Skip to content

“Biodiversity plays a major… (Class 12 Biology 2023, Q28)

questionbuddy.in/q/cbse-12-biology-2023-57-5-1-q28-biodiversity-plays-major-role-many

BiologyCBSE Class 12 · Board exam 2023, set 57/5/1 · 3 marks · Short answer

CBSE Class 12 Biology 2023: question 28

Set in the CBSE Class 12 board exam of 2023, paper 57/5/1, section C, question 28, for 3 marks. Try it first; the hints and our step-by-step solution are below.

Q28 · 3 marks · Short answerBiodiversity and Conservation

“Biodiversity plays a major role in many ecosystem services that nature provides.”

  1. (a)

    Describe any two broadly utilatarian arguments to justify the given statement.

    0 marks
  2. (b)

    State one ethical reason of conserving biodiversity.

    0 marks

Source: official question paper from cbse.gov.in (PDF). See it in the full 2023 board paper, set 57/5/1.

Hints

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

Hint 1

Broadly utilitarian arguments are about services nature gives free of cost.

Hint 2

The ethical argument is about the worth of a species itself, not its usefulness to us.

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) Argument 1: Forests and other biodiversity-rich ecosystems carry out photosynthesis. For example, the Amazon forest is estimated to produce about 20% of the oxygen in Earth's atmosphere, which is a service we cannot pay for.

    1 mark

  2. Argument 2: Pollination of crops and other plants by bees, birds and bats depends on biodiversity; we could not get fruits and seeds without it. Biodiversity also mitigates droughts and floods, cycles nutrients, forms fertile soil, stores carbon and gives aesthetic pleasure (woods, bird watching).

    1 mark

  3. (b) Ethical argument: every species has an intrinsic value, even if it has no economic use to us. We therefore have a moral duty to care for its well-being and pass on our biological legacy in good order to future generations.

    1 mark

Answer: (a) Oxygen production through photosynthesis; pollination (also flood/drought control, nutrient cycling, fertile soil, aesthetic pleasure). (b) Every species has intrinsic value, so we have a moral duty to conserve it for future generations.

Where the marks are

  • First utilitarian ecosystem service described, e.g. oxygen production (1 mark)
  • Second utilitarian ecosystem service described, e.g. pollination (1 mark)
  • Ethical reason: intrinsic value of every species and our moral duty towards future generations (1 mark)

Revise the chapter

Practise this chapterBoard-style questions from Biodiversity and Conservation, one at a time, marked against the answer key and marking points.Back to the full paper2023 board paper, set 57/5/1: 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.