Important Questions Class 7 Social Science Our Environment Chapter 5

Important Questions Class 7 Social Science Our Environment Chapter 5

Geography is a fascinating field that examines the connections between human civilization and its surroundings as well as the world’s landforms, oceans, habitats, and ecosystems. The original Greek meaning of the word geography is “Earth writing”. Water is the fifth chapter of Class 7 Social Science Our Environment. 71% of the surface of our planet is made up of water. The water cycle describes how water constantly transforms its form and moves between seas, the atmosphere, and the land. Rivers, ponds, springs, and glaciers are the primary freshwater sources. Waves, tides, and currents are three main categories that may be used to describe ocean motions. These concepts are covered in Chapter 5 Class 7 Social Science Our Environment Important Questions. Students can easily access all this and more on the Extramarks website.

Subjects like geography require constant attention from students as well as regular revisions. Professionals from Extramarks used the NCERT Textbook, NCERT Exemplar, other reference books, past exam papers, and other sources to create the Social Science Our Environment Class 7 Chapter 5 Important Questions. Geography experts have compiled a list of step-by-step solutions to assist students in understanding each chapter. Students can register with Extramarks and access Class 7 Social Science Our Environment Chapter 5 Important Questions.

Apart from Important Questions Class 7 Social Science Our Environment Chapter 5, students can access materials like NCERT Solutions, CBSE revision notes, past year question papers, NCERT books, and much more can be found easily on the Extramarks website.

Important Questions Class 7 Social Science Our Environment Chapter 5- with Solutions

Geography professionals of Extramarks have produced an entire list of Important Questions Class 7 Social Science Our Environment Chapter 5 using various sources. Water covers 71 percent of the surface of our world. The water cycle depicts the ongoing changes in shape and movement of water within and between oceans, the atmosphere, and the land. The main sources of freshwater include glaciers, rivers, ponds, springs, and lakes. Ocean movements may be categorised into three primary groups: waves, tides, and currents. These questions and solutions help students better comprehend what water is.

Mentioned below are a few Important Questions Class 7 Social Science Our Environment Chapter 5 and their solutions:

Question 1. What are ocean currents?

Answer 1. Ocean currents are the continuous streams of water moving in a certain direction on the ocean’s surface. Warm or cold ocean currents are also possible.

Question 2. What uses do high tides serve?

Answer 2. In many respects, high tides are significant. Following is a list of some of them:

  • Because they raise the water level near the beach, high tides help navigate better. This facilitates faster ship arrivals at ports.
  • Due to the fact that more fish approach the coast during high tides, high tides are also advantageous for fishermen.
  • High tides can help produce power in some locations.

Question 3. What is precipitation?

Answer 3. Water turns to vapour when exposed to the sun’s heat. When this vapour cools, it condenses into clouds. This might then precipitate as rain, snow, or sleet on Earth’s surface. Precipitation is the term which is used to describe the act of water returning to the earth’s surface as rain, snow, or sleet.

Question 4. Give an overview of the phenomenon of tsunami.

Answer 4. Following is a basic overview of tsunamis:

  • Tsunamis are enormous, devastating tidal waves that form in oceans and seas and reach a height of roughly 15 metres.
  • In Japan, harbour waves are referred to as tsunamis because they frequently cause the destruction of ports.
  • Underwater oceanic eruptions, earthquakes, and landslides result in tsunamis because they divert large amounts of ocean water.
  • Tsunamis cause a significant volume of water to shift vertically upward and move toward the land close to coastal locations.
  • Tsunamis are regarded as being extremely destructive. Once they have the land, they obliterate everything in their way. Buildings, homes, farms, and everything else in their path are all destroyed by tsunamis.

When the tsunami of 2004 swept across Indira Point in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, it was a tragic example of this phenomenon.

Question 5. What are tides, and how are they caused?

Answer 5. A tide is the name given to ocean water’s regular rise and fall twice daily. The gravitational pull of the sun and moon on the planet’s surface causes tides.

Question 6. What uses does water serve?

Answer 6. The following statements highlight the significance of water:

  • The most vital component of human existence is water. Water is essential to life since it allows us to drink, wash our clothing and other items of daily use, prepare our meals, and do many other essential tasks.
  • Water makes up about 70% of the human body and is essential to several bodily processes.
  • Water makes about one-third of the earth’s surface. Major transit routes go along oceans, lakes, ponds, and other bodies of water.
  • We prevent several ailments thanks to water.
  • Without water, nothing can grow. Any region in the world that has less rainfall experiences a detrimental impact on its agriculture. It implies that an area needs water to be fruitful agriculturally.
  • Water is the primary catalyst for numerous organic chemical processes that support human, plant and animal life.

Question 7. What is the water cycle?

Answer 7. The water cycle is the process through which water continuously transforms its form and moves between seas, the atmosphere, and land.

Question 8. Describe the following: tide, oceanic currents, and tsunami.

