Q7
2 marksShort AnswerSection Section A

In the following food chain, only 2J2\text{J} of energy was available to the peacocks. How much energy would have been present in Grass? Justify your answer.

GRASS \rightarrow GRASS HOPPER \rightarrow FROG \rightarrow SNAKE \rightarrow PEACOCK

Our Environment
Waste Management and Biodegradability
Official Answer

(a) Garbage: Garbage refers to the waste materials generated during our daily activities that are discarded or thrown away (e.g., kitchen waste, paper, plastic packaging, etc.).


Garbage is classified into two main classes:

  1. Biodegradable waste: Substances that can be broken down into simpler, harmless substances by biological processes (action of microorganisms like bacteria and fungi).
  2. Non-biodegradable waste: Substances that cannot be broken down by biological processes and persist in the environment for a long time.

(b) Specificity of Enzymes: Enzymes are biological catalysts that are highly specific in their action. This means that a particular enzyme can only act on and break down a specific substance (substrate) because of its unique chemical structure. For example, the enzymes in our digestive system cannot break down human-made materials like plastics or substances like coal because we do not possess the specific enzymes required to break their chemical bonds.

garbagebiodegradablenon-biodegradableenzymesspecific in actionbreak-downsubstrate

Marking Scheme

  • 11 mark
  • 21 mark

Hint

(a) Think about household waste and how it is sorted into green and blue bins. (b) Recall why we cannot digest coal or plastic—enzymes only work on specific substrates.

Quick Oral Answer

Garbage is the waste we throw away daily. It is classified into biodegradable and non-biodegradable. Enzymes are specific because they only catalyze reactions for specific substrates; hence, decomposers cannot break down plastics because they lack the specific enzymes for them.

Analysis & Explanation

Part (a) tests the basic definition of garbage and its classification based on biological degradability. Part (b) connects the concept of enzyme specificity (from Life Processes) to why certain synthetic materials like plastics are non-biodegradable. Since decomposers (bacteria/fungi) lack the specific enzymes to break the synthetic polymer bonds of plastics, these materials persist in the environment and are classified as non-biodegradable.

Common Mistakes

  1. 1Confusing biodegradable with recyclable.
  2. 2Explaining enzyme specificity without linking it to why plastics or coal cannot be broken down.

Interesting Facts

Plastics do not degrade biologically because they contain synthetic chemical bonds that do not exist in nature, so no microorganism has evolved enzymes to break them down under ambient conditions.

Spotted a mistake or something unclear?

Tell us — we fix reported answers fast.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many marks does this question carry in CBSE Class 10 Science 2022?

This question carries 2 marks in the CBSE Class 10 Science 2022 examination.

Which chapter does this question come from in Science?

This question is from the chapter "Our Environment" in the CBSE Class 10 Science syllabus.

What topic does this question cover in Science?

This question covers the topic "Waste Management and Biodegradability" from CBSE Class 10 Science.

What type of question is this in the CBSE Class 10 Science 2022 paper?

This is a Short Answer question from Section Section A in the CBSE Class 10 Science 2022 paper.