Chapter 12 of 12
Chapter 12: Protecting Our Mother Earth
Saying No to Single-Use Plastic, Planting Trees, Clean Earth | CBSE Session 2026–27
Core Pedagogical Competencies & Concepts
- Mother Earth as Our Sole Home in the Universe
- Environmental Threats: Deforestation, Plastic Waste, Pollution
- Practical Green Steps: Cloth Bags, Tree Plantation, Saving Power
- Earth Day (22 April) and World Environment Day (5 June)
All Textbook Exercises & In-Text Tasks (15 Questions)
100% Complete Ingestion
Q1
Think and Tell
Why do we lovingly call our planet 'Mother Earth'?
[2 Marks]
✅ Step-by-Step Solution & Working
We call our planet Mother Earth because like a loving mother, she provides us with everything we need to live—air to breathe, freshwater to drink, soil to grow food, and shelter for all living beings.
CBSE Step-by-Step Marking Scheme
Provides air, water, and food like a mother
1
Sustains all living beings
1
Q2
Major Environmental Threats
Name three major human activities that harm planet Earth.
[3 Marks]
✅ Step-by-Step Solution & Working
1. Indiscriminate cutting down of forests and trees (Deforestation).
2. Excessive use of single-use plastic items that choke soil and oceans.
3. Smoke and toxic gases emitted by factories and vehicles causing global warming and air pollution.
CBSE Step-by-Step Marking Scheme
Deforestation / cutting trees
1
Plastic pollution
1
Smoke and emissions causing pollution
1
Q3
Saying No to Plastic
What eco-friendly alternatives can we use in place of plastic items?
(a) In place of plastic shopping bags
(b) In place of plastic water bottles
(c) In place of disposable plastic spoons and plates
[3 Marks]
✅ Step-by-Step Solution & Working
(a) Cloth, jute, or cotton shopping bags
(b) Stainless steel or copper reusable water bottles
(c) Biodegradable leaf plates (pattals), bamboo spoons, or steel cutlery.
CBSE Step-by-Step Marking Scheme
1 mark per correct eco-friendly alternative
3
Q4
Tree Plantation Benefits
List three benefits of planting more trees around our neighborhood.
[3 Marks]
✅ Step-by-Step Solution & Working
1. Trees produce fresh, life-giving oxygen and absorb carbon dioxide.
2. Their roots hold the soil tightly, preventing soil erosion during heavy rains.
3. They provide shade, bring rainfall, and serve as homes for birds and squirrels.
CBSE Step-by-Step Marking Scheme
Oxygen and air purification
1
Soil conservation
1
Shade, rain, and animal shelter
1
Q5
Energy Conservation
How does turning off unnecessary lights and fans at home help protect the Earth?
[2 Marks]
✅ Step-by-Step Solution & Working
Most electricity is generated by burning coal in power plants, which produces enormous smoke and carbon emissions. Saving electricity saves coal and keeps Earth's air cleaner.
CBSE Step-by-Step Marking Scheme
Electricity produced from burning coal
1
Saving electricity reduces smoke and global warming
1
Q6
Important Environmental Days
When do we celebrate:
(a) World Earth Day
(b) World Environment Day?
[2 Marks]
✅ Step-by-Step Solution & Working
(a) World Earth Day - 22nd April
(b) World Environment Day - 5th June.
CBSE Step-by-Step Marking Scheme
22nd April for Earth Day
1
5th June for World Environment Day
1
Q7
Noise Pollution
What causes noise pollution, and how does it harm human health?
[2 Marks]
✅ Step-by-Step Solution & Working
Noise pollution is caused by unnecessary vehicle honking, loud loudspeakers, and bursting firecrackers. It harms health by causing hearing damage, headaches, stress, and disturbing sleeping babies and elderly people.
CBSE Step-by-Step Marking Scheme
Vehicle horns, loudspeakers, crackers
1
Hearing loss, headaches, stress
1
Q8
Match the Following
Match the action with its environmental effect:
(a) Planting saplings -> (i) Saves coal and reduces greenhouse smoke
(b) Using cloth bags -> (ii) Purifies air and gives oxygen
(c) Turning off lights -> (iii) Conserves scarce drinking water
(d) Fixing leaking taps -> (iv) Eliminates harmful plastic waste
[2 Marks]
✅ Step-by-Step Solution & Working
(a) Planting saplings -> (ii) Purifies air and gives oxygen
(b) Using cloth bags -> (iv) Eliminates harmful plastic waste
(c) Turning off lights -> (i) Saves coal and reduces greenhouse smoke
(d) Fixing leaking taps -> (iii) Conserves scarce drinking water.
