Natural resources and the environment
Class 5 EVS · Resources and environment · 31 questions with answers
Class 5 introduces the difference between resources that run out and resources that do not, and asks for the consequence of an action rather than just a label for it. Both are reasoning questions in a subject that used to be about naming.
- Sorts resources into renewable and non-renewable with a reason
- Traces the consequence of an environmental action through two steps
- Explains why a conservation habit works, not just that it helps
Exercise 1 of 3 · 12 questions
Renewable or non-renewable? Write one, and why.
Write the answer · Warm-up
Here’s one done for you
sunlight → renewable, because it comes every day and will not run out. The test is simple: can it be replaced within a human lifetime? Trees are the interesting case - renewable, but only if new ones are actually planted, which is why deforestation matters.
- 1)sunlight
- 2)coal
- 3)wind
- 4)petrol
- 5)forest trees
- 6)natural gas
- 7)water in a river
- 8)iron ore
- 9)solar power
- 10)diesel
- 11)biogas from cow dung
- 12)gold
Answers
- 1) Renewable - it comes every day and will not run out.
- 2) Non-renewable - it took millions of years to form and cannot be replaced.
- 3) Renewable - it keeps blowing and is not used up.
- 4) Non-renewable - it is made from oil, which took millions of years to form.
- 5) Renewable - new trees can be grown, though it takes years.
- 6) Non-renewable - it formed underground over millions of years.
- 7) Renewable - rain and melting snow keep refilling it.
- 8) Non-renewable - there is only so much of it in the ground.
- 9) Renewable - the sun shines every day and is not used up.
- 10) Non-renewable - it is made from oil, which cannot be replaced.
- 11) Renewable - cattle produce dung every day.
- 12) Non-renewable - it is mined from the ground and cannot be made again.
Exercise 2 of 3 · 9 questions
What happens next? Give two steps.
Write the answer · Guided
Here’s one done for you
A forest is cut down → animals lose their homes, and with fewer trees there is less rain and more soil is washed away. Two steps, not one. Class 5 gives the mark for the second consequence - the one that is not obvious - so 'trees are lost' on its own has really only restated the question.
- 1)A forest is cut down.
- 2)Factory waste is let into a river.
- 3)Too much groundwater is pumped out.
- 4)Plastic is left on open ground.
- 5)A city keeps growing outwards over farmland.
- 6)Rubbish is burnt in the open.
- 7)A hill slope is cleared of all its trees.
- 8)A pond in a village is filled in and built over.
- 9)Vehicles increase sharply in a city.
Answers
- 1) Animals lose their homes, and with fewer trees there is less rain and more soil is washed away.
- 2) The water becomes unfit to drink, and the fish and other animals living in it die.
- 3) The water level drops, and wells and hand pumps in the area start running dry.
- 4) It does not rot away, and animals may eat it or it blocks drains and causes flooding.
- 5) There is less land to grow food on, so food has to be brought from further away and costs more.
- 6) The smoke pollutes the air, and people nearby start getting coughs and breathing trouble.
- 7) The soil is washed away by rain, and landslides become more likely.
- 8) Rainwater no longer collects there, so the groundwater is not refilled and wells run dry.
- 9) The air becomes more polluted, and the roads become more crowded and dangerous.
Exercise 3 of 3 · 10 questions
Why does each of these help? One sentence.
Write the answer · Practice
Here’s one done for you
Using both sides of a sheet → it uses half as much paper, so fewer trees have to be cut. Notice the answer goes back one further step - to the tree, not just to the paper. That extra step is where the Class 5 mark is, and it is the step children leave out.
- 1)Using both sides of a sheet of paper
- 2)Switching off lights when leaving a room
- 3)Carrying a cloth bag to the market
- 4)Planting trees along a road
- 5)Closing the tap while brushing your teeth
- 6)Repairing a leaking pipe quickly
- 7)Walking or cycling to a nearby shop
- 8)Using a bucket instead of a shower
- 9)Segregating wet and dry waste at home
- 10)Using a solar water heater
Answers
- 1) It uses half as much paper, so fewer trees have to be cut down to make it.
- 2) It saves electricity, and most electricity is made by burning fuels that run out and cause pollution.
- 3) It avoids using plastic bags, which do not rot away and end up choking drains and animals.
- 4) The trees give shade, take in polluted air and help hold the soil in place.
- 5) It stops clean water running away while it is not being used.
- 6) A leak wastes water day and night, which adds up to a great deal.
- 7) It uses no fuel, so it saves petrol and causes no pollution.
- 8) A bucket uses far less water than a shower left running.
- 9) Wet waste can be composted and dry waste recycled, so far less goes to a landfill.
- 10) It heats water with sunlight instead of electricity, which is made by burning fuels that run out.
While your child works
- The test for renewable is 'can it be replaced in a human lifetime?'. Trees are the interesting case and worth discussing rather than just marking.
- Two steps, not one. Ask 'and then what?' whenever your child's answer stops at the obvious consequence.
- Answers that repeat the question ('it saves paper') get no marks. The chain back to the tree or the fuel is the answer.