Noise and Land questions

1. 1Name the type first (air, water, land or noise) and state that types are classified by the medium of transport and diffusion.
2. 2Give two named pollutants and the source for that type from Table 9.1.
3. 3For water, add the three kinds of activity (industrial, agricultural, cultural) with one example each.
4. 4For air, add the effects (respiratory, nervous and circulatory diseases, smog, acid rain).
5. 5For noise, name the main sources, say traffic is the biggest nuisance, and mention that it is location specific.

Environmental Pollution: Water, Air, Noise and Land in real life

The idea, met in an everyday situation. Answer the question in your own words, then compare with the model answer. The one-line hook is what to remember.

Tricks to remember Environmental Pollution: Water, Air, Noise and Land

Short memory aids. Say each one aloud once, then use it on a question the same day.

• "Cultural, Agricultural, Industrial" = C A I

  Three human activities that pollute water; industry is the biggest.

  Use it when: Water pollution headings.

• Leather, Pulp, Textiles, Chemicals

  L P T C: the four industries NCERT names as major water polluters.

  Use it when: Industrial water pollution.

• Respiratory, nervous, circulatory

  R N C: three systems harmed by air pollution.

  Use it when: Effects of air pollution.

• Four media, four types

  Air, water, land, noise: classified by the medium that carries the pollutant.

  Use it when: Classification.

Environmental Pollution: Water, Air, Noise and Land: solved examples

Ordered from board level to HOTS. Try each one before you open the solution.

Where students lose marks in Environmental Pollution: Water, Air, Noise and Land

The slips examiners see most often, and what to write instead.

• ✗Mistake: Listing noise as a type of land pollution

  Noise is produced by vehicles on land.

  Wrong working

  Pollution types are water, air, land (including noise) and soil.

  Right working

  The four types are air, water, land and noise pollution.

  ✓Do this: Four media, four types.

  Usually costs: 1 mark.

• ✗Mistake: Saying only industry pollutes water

  Industry is the most significant contributor.

  Wrong working

  Water is polluted only by industrial effluents.

  Right working

  Industrial, agricultural and cultural activities all pollute water; industry is the most significant.

  ✓Do this: Three activities.

  Usually costs: 1 mark.

• ✗Mistake: Treating each pollutant as belonging to one type only

  Lists look separate in the table.

  Wrong working

  Radioactive substances are only a land pollutant.

  Right working

  Radioactive substances (and fluorides) are listed under both water and land pollution.

  ✓Do this: Check the table for overlaps.

  Usually costs: 1 mark in a statement item.

• ✗Mistake: Writing numbers for pH

  The topic sounds scientific.

  Wrong working

  The pH of the first rain is 4.5.

  Right working

  NCERT gives no figure: only that the first rain after summer always has a lower pH than later rain.

  ✓Do this: No invented numbers.

  Usually costs: 1 mark.

Practice questions on Environmental Pollution: Water, Air, Noise and Land

Write each answer on paper first. Open the hint only if you are stuck, and the answer only when you have finished.

1. Q1 · 1 mark · MCQBoard level

   Which one of the following is a natural source of water pollutants named by NCERT?
   (A) Erosion
   (B) Sewage disposal
   (C) Fertiliser use
   (D) Religious fairs

   Hint

   NCERT names erosion, landslides and decay of plants and animals.

   Answer

   (A) Erosion. The other three are human activities.

2. Q2 · 2 marks · Very short answerHarder board level

   NCERT's text says combustion of fossil fuels, mining and industries release oxides of sulphur and nitrogen, hydrocarbons, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, lead and asbestos. Which one of these is not in the Table 9.1 list of air pollutants, and name two that appear in both lists. (2 marks)

   Hint

   Table 9.1 air list: oxides of sulphur, oxides of nitrogen, carbon monoxide, hydro-carbon, ammonia, lead, aldehydes, asbestos, beryllium.

   Answer

   Carbon dioxide is named in the text but not in the Table 9.1 list of air pollutants. Any two of oxides of sulphur, oxides of nitrogen, hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide, lead and asbestos appear in both lists.

3. Q3 · 1 mark · MCQHarder board level

   Which one of the following sets contains only pollutants that Table 9.1 lists for air pollution?
   (A) Oxides of nitrogen, asbestos, beryllium
   (B) Nitrates, tannin, coliform count
   (C) Alkalinity, fluorides, animal excreta
   (D) Chloride, carbonates, oil and grease

   Hint

   The other three sets belong to water and land.

   Answer

   (A) Oxides of nitrogen, asbestos, beryllium. Set B and set D are water pollutants, and set C is land pollutants (fluorides are also listed under water).

4. Q4 · 3 marks · Short answerHarder board level

   In Table 9.1, sewage disposal appears as a source of two types of pollution. Name the two types, give one pollutant that the table lists for each, and say what this shows about the classification. Label inference. (3 marks)

   Hint

   Look at the sources column for air and for water.

   Answer

   Sewage disposal is listed as a source of both air pollution and water pollution (1 mark). Table 9.1 lists, for example, ammonia or carbon monoxide among air pollutants and coliform (bacterial count) or ammonia and urea among water pollutants (1 mark). This shows that one source can feed more than one medium, so the four types overlap in their sources even though they are classified by the medium that carries the pollutants; this conclusion is our inference from the table (1 mark).

5. Q5 · 2 marks · Very short answerBoard level

   Name two natural sources of water pollutants mentioned by NCERT and say which sources are the real cause of concern. (2 marks)

   Hint

   Erosion, landslides, decay; human activities.

   Answer

   Natural sources include erosion, landslides, and the decay and decomposition of plants and animals. Pollutants from human activities (industrial, agricultural and cultural) are the real cause of concern.

6. Q6 · 3 marks · Short answerHOTS / competency

   A city improves its sewage treatment but continues to burn large amounts of coal and diesel and to dump untreated industrial waste on land. Using NCERT, explain why treating only one type of pollution is not enough, giving two links between types. Label inference. (3 marks)

   Hint

   Table 9.1 overlaps; air pollution causes acid rain.

   Answer

   NCERT shows that pollution types share pollutants and sources: fluorides and radioactive substances appear under both water and land pollution, and run-off over cultivated lands and toxic industrial effluents appear as water pollution sources even though they start on land. Air pollution from burning fuels also causes acid rain. So treating sewage alone leaves air and land pollution, and the links between the media let pollutants move from one to another. That the rain carries air pollutants into water bodies is our inference; NCERT only states that air pollution causes acid rain.

Test your recall

Answer in your head or on paper first, then open the card. Pulling an answer out of memory makes it stick far better than re-reading.

1. 1.Which pollutant increases in surface waters because of fertiliser use?Show answer

   Nitrate.

2. 2.What is smoky fog over cities called?Show answer

   Urban smog.

3. 3.Name two water-borne diseases other than diarrhoea.Show answer

   Intestinal worms and hepatitis.

4. 4.Which kind of noise is called the biggest nuisance?Show answer

   The noise produced by traffic.

5. 5.Name two sources of land pollution listed in Table 9.1.Show answer

   Improper human activities, disposal of untreated industrial waste, and the use of pesticides and fertilisers (any two).

Environmental Pollution: Water, Air, Noise and Land: frequently asked questions