GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS

(i) all questions are compulsory. (ii) The question paper consists of four sections a, B, C and D. Section-a contains 8 questions of 1 mark each, Section B is of 10 questions of 2 marks each, Section C has 9 questions of 3 marks each whereas Section D is of 3 questions of 5 marks each. (iii) There is no overall choice. However, an internal choice has been provided in one question of 2 marks, one question of 3 marks and all the three questions of 5 marks weightage. a student has to attempt only one of the alternatives in such questions. (iv) Wherever necessary, the diagrams drawn should be neat and properly labelled.

SECTION - A
1. Differentiate between Eurythermal and Stenothermal organisms. 2. Species richness is found to increase with increased study area. How will you explain it ? 3. Define the term stratification. 4. Is eutrophication a natural phenomenon or a result of human activities ? 5. name the food chain which begins with dead organic matter. What are the producers in it ? 6. Do the aquatic organisms face any water related problems affecting their survival ? 7. What do you mean by megadiversity country ? 8. Expand and explain the term BOD.

13. Define the following terms : (i) Productivity (ii) Humification 14. In a land with abundant vegetation a large cattle herd was allowed to graze. almost all plants except Calotropis and some weeds were eaten up. Explain it. 15. amazonian rain forest has the greatest biodiversity on earth. List any two hypotheses that are proposed by the biologists to account for such great biological diversity. 16. In the given population growth curve, (i) What is the status of food and space in the curves a and b? (ii) In the absence of the predators, which curve would appropriately depict the prey population?
No. of organisms
K a Time b

SECTION - B
9. Compare the grazing food chain and detritus food chain in the following aspects: (i) Origin (ii) Dependence on solar energy. 10. In a water body surrounded by an agricultural land extensively supplied with fertilizers, what changes will be observed in population of fishes and algae? Give reasons. 11. Briefly describe the principle of competitive exclusion. OR What is another name given for jhum cultivation? Explain how jhum cultivation is responsible for deforestation. 12. Both parasites and predators obtain their food from host. How these two types of interactions differ from each other ?
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17. Discuss in brief the narrowly utilitarian and ethical reasons for biodiversity conservation. 18. (i) name the tool which purifies air using the principle of electrostatic charges. (ii) Explain its working mechanism in brief.

SECTION - C
19. Ecology is one thread which gives us a holistic perspective to biology. justify the statement.

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20. The given figure shows the different types of age pyramids for human population.
X Y Z

(ii) How carbon cycling differs from cycling of phosphorus ? 29. (i) Construct a pyramid of energy for the following food chain showing available energy at each trophic level. Grass Grasshopper Frog Snake. The available energy from sunlight is 1,000,000 joules. (ii) Can the pyramid of energy become inverted in any ecosystem ? justify. (iii) Why a food chain maximally contains 4 or 5 trophic levels and not more ? OR Some areas are considered Hot spots of biodiversity. Write an explanatory note on hot spots. name hot spots of India. 30. Excessive increase in carbon dioxide emission results in increased temperature of earth. Write an explanatory note on the phenomenon and its effects. OR Write short notes on the following : (i) Ex-situ conservation (ii) natality (iii) Decomposition (iv) resource partitioning (v) Sacred groves.

(i) What does the parts X, y and Z represent? (ii) What type of population is represented in pyramids a, B and C? (iii) name the type of age pyramid in which the number of pre-reproductive and reproductive individuals are almost same. 21. recently, japan was affected with tsunami. Various consequences of that calamity included threat of a severe, large scale pollution from its nuclear energy plants. Describe in brief the type of pollution and its consequences. 22. (i) name the animal group richly inhabited in Western Ghats. (ii) name the plant species showing high diversity at genetic level over different Himalayan ranges. (iii) Which rain forest is called `lungs of the planet? 23. What do you mean by biochemical cycling ? How it is important for continuity of life ? 24. reduced amount of water in soil reduces soil fertility. Can the opposite condition i.e., excess water also affect the same ? justify. 25. a bear undergoes hibernation while a snail undergoes aestivation during which they both show suspended activity. Differentiate the two and explain their importance. OR a natural population shows `Verhulst Pearl logistic growth. Explain the pattern of growth. 26. after the complete destruction of a forest by fire, a new well developed forest establishes there in due course of time. Describe in brief the ecological phenomenon involved. 27. What is the meaning of the term Ecosystem Services? Can it be useful for increasing ecological concerns in public ?