Answer 8. The following is an explanation of the terms stated above:

  • Tide: The water in seas and oceans rises and falls twice daily due to the gravitational attraction of the sun and moon. A tide is the name given for this occurrence.
  • Ocean currents: Ocean currents are streams of warm and cold water that continually move in certain patterns and orientations over the ocean’s surface. Typically, they move from the equator to the poles. Temperature and density are only a few variables that affect ocean currents.
  • Tsunami: Tsunamis are enormous, devastating tidal waves forming in oceans and seas and reaching roughly 15 metres. They are brought on by abrupt movements of the earth beneath the sea or the ocean by earthquakes, landslides, or underwater oceanic eruptions. They are seismic waves as a result.

Question 8. Which factors affect the movement of ocean water?

Answer 8. The following factors influence ocean water circulation:

  • Warm and cold currents
  • Temperature
  • Wind 
  • The sun and moon’s gravitational attraction

Question 9. Describe how important tides are to humankind.

Answer 9. The importance of tides to humankind is as follows:

  • High tides assist navigation.
  • Near the coastlines, they boost the water level.
  • This makes it easier for ships to dock in the harbour.
  • Fishermen benefit from high tides as well because they make fishing easy.
  • During high tides, a lot more fish approach the coast.
  • This makes it possible for fishermen to acquire a large catch.
  • In some locations, such as the Gulf of Khambhat, power is produced by the rise and fall of water caused by tides.

Question 10. Why do spring and neap tides exist?

Answer 10. The moon, the sun, and the earth are all in the same line on full and new moon days.

  • The tides are highest on this day.
  • They are known as spring tides.
  • However, the ocean waters are dragged diagonally in the other direction when the moon is in its first and final quarters by the gravitational attraction of the sun and the earth.
  • This causes low tides.
  • Neap tides are the name for these tides.

Question 11. Why was December 26, 2004, tsunami so devastating?

Answer 11. Due to the following reasons, the tsunami of December 26, 2004, was devastating:

  • The most destructive tsunami in many hundred years struck South and Southeast Asian shores in December 2004.
  • Large-scale loss of life and property was mostly brought on by inadequate monitoring, lack of early warning systems, and lack of awareness among Indian Ocean coast residents.
  • The quick evaporation of water from the coastal zone was the first sign that a tsunami was approaching.
  • Then a catastrophic wave arrived.
  • Instead of fleeing to higher ground when this occurred along the coast, people began crowding there to witness the miracle.
  • When the enormous wave-tsunami struck, many interested observers drowned as a result.

Question 12. Can a situation like this be predicted in advance?

Answer 12. While an earthquake cannot be anticipated in advance, people can be warned about a potential tsunami around three to four hours prior to it. The Pacific Ocean has a system, whereas the Indian Ocean does not. In the Pacific, there is a greater risk of earthquakes and tsunamis.

Question 13. What consequences did the 2004 tsunami have?

Answer 13. The tsunami did serious damage.

  • Indian Ocean islands were entirely wiped away in several places.
  • In the Andaman Islands, Indira Point entirely sank.
  • More than a lakh of homes were impacted, and more than 10,000 people died in the disaster.
  • Tamil Nadu’s coastline. The worst-hit states were Kerala, Puducherry, Andhra Pradesh, and the Andaman & Nicobar Islands.

Question 14. Why is there salt in seawater?

Answer 14. Seas and oceans contain a lot of water, salinated or saline. It’s because it has many dissolved salts, such as common salt or sodium chloride.

Question 15. Explain salinity.

Answer 15. In grammes, salinity is the quantity of salt in one kilogramme of water. Ocean salinity is 35 parts per thousand, or 0.035 per cent, on average.

Question 16. Describe how water bodies are distributed.

Answer 16. Water bodies are distributed as follows:

  • Water covers around 75% of the surface of the globe.
  • Even though there is more water than land on the planet, many nations have water shortages since most of this water is salty or unusable due to pollution.
  • Furthermore, we do not have access to all the water on the planet.
  • The distribution of water in percentages is shown in the following table.

Question 17. The Dead Sea allows swimmers to float. Explain.

Answer 17. With a salinity of 45 parts per thousand and stagnant water, the Dead Sea in Israel makes it simpler for swimmers to float.

Question 18. What about water is so alluring or magical?

Answer 18. Ocean water constantly moving is intriguing. Everyone is drawn to the beach’s damp sand, seabirds, the cold, salty wind, and the waves rhythmic movement. On the other hand, ponds, lakes, and the like have calm water.

Question 19. How do sea waves work?

Answer 19. Sea waves work in the following ways:

  • Waves are created as the ocean’s surface water rises and fall alternately.
  • If we play with a ball on the beach, it starts to rise and fall, hitting the ocean.
  • When the ball is returned to the shore by the waves, it is amusing.

Question 20. Give reasons:

  • Ocean water is salty.
  • The quality of ocean water is deteriorating.

Answer 20. The reasons for the above-mentioned phrases are:

  1. Ocean water is salty: Ocean water tastes salty because it has a lot of dissolved salt. Sodium chloride, or also known as table salt, is the main salt found in ocean water.
  2. The quality of ocean water is deteriorating due to the following reasons:
  • Deforestation
  • Throwing trash and other debris into bodies of water
  • Chemicals that industries release
  • Usage of insecticides and fertilisers has increased.

