How has the traditional use of wind and water energy been modified for our convenience?
Nowadays, windmills are used to generate electricity whereas earlier they were used to harness wind energy to do mechanical work such as lifting/drawing water from a well.. Through windmills, the kinetic energy of wind is converted into electricity. The rotatory motion of the blades turns the turbine of the electric generator to generate electricity. waterfalls potential energy is converted to electricity with the help of turbines. Since waterfalls are few in number, water dams have been constructed in large numbers. Nowadays, hydro-dams are used in order to harness potential energy of stored water. In water dams, water falls from a height on the turbine, which produces electricity.
Can any source of energy be pollution-free? Why or why not?
What are the limitations of the energy that can be obtained from the oceans?
If you could use any source of energy for heating your food, which one would you use and why?
What is a good source of energy?
On what basis would you classify energy sources as
(a) renewable and non-renewable?
(b) exhaustible and inexhaustible?
Are the options given in (a) and (b) the same?
Hydrogen has been used as a rocket fuel. Would you consider it a cleaner fuel than CNG? Why or why not?
Which of the following is not an example of a bio-mass energy source?
(a) wood (b) gobar-gas
(c) nuclear energy (d) coal
What are the disadvantages of fossil fuels?
Name two energy sources that you would consider to be renewable. Give reasons for your choices.
Compare and contrast fossil fuels and the Sun as direct sources of energy.
Did Döbereiner’s triads also exist in the columns of Newlands’ Octaves? Compare and find out.
Why is diffusion insufficient to meet the oxygen requirements of multi-cellular organisms like humans?
What are trophic levels? Give an example of a food chain and state the different trophic levels in it.
What changes can you make in your habits to become more environment-friendly?
What is the difference between a reflex action and walking?
What is the importance of DNA copying in reproduction?
If a trait A exists in 10% of a population of an asexually reproducing species and a trait B exists in 60% of the same population, which trait is likely to have arisen earlier?
Why should a magnesium ribbon be cleared before burning in air?
Define the principal focus of a concave mirror.
You have been provided with three test tubes. One of them contains distilled water and the other two contain an acidic solution and a basic solution, respectively. If you are given only red litmus paper, how will you identify the contents of each test tube?
Describe the structure and functioning of nephrons.
In evolutionary terms, we have more in common with
(a) a Chinese school-boy.
(b) a chimpanzee.
(c) a spider.
(d) a bacterium.
Compare and contrast nervous and hormonal mechanisms for control and coordination in animals.
Name a mirror that can give an erect and enlarged image of an object.
Find out, from Table 10.3, the medium having highest optical density. Also find the medium with lowest optical density.
Material medium |
Refractive index |
Material medium |
Refractive index |
Air | 1.0003 | Canada Balsam |
1.53 |
Ice | 1.31 | ||
Water | 1.33 | Rock salt | 1.54 |
Alcohol | 1.36 | ||
Kerosene | 1.44 | Carbon disulphide |
1.63 |
Fused quartz |
1.46 | ||
Turpentine oil |
1.47 | Ruby | 1.71 |
Benzene | 1.50 | Sapphire | 1.77 |
Crown glass |
1.52 | Diamond | 2.42 |
Table 10.3 Absolute refractive index of some material media
What are trophic levels? Give an example of a food chain and state the different trophic levels in it.
What is the role of the acid in our stomach?
What are the components of the transport system in human beings? What are the functions of these components?
How do auxins promote the growth of a tendril around a support?
Give an example of a double displacement reaction other than the one given in activity 1.10.