SOLUTIONS
1. Eurythermal organisms can tolerate and thrive in a wide range of temperatures while stenothermal organisms are restricted to a narrow range of temperatures. 2. Species richness depends upon habitat variation. Larger study area includes larger variety of habitats thus greater species richness. 3. Vertical distribution of different species occupying different levels in an ecosystem is called stratification, e.g, trees occupy top vertical strata, shrubs the second and herbs and grasses occupy the bottom layers in a forest. 4. Eutrophication is a natural phenomenon which occurs due to ageing of water body. Human activities can increase its rate (accelerated or cultural eutrophication). 5. Detritus food chain begins with dead organic matter. It lacks producer organisms. 6. yes, aquatic organisms face water related problems because quality of water (pH, chemical composition etc.) affect their survival. For e.g., changed salt concentration in water may cause osmotic disturbance in fish body. 7. a megadiversity country is a country which harbours a great amount of biodiversity. There are 17 megadiversity countries and India is one of them. 8. BOD means Biological Oxygen Demand. It denotes the quantity of oxygen in milligrams required for five days in one litre of water at 20C for the microorganisms to metabolise organic wastes.
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SECTION - D
28. Different types of organisms show interactions of various kinds. name and briefly explain the interaction existing between: (i) algae and fungi in lichens (ii) Herbivores and plants. (iii) Fig and wasp (iv) Head louse and humans. (v) Penicillium and bacteria. OR (i) Elaborate the process by which constant supply of carbon is maintained in an ecosystem.

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9. Refer answer 18, page no. 430, `MTG - Excel in Biology. 10. In such a water body, fish population will decline while algal population will increase. The reason for it is eutrophication of the water body. Eutrophication is excessive growth of algae, plants and animals in water bodies due to the nutrient enrichment particularly with nitrogen and phosphorus. It is caused by agricultural run-off containing a large amount of fertilizers i.e., nutrients. These nutrients support algal growth. Large algal population consume oxygen from water during night for respiration. Lack of oxygen causes death of fish and other aquatic organisms. 11. Principle of competitive exclusion (Gause hypothesis), states that an ecological niche cannot be simultaneously and completely occupied by established populations of more than one species. It leads to extinction of any one of the competitor species e.g., the abingdon tortoise in Galapagos islands became extinct within a decade after goats were introduced on the island, apparently due to the greater browsing efficiency of the goats. OR Refer answer 8, page no. 423, `MTG - Excel in Biology. 12. Both predators and parasites obtain their food from host, but differ from each other. Predation differs from parasitism in the sense that the parasite that lives on or in its host derives nourishment without usually killing it while the predator kills and devours its prey. 13. (i) The productivity of an ecosystem refers to the rate of biomass production i.e. the amount of organic matter accumulated in any unit time. It is expressed in terms of weight (gm2 yr1) or energy (kcal m2 yr1). Productivity is of two types : primary productivity and secondary productivity. Primary productivity is associated with the producers which are autotrophic. Secondary productivity refers to the consumers or heterotrophs. (ii) Humification is the formation of humus from detritus or organic remains. Humus is dark coloured amorphous substance rich in lignin and cellulose. It is colloidal in nature, a reservoir of nutrients and helpful in maintenance of soil moisture as well as aeration. 14. Plants unlike animals, cannot run away from their predators. Therefore they have evolved an astonishing variety of morphological and chemical defences against herbivores for e.g., thorns (Acacia, Cactus). Many plants produce and store chemicals that make the herbivore sick when they are eaten, inhibit feeding or digestion, disrupt its reproduction or even kill it. Calotropis produces highly poisonous cardiac glycosides and that is why cattle do not eat them. 15. It is a tropical rain forest. according to scientists, the reasons for its species richness may be the following: (i) Speciation is a function of time and unlike temperate regions, tropics have remained relatively undisturbed for millions of years and thus had long evolutionary time for species diversification.
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(ii) Tropical environments are more constant, predictable and less seasonal. Such constant environment promote niche specialisation and lead to greater diversity. 16. Refer answer 9, page no. 436, `MTG - Excel in Biology. 17. There are many reasons for need of biodiversity conservation which can be grouped into three categories: narrowly utilitarian, broadly utilitarian and ethical. narrowly utilitarian reasons are concerned with utility of biodiversity for humans. It says that humans derive countless direct economic benefits from biodiversity for e.g., food, fibre, medicine etc., thus it must be conserved. Ethical reasons state that every living species has an intrinsic value though it may not have any direct economic value, and also, every species has a right to live. Thus we should conserve every living species. 18. (i) Electrostatic precipitator. (ii) Electrostatic precipitator has electrode wires that are maintained at several thousand volts, which produce a corona that releases electrons. These electrons attach to dust particles giving them a net negative charge. The positively charged collecting plates are grounded and they attract the negatively charged dust particles. 19. Ecology is defined as the study of inter-relationships between living organisms and their environment. The two main branches of ecology are autecology and synecology. autecology studies inter-relationship of the organisms of a species with biotic or abiotic environment. Synecology studies inter-relationship of different groups of the living organisms, such as populations, biotic communities and ecosystems and their environment which are associated together as a unit. Thus it connects all organisms either plants or animals, aquatic or terrestrial together and analyses their influences on one another, their co-existence, sustainance of life on earth etc. Thus ecology is basically concerned with different levels of ecological hierarchy or ecological organisation and works as the thread which gives us a holistic perspective to biology. 20. Refer answer 13, page no. 362, `MTG - Excel in Biology. 21. nuclear energy plants use radioactive compounds for energy production. Their unsafe handling may cause radioactive pollution. radioactive pollution is the physical pollution of air, water and soil with radioactive materials (the elements that give off radiation as they disintegrate). radioactive pollution is natural as well as man-made. natural (background) radiation includes the cosmic rays from the outer space, and terrestrial radiation from nucleus of radioactive elements present in the rocks. Man-made sources include mining and refining of plutonium and thorium, atomic explosions (nuclear fallout), atomic reactors and nuclear power plants.