Question 21. Describe the locations of the rivers: Teesta, Niger, Indus, Amazon, Orange, Padma, Nile, Thames, and Congo.

Answer 21. The following describes where the rivers listed above are geographically located:

  • Teesta: The Teesta originates in the Brahmaputra River and travels through Sikkim and West Bengal.
  • Padma: The Ganges’ Padma River begins in Bangladesh and flows there.
  • River Orange: This river travels across South Africa.
  • Niger: The Niger River flows through Africa.
  • Amazon: The world’s biggest river is the Amazon. It traverses through South America.
  • Indus: The Indus River travels across the Indian continent.
  • Nile: The longest river in the world is located in Egypt.
  • Thames: London is traversed by the Thames.
  • Africa: Africa is traversed by the Congo River.

In the section given above of Important Questions Class 7 Social Science Our Environment Chapter 5, all the essential topics of the chapter are covered.

Benefits of Solving Important Questions Class 7 Social Science Our Environment Chapter 5

Geography is a subject that grabs the student’s attention, and it is important that they often read through it. Students are advised to utilise Extramarks Important Questions Class 7 Social Science Our Environment Chapter 5. Students gather confidence by answering the important questions and going over their solutions. This list of important questions can make this subject easy to understand for the students.

Mentioning below are some benefits of solving Important Questions Class 7 Social Science Our Environment Chapter 5:

  • Important Questions Class 7 Social Science Our Environment Chapter 5 explains the concepts of the complete chapter- Water.
  • Students can entirely rely upon these crucial questions as they are made following all the guidelines laid by CBSE.
  • These important questions are prepared by following the exam writing pattern. Going through these will help students prepare for exams too.

Extramarks provides comprehensive learning solutions for students from Class 1 to Class 12. Along with important questions and solutions, we have abundant resources available on our website. Students can click on the links given below to access some of these resources:

Q.1 How are water bodies distributed on the earth’s surface Is the proportion of water in these water bodies equal

Marks:3

Ans

About three-fourths of the earth is covered with water. This huge amount of water is found in different water bodies in varying proportions.

  • Oceans: They are the largest water bodies. They contain about 97.3 % of the total water of the earth. However, this water is saline and not fit for consumption.
  • Ice caps and glaciers: They contain the second-largest proportion of the earth’s water i.e., about 2 % and it is freshwater. However, water is frozen and not available to humans.
  • Other sources: Groundwater, freshwater lakes, inland seas and salt lakes, water vapour in the atmosphere and rivers are other sources of water.

Q.2 Why are ocean currents important for ocean circulation

Marks:5

Ans

Ocean currents are important for ocean circulation due to the following reasons:

  • Distribution of temperature on the earth: Generally, the warm ocean currents originate near the equator and move towards the poles. The cold currents originate near poles and carry water from polar or higher latitudes to tropical or lower latitudes.
  • Influence temperature conditions of an area: The ocean current influences the temperature conditions of the area. Warm currents bring about warm temperature whereas cold currents cool down the temperature of their influence area.
  • Helps in fishing: The areas where the warm and cold currents meet are the best fishing grounds in the world.

Q.3 Differentiate between neap tides and spring tides.

Marks:3

Ans

The differences between neap tides and spring tides are as follows:

Neap tides Spring tides
Neap tides occur when the moon is in its first and last quarter. Spring tides occur during the full moon and new moon days.
The sun and the moon are situated in diagonally opposite directions. The sun, the moon and the earth are in the same line
These tides are low. These tides are the highest.

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FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)

Water on the ocean’s surface rises and falls in alternate patterns, creating waves. The wind blows more forcefully the bigger the wave grows. The twice-daily rise and fall of ocean water in a recognisable pattern is known as a tide. It is high tide when the water level is at its highest and most of the beach is submerged. It is low tide when the water reaches its lowest position and moves away from the beach. The powerful gravitational attraction of the sun and moon on the planet’s surface causes tides. High tides are beneficial for both fishing and navigation. Utilising the ebb and flow of water brought on by tides, energy is produced. To know more about the topic, refer to Extramarks Important Questions Class 7 Social Science Our Environment Chapter 5.

All life comes from water. We are unable to comprehend life without water. Although its shortage may result in several problems, its removal would surely lead to the extinction of all life on Earth. This natural resource is priceless. We hydrate with water when we are thirsty. Water is used for many things, like cooking, washing clothes, mopping floors, watering gardens, etc.

Additionally, various industries need water to function. Water is therefore very important, and we must preserve it. Numerous problems have arisen as a result of our careless use of water. Nowadays ocean water is of low quality. We should take steps to protect it for our benefit. To know more about water and its preservation, students can refer to Extramarks Important Questions Class 7 Social Science Our Environment Chapter 5.

Water evaporates from the sun’s heat when it drains into a stream or becomes water vapour. When the water vapour cools, it condenses and produces clouds. These clouds start to fall as rain, snow, or sleet on land or water when they become too heavy to float. The process through which water constantly transforms its form and travels between oceans, the atmosphere, and the land is known as the water cycle. Visit Extramarks to learn more about the water cycle.