Class 11 Chemistry - Chapter Environmental Chemistry NCERT Solutions | What are the major causes of water pollu
What are the major causes of water pollution? Explain.
Water pollution arises as a result of several human activities, which leads to the presence of several undesirable substances in water. Major water pollutants with their sources have been tabulated as follows:
| Pollutant | Source |
| Radioactive substances | Mining of uranium-containing minerals |
| Heat | Water used for cooling in industries |
|
Plant nutrients
|
Chemical fertilizers |
| Toxic heavy metals | Chemical factories and industries |
| Sediments | Strip mining and soil erosion |
| Pesticides | Chemicals used for killing fungi, weed, insects |
|
Micro-organisms |
Domestic sewage |
| Organic wastes | Domestic sewage, decaying animals and plants, animal excreta and waste, discharge from food processing industries |
Roles played by major pollutants are:
1. Pathogens: These water pollutants include bacteria and other organisms. They enter water from animal excreta and domestic sewage. Bacteria present in human excreta (for example, Escherichia coli and Streptococcus faecalis) cause gastrointestinal diseases.
2. Organic wastes: These are biodegradable wastes that pollute water as a result of run off. The presence of excess organic wastes in water decreases the amount of oxygen held by water. This decrease in the amount of dissolved oxygen inhibits aquatic life.
3. Chemical pollutants: These are water soluble chemicals like heavy metals such as cadmium, mercury, nickel, etc. The presence of these chemicals (above the tolerance limit) can damage the kidneys, central nervous system, and liver.
More Questions From Class 11 Chemistry - Chapter Environmental Chemistry
- Q:-
Carbon monoxide gas is more dangerous than carbon dioxide gas. Why?
- Q:-
What are the harmful effects of photochemical smog and how can they be controlled?
- Q:-
Write down the reactions involved during the formation of photochemical smog.
- Q:-
Explain tropospheric pollution in 100 words.
- Q:-
What are the reactions involved for ozone layer depletion in the stratosphere?
- Q:-
What would have happened if the greenhouse gases were totally missing in the earth's atmosphere? Discuss.
- Q:-
Statues and monuments in India are affected by acid rain. How?
- Q:-
What do you mean by green chemistry? How will it help decrease environmental pollution?
- Q:-
What is smog? How is classical smog different from photochemical smog?
- Q:-
What do you mean by ozone hole? What are its consequences?
Popular Questions of Class 11 Chemistry
- Q:-
How do you account for the formation of ethane during chlorination of methane?
- Q:-
What are hybridisation states of each carbon atom in the following compounds ?
(i) CH2=C=O,
(ii) CH3CH=CH2,
(iii) (CH3)2CO,
(iv) CH2=CHCN,
(v) C6H6
- Q:-
What will be the minimum pressure required to compress 500 dm3 of air at 1 bar to 200 dm3 at 30°C?
- Q:-
What are the common physical and chemical features of alkali metals?
- Q:-
Calculate the molecular mass of the following:
(i) H2O
(ii) CO2
(iii) CH4 - Q:-
Assign oxidation number to the underlined elements in each of the following species:
(a) NaH2PO4
(b) NaHSO4
(c) H4P2O7
(d) K2MnO4
(e) CaO2
(f) NaBH4
(g) H2S2O7
(h) KAl(SO4)2.12 H2O
- Q:-
What is the basic theme of organisation in the periodic table?
- Q:-
Explain the formation of a chemical bond.
- Q:-
Choose the correct answer. A thermodynamic state function is a quantity
(i) used to determine heat changes
(ii) whose value is independent of path
(iii) used to determine pressure volume work
(iv) whose value depends on temperature only. - Q:-
A liquid is in equilibrium with its vapour in a sealed container at a fixed temperature. The volume of the container is suddenly increased.
a) What is the initial effect of the change on vapour pressure?
b) How do rates of evaporation and condensation change initially?
c) What happens when equilibrium is restored finally and what will be the final vapour pressure?
Recently Viewed Questions of Class 11 Chemistry
- Q:-
Explain why cations are smaller and anions larger in radii than their parent atoms?
- Q:-
Addition of HBr to propene yields 2-bromopropane, while in the presence of benzoyl peroxide, the same reaction yields 1-bromopropane. Explain and give mechanism.
- Q:-
Explain why BeH2 molecule has a zero dipole moment although the Be–H bonds are polar.
- Q:-
Explain the physical significance of Van der Waals parameters.
- Q:-
Write the names of isotopes of hydrogen. What is the mass ratio of these isotopes?
- Q:-
The ionization constant of HF, HCOOH and HCN at 298K are 6.8 × 10–4, 1.8 × 10–4 and 4.8 × 10–9 respectively.
Calculate the ionization constants of the corresponding conjugate base.
- Q:-
Arrange the following
(i) CaH2, BeH2 and TiH2 in order of increasing electrical conductance.
(ii) LiH, NaH and CsH in order of increasing ionic character.
(iii) H-H, D-D and F-F in order of increasing bond dissociation enthalpy.
(iv) NaH, MgH2 and H2O in order of increasing reducing property.
- Q:-
Suggest a reason as to why CO is poisonous.
- Q:-
Chlorine is prepared in the laboratory by treating manganese dioxide (MnO2) with aqueous hydrochloric acid according to the reaction
4HCl(aq) + MnO2(s) → 2H2O(l) + MnCl2(aq) + Cl2(g)
How many grams of HCl react with 5.0 g of manganese dioxide?
- Q:-
A photon of wavelength 4 × 10–7 m strikes on metal surface, the work function of the metal being 2.13 eV. Calculate
(i) the energy of the photon (eV),
(ii) the kinetic energy of the emission, and
(iii) the velocity of the photoelectron (1 eV= 1.6020 × 10–19 J).
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