Question 2

Tropical rainforest versus thorn and scrub forest; wind energy versus thermal energy

10 marks

Question

Question 2 · 10 marks

Differentiate between each of the following pairs (attempt any two): 2×5=10

Reworded from the university paper; the task is the same. The original paper belongs to the University of Delhi. See DU's question bank.

Read off the question and its marks

20 minfor 10 marks

any twoAnswer any 2 of the 3, 5 marks each. Only 2 are marked: a third earns nothing.
Differentiate betweenSet the differences out in a table, basis by basis, not as two separate essays.

The parts stand alone: start with the one you are surest of.

Short on time? A few lines on every part beat a full answer to one: each part is capped at its own marks.

Try it first. About 20 minutes for 10 marks. Write it out, then open the solution.

Hover or tap a marked figure, like 72,000, to see how it is made and where else it appears.

The question asks for any two of the three pairs. Pairs (i) and (iii) are answered.

(i) Tropical rainforest versus thorn and scrub forest

Basis	Tropical rainforest (tropical evergreen forest)	Thorn and scrub forest
Rainfall	High; the monsoon lasts for several months, and some areas get two monsoons	Low; found in the semi-arid regions of India
Where in India	Western Ghats, North-East India, Andaman and Nicobar Islands	Dry parts of Rajasthan, Gujarat, Punjab-Haryana and the Deccan
Tree cover	Tall trees overlap to form a continuous canopy; the forest stays green all year, with no leafless phase	Trees stand far apart among open grassy patches
Light and undergrowth	Very little light reaches the floor, so only a few shade-loving plants grow there; orchids, ferns and mosses cover the trees	Plenty of light; a sparse layer of grass and low shrubs
Plant adaptations	Broad leaves; no need to save water	Small or thick, waxy leaves that cut water loss; long roots that reach deep water; thorns that save water and keep off grazing animals
Animal life	Extremely rich, above all in insects	Fewer species, adapted to dry conditions, such as blackbuck and chinkara
Productivity	