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Effect of radioactive pollution are extremely damaging to organisms, because it causes mutations at a very high rate. at high doses, nuclear radiation is lethal but at lower doses, it creates various disorders, such as cancer malformity of organs, loss of reproductivity, vision and other senses, loss of forest cover etc.

22. Refer answer 2 & 8, page no. 401, `MTG - Excel in Biology. 23. The term biochemical cycling is used for exchange/ circulation of biogenetic nutrients between living and nonliving components of biosphere. Biogenetic nutrients/ biogeochemicals are essential elements required by organisms for their body building and metabolism which are provided by earth and returned to earth after death and decay of the organism. Biochemical cycling is important for continuity of life on earth because organisms need a constant supply of nutrients to grow, reproduce and regulate various body functions but the amount of nutrients, such as carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, calcium, etc is limited in the ecosystem. Continuous recycling of nutrients between ecosystem and organisms again and again maintains continuity of life on earth by providing with uninterrupted nutrient supply. 24. yes, presence of excess water in soil adversely affects soil fertility. Excess accumulation of water in soil is termed as water logging. Irrigation without proper drainage of water leads to waterlogging in the soil. It results in poor soil aeration, thus affects crops. Besides, waterlogging draws salts to the surface of the soil. The salts then are deposited as a thin crust on the land surface or start collecting at the roots of the plants. This increased salt content is inimical to the growth of crops and is extremely damaging to agriculture. 25. Hibernation differs from aestivation in the aspect that the former is adapted during winter season to escape extreme cold. Thus it is called `winter sleep. While aestivation is adapted in summer season to avoid summer related problems like heat, desiccation etc. aestivation is also called summer sleep. Both of them are important for cold-blooded animals. These animals cannot maintain constant body temperature. Extreme cold can lower their body temperature to lethal level. Similarly, extreme heat can too prove lethal. Thus hibernation and aestivation help them survive in extreme temperatures. OR Verhulst Pearl logistic growth or simply the logistic growth considers a saturation phase during growth of a population. Since resources for growth of most animal populations are finite and become limiting sooner or later,

the logistic growth model is considered a more realistic one. according to it, populations characteristically increase in size in a sigmoid, S-shaped or logistic fashion. When a few organisms are introduced into an unoccupied area, the growth of the population is at first slow (positive acceleration phase), then becomes very rapid (logarithmic phase) and finally slows down as the environmental resistance increases (negative acceleration phase) until an equilibrium level is reached. The level beyond which no major increase can occur represents the saturation level or carrying capacity (K). Population growth can be described by following logistic equation : dn/dt = r n (K n) /K, where n = Population density at time t. r = Intrinsic rate of natural increase. K = Carrying capacity.

