PAPER-III

ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE Signature and Name of Invigilator


ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE
PAPER III

Note This paper is of two hundred marks containing four sections. Candidates are required to attempt the questions contained in these sections according to the detailed instructions given therein.
Answer to all questions must be written in English only.

SECTION I

Note This section consists of two essay type questions of twenty marks each, to be answered in about five hundred words each. ×20 40 Marks)

Write an essay on

1. Principle and Applications of chromatography in environmental science.

2. Conservation of wetlands.

3. Bio-Energy.

4. Methodologies of Environmental Impact Assessment.

5. Multiple regression technique and its application in environmental data analysis.

6. Applications of GIS and Remote Sensing in water resource management.

7. Sources and effects of unsaturated and saturated hydrocarbons in the atmosphere.

8. Environmental Ethics and Global imperatives.

9. Recent trends in Biodiversity conservation.

10. Pros and cons of Genetically modified plants.

11. Jurisdiction and powers of National Environmental Appellate Authority.

12. Role of soil microorganisms.

SECTION II Note This section contains three questions of fifteen marks each, to be answered in about three hundred words. ×15 45 Marks)

13. Discuss the criteria employed for dispersal of pollutants in marine ecosystems.

14. Discuss 'Nitrogen Cycle' and its significance.

15. Describe the operation of an effluent treatment plant.


SECTION III

Note This section contains nine questions of ten marks each, to be answered in about fifty words. ×10 90 Marks)

16. Define aerodynamic diameter of an aerosol particle. How do the aerosol particles influence climate

17. Define phytoremediation. With suitable examples distinguish between phytoextraction and phytostabilization.

18. The molar extinction coefficient of X-iodine complex at 450 nm is 0.2. Determine the concentration of X in a solution of the iodine complex which has an absorbance of 0.38 in a 1cm cuvette.

19. Describe the principle of Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC).

20. Distinguish between El Nino and La Nina effects.

21. What is Red Data Book Explain its significance.

22. Explain the terms "precipitation" and "water table".

23. Differentiate between adiabatic lapse rate and environmental lapse rate.

24. Compare "Pyramid of numbers" for pond and tree ecosystems.

SECTION IV
Note This section contains five questions of five marks each based on the following passage. Each question should be answered in about thirty words. ×
5 25 Marks)

25. Answer the below questions according to the passage.

Some years ago, the Arogya Health Service sent supplier of DDT to Karkala to control mosquitoes that were spreading malaria among the people. As the DDT was sprayed, the mosquitoes were quickly wiped out. But there were thousands of lizards in the village that ate these mosquitoes (which had absorbed the sprayed DDT) and they, in turn, kept accumulating the DDT in their bodies. When these lizards ate mosquitoes, they retained a lot of the DDT in their body. Due to the excessive accumulation of DDT in their bodies, the lizards became inactive and slow. This made if easier for cats to catch the lizards, one of their favourite food. At about the same time, people also found hordes of caterpillars on the roofing materials of their homes. They realised that the lizards, which had previously kept the caterpillar population under control, were now being eaten by the cats. And now, all over Karkala, the cats that ate the lizards died from DDT poisoning. Then rats moved in because there were no cats to control their population. With the rats came a new danger, plague. Officials sent out emergency calls for cats, which were sent in by Aeroplane and dropped by Parachute.

How did one small act of humans (spraying of DDT) disturb the balance of the ecosystem

26. How did absence of mosquitoes affected outburst of plague

27. How did roofing material get spoiled in Karkala

28. How did cats that ate the lizards die

29. What inference you draw from the above passage