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(a) Mention any one harmful… (Class 10 Science 2026, Q14)

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ScienceCBSE Class 10 · Board exam 2026, set 31/5/1 · 3 marks · Short answer

CBSE Class 10 Science 2026: question 14

Set in the CBSE Class 10 board exam of 2026, paper 31/5/1, section A, question 14, for 3 marks. Try it first; the hints and our step-by-step solution are below.

Q14 · 3 marks · Short answerCompetency-basedOur Environment

(a) Mention any one harmful effect of using plastic bags on the environment. Suggest better alternatives to the usage of plastic bags.

(b) Paddy fields require a large amount of water. The pesticides and chemical fertilizers used are washed down into the soil or waterbodies. How do these chemicals reach our bodies ? What is this phenomenon known as ?

  1. (a)

    Mention any one harmful effect of using plastic bags on the environment. Suggest better alternatives to the usage of plastic bags.

    0 marks
  2. (b)

    Paddy fields require a large amount of water. The pesticides and chemical fertilizers used are washed down into the soil or waterbodies. How do these chemicals reach our bodies ? What is this phenomenon known as ?

    0 marks

Source: official question paper from cbse.gov.in (PDF). See it in the full 2026 board paper, set 31/5/1.

Hints

Open one hint at a time and try again before the next.

Hint 1

Can microbes break plastic down?

Hint 2

Think of how rice grown in contaminated water reaches your plate, and what happens to non-biodegradable chemicals along a food chain.

Step-by-step solution

Each step shows the marks it earns, as an examiner would award them. Checked by an independent re-solve from the question paper.

  1. (a) Harmful effect: plastic is non-biodegradable, so bags stay in soil and water for very long, choking drains and harming animals that swallow them.

    ½ mark

  2. Better alternatives: jute bags or cloth bags (also paper bags).

    ½ mark

  3. (b) The pesticides and fertilisers are non-biodegradable. From soil/water they are absorbed by plants and aquatic organisms, then pass along the food chain, accumulating progressively at each trophic level. Humans, at the top of food chains, get the highest concentration in their bodies.

    1 mark

  4. This phenomenon is called biological magnification.

    1 mark

Answer: (a) Non-biodegradable, persists in environment; use jute/cloth bags. (b) Enter food chain and accumulate at each trophic level, maximum in humans – biological magnification.

Where the marks are

  • One harmful effect of plastic bags (½ mark)
  • Suitable alternative such as jute/cloth bag (½ mark)
  • Explains entry through food chain and accumulation at each trophic level (1 mark)
  • Names biological magnification (1 mark)

Revise the chapter

  • Chapter: Our Environment (notes, formulas, where marks are lost and every past question)
Practise this chapterBoard-style questions from Our Environment, one at a time, marked against the answer key and marking points.Back to the full paper2026 board paper, set 31/5/1: every question, by section.

The question is transcribed from the official paper; figures are described in words. The solution, hints and chapter tag are ours. Spotted an error? Write tosupport@questionbuddy.in.