26. re-establishment of a forest at a destructed place in due course of time is an example of ecological succession. Biotic or ecological succession (Hult, 1885) is the natural development of a series of biotic communities at the same site, one after the other till a climax community develops which does not evolve further because it is in perfect harmony with the environment of the area. The first biotic community which develops in a base area is called pioneer community and the last developed community is called climax community. Intermediate communities between the pioneer and climax communities are termed as seral stages or transitional communities. Ecological succession is of two types primary and secondary. Primary succession is a biotic succession which occurs on a previously bare or unoccupied area, e.g., new exposed rock area. Secondary succession is a biotic succession that occurs in an area from which a community has been removed and where nutrients and conditions for existence are present, e.g., cut over forest. 27. The products of ecosystem processes which have environmental, aesthetic and indirect economic value are named as ecosystem services e.g., plant cover protects the soil from drastic changes in temperature, absorbs polluting gases, causes settling of suspended particulate matter, protects the land from floods, etc. robert Constanza and his colleagues have put the value of ecosystem services to 33 trillion dollars. It is nearly twice the global GnP of 18 trillion dollars. 50% of it is for protection of soil, prevention of floods and mitigating droughts. The value is 10% each for nutrient cycling and recreation. It is 6% each for climate regulation and habitat for wildlife. These estimations can help general public to understand that loss of ecological balance may lead to such a drastic economic loss. Thus as a result, ecological concern will increase in general public.
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28. (i) Mutualism is found between algae and fungi in lichen. Lichen is a composite entity which is formed jointly by an alga and a fungus. The fungus provides fixation, water, minerals and shelter to the alga. In return alga provides food to the fungus. (ii) Herbivores and plants show predator-prey relationship, where plants are the prey and herbivores are predators. The typical predator is a free living organism that catches, kills and devours individuals of other species. Such type of interaction is termed predation. (iii) Fig and wasp show mutualism without continuous contact. Fig needs wasp to pollinate its flowers. The wasp pollinates the fig inflorescence while searching for suitable egg-laying sites. In return for the favour of pollination the fig offers the wasp some of its developing seeds as food for the developing wasp larvae. (iv) Parasitism is found between head louse and humans. Head louse is an ectoparasite that sucks the blood of man or feed on living tissues of heads skin. Parasitism is an one sided relationship for the parasite which always gets benefit from the host in some way or the other. The typical parasite causes minimum damage to the host. The death of the host may take place due to secondary effects of parasitism. (v) Penicillium and bacteria exemplify amensalism. In amensalism one organism inhibits the effect or growth of the other and itself does not gain much benefit. This inhibition is done by secreting allochemicals. Penicillium produces antibiotic substances penicillin, which are helpful in destroying the pathogenic bacteria. OR (i) Refer answer 13, page no. 381, `MTG - Excel in Biology. (ii) Phosphorus cycle is a sedimentary cycle while carbon cycle is a gaseous cycle. Phosphorus cycle involves lithosphere and there is no direct exchange of phosphorus between organisms and environment. On the other hand, carbon cycle involves hydrosphere and atmosphere dioxide. Besides, respiration represents direct exchange of carbon between organisms and atmosphere. 29. (i)

(ii) no, the pyramid of energy can never be inverted or reversed as there is always a gradual decrease in the energy content at successive trophic levels from the producers to various consumers. Gradual decrease occurs because the transfer of energy follows 10 per cent law i.e., only 10 per cent of the energy is transferred to each trophic level from the lower trophic level. (iii) Trophic level is a step or division of food chain which is characterised by the method of obtaining its food. Energy goes on decreasing with each and every trophic level, i.e., energy of the producers > primary consumers > secondary consumers > tertiary consumers. as shown in the above pyramid [29 (i)] fourth trophic level (TC) can get only 10 j energy. a trophic level above it will get only a meagre quantity of 1 j, thus it limits the number of trophic levels in a food chain to 4 or 5 usually. OR Refer answer 9, page no. 400, `MTG - Excel in Biology. 30. Increased carbon dioxide emission results in green house effect. It is named so because carbon dioxide layer in atmosphere works as panels of green house and causes warming of earth i.e., global warming. For rest answer, Refer answer 8, page no. 417, `MTG - Excel in Biology. OR (i) Ex situ conservation is conservation of threatened plants/animals in places outside their natural homes. Ex situ conservation includes offsite collections, seed banks and gene banks. In recent years, ex situ conservation has advanced beyond keeping threatened species in enclosures. now gametes of threatened species can be preserved in viable and fertile condition for long periods using cryopreservation techniques, eggs can be fertilised in vitro, and plants can be propagated using tissue culture methods. (ii) natality, refers to the number of births during a given period in the population that are added to the initial density. The natality rate may be expressed as the number of organisms born per female per unit time. In human population, the natality rate is equivalent to the birth-rate. The two essential aspects of the reproduction which forms main component of natality are : fertility and fecundity, (the number of offsprings produced during a period of time). natality usually increases with the period of maturity and then falls again as the organism gets older. (iii) Refer answer 3, page no. 378, `MTG - Excel in Biology. (iv) Refer answer 6, page no. 361, `MTG - Excel in Biology. (v) Refer answer 9, page no. 398, `MTG - Excel in Biology. nn

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