CBSE Step-by-Step Marking Scheme
All 4 correct matches
2
Q9
True or False
State True or False:
(a) Leaving the tap open while washing bicycles is a good conservation habit.
(b) Paper is made from wood pulp obtained from trees; hence we must not waste paper.
(c) If each child plants one tree, our Earth will become greener and cooler.
[3 Marks]
✅ Step-by-Step Solution & Working
(a) False (Wastes gallons of clean water)
(b) True (Saving paper saves trees)
(c) True.
CBSE Step-by-Step Marking Scheme
1 mark per correct answer
3
Q10
Fill in the Blanks
Fill in the blanks:
(a) World Environment Day is celebrated on ________ (5th June / 1st January).
(b) We should use ________ (cloth / polythene) bags for grocery shopping.
(c) Trees absorb harmful ________ (carbon dioxide / oxygen) gas during the day.
[3 Marks]
✅ Step-by-Step Solution & Working
(a) 5th June
(b) cloth
(c) carbon dioxide.
CBSE Step-by-Step Marking Scheme
1 mark per correct blank
3
Q11
Clean Transport Choice
Why is walking or riding a bicycle for short distances an eco-friendly habit?
[2 Marks]
✅ Step-by-Step Solution & Working
Bicycles and walking consume zero fossil fuel, emit zero exhaust smoke or greenhouse gases, keep our heart and legs healthy, and reduce traffic jams.
CBSE Step-by-Step Marking Scheme
Zero fuel/emissions, fitness, and traffic reduction
2
Q12
Saving Paper Saves Trees
How can school students save paper in their daily study?
[2 Marks]
✅ Step-by-Step Solution & Working
Students can write on both sides of every notebook page, use old one-sided printed paper for rough calculations, and donate old textbooks to junior students.
CBSE Step-by-Step Marking Scheme
Both sides of page, rough work reuse, passing textbooks
2
Q13
River Conservation
Why must we not immerse plastic flowers, thermocol, or trash into holy rivers?
[2 Marks]
✅ Step-by-Step Solution & Working
Dumping non-biodegradable trash poisons river water, chokes fish and aquatic turtles, and turns sacred freshwater rivers into dirty, unusable gutters.
CBSE Step-by-Step Marking Scheme
Poisoning water and choking aquatic life
2
Q14
Solar Energy
What is solar energy, and why is it called clean energy?
[2 Marks]
✅ Step-by-Step Solution & Working
Solar energy is energy captured from the Sun's light using solar panels. It is clean because it produces electricity without burning fuel, causing zero air pollution.
CBSE Step-by-Step Marking Scheme
Energy from sunlight using panels
1
Zero pollution and unlimited source
1
Q15
Earth Day Slogan
Write an inspiring two-line poem or slogan for Mother Earth.
[1 Marks]
✅ Step-by-Step Solution & Working
'The Earth is our home, green and bright,
Let’s keep it clean with all our might!' (धरती माँ का करो सम्मान, हरियाली से बने महान!)
CBSE Step-by-Step Marking Scheme
Inspiring earth slogan or rhyme
1
🌟 NEP 2020 Competency-Based Case Study
Practical Application Task
Analytical Task: Why is plastic litter deadly for marine animals, and what three eco-friendly habits can your family adopt on picnics to protect nature?
Evaluation & Model Answer:
Plastic litter is deadly because marine animals mistake plastic pieces for jellyfish, eat them, and choke or starve to death, or get tangled in plastic nets and drown. Three eco-friendly picnic habits:
1. Carry stainless steel reusable water bottles and steel tiffin boxes instead of single-use plastic bottles.
2. Carry a jute or cloth trash bag to bring all garbage back home for proper segregation.
3. Never throw any plastic wrappers or bottles into rivers, lakes, beaches, or open grounds.
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