Environment Class 7 important questions with answers PDF download
FAQs on CBSE Important Questions for Class 7 Social Science Environment - 2025-26
1. What are the major components of the environment? Explain with examples that are important for exams.
For your Class 7 exams, it's crucial to know the two main components of the environment: Natural and Human-Made.
Here’s how you should explain them for full marks:
- Natural Environment: This includes everything that exists naturally without any human interference. It is further divided into biotic (living) components like plants and animals, and abiotic (non-living) components such as land, water, and air.
- Human-Made Environment: This comprises creations and modifications by human beings. Important examples to mention are buildings, parks, bridges, roads, industries, and monuments.
2. What is an ecosystem? From an exam perspective, what are its key components?
An ecosystem is a system formed by the interaction of all living organisms with each other and with the physical and chemical factors of the environment in which they live, all linked by the transfer of energy and material.
For a 3-mark question, you should list these components:
- Biotic Components: All living elements, such as plants, animals, fungi, and microorganisms.
- Abiotic Components: All non-living chemical and physical parts of the environment, such as sunlight, temperature, water, soil, and air.
3. List and briefly describe the four major domains of the Earth as per the NCERT syllabus.
The four major domains of the Earth are fundamental for any question on this topic. They are:
- Lithosphere: This is the solid crust or the hard top layer of the Earth, made up of rocks and minerals and covered by a thin layer of soil.
- Hydrosphere: This refers to the domain of water. It comprises various sources of water and different types of water bodies like rivers, lakes, seas, and oceans.
- Atmosphere: This is the thin layer of air that surrounds the Earth. It consists of a number of gases, dust, and water vapour.
- Biosphere: This is the narrow zone of the Earth where land, water, and air interact with each other to support life. Plant and animal kingdoms together make up the biosphere.
4. How do human activities modify the natural environment? Provide examples that could be asked in a 5-mark question for the 2025-26 exams.
Humans interact with the environment and modify it according to their needs, which is a frequent theme in exams. For a high-scoring answer, explain how growing needs lead to large-scale modifications.
Key examples to include are:
- Agriculture: Clearing forests to grow crops and domesticate animals.
- Settlement: Building houses, factories, and transport infrastructure like roads and railways.
- Industrialisation: Setting up industries, which often leads to air, water, and land pollution.
- Resource Extraction: Mining for minerals and drilling for fuel, which drastically alters the lithosphere.
5. What is the core difference between biotic and abiotic components? Why is this distinction important for understanding the environment?
The core difference lies in the concept of life. Biotic components are all the living or once-living organisms in an ecosystem, such as plants, animals, and microbes. In contrast, abiotic components are the non-living chemical and physical factors, like sunlight, soil, temperature, and water.
This distinction is crucial because an ecosystem functions through the interaction between biotic and abiotic factors. Living organisms (biotic) depend on non-living things (abiotic) for survival—for instance, plants need sunlight and water to grow. Understanding this relationship is fundamental to studying how environments are structured and sustained.
6. Students often confuse the biosphere and the atmosphere. How would you clarify this for an exam?
To clarify this common confusion in an exam, you should define each term distinctly. The Atmosphere is simply the envelope of gases surrounding our planet. It provides the air we breathe and protects us from harmful sun rays. The Biosphere, however, is much more specific. It is the zone where all life exists, which includes parts of the lithosphere (land), hydrosphere (water), and atmosphere. Essentially, the biosphere is the 'life zone' created by the interaction of all other domains, making it the most critical for sustaining life.
7. Why is the environment called our 'basic life support system'? Frame an answer that would score full marks.
The environment is called our basic life support system because it provides all the essential elements required for our survival. To score full marks, structure your answer by listing these provisions:
- It provides the air we breathe (from the atmosphere).
- It provides the water we drink (from the hydrosphere).
- It provides the food we eat (grown on the lithosphere).
- It provides the land where we live (the lithosphere).
Therefore, without the environment in its natural form, human existence would be impossible. It is the foundation upon which all life is built.
8. What kind of short, 1-mark questions can be expected from CBSE Class 7 Social Science Chapter 1, 'Our Environment'?
For the 2025-26 session, you can expect direct, definition-based 1-mark questions from this chapter. Some highly probable questions are:
- Define barter system. (A system of trade where goods are exchanged directly without the use of money).
- What does the lithosphere comprise? (The solid crust or hard top layer of the Earth).
- Give one example of a human-made environment. (Bridge, road, or park).
- What constitutes the biotic environment? (The world of living organisms, e.g., plants and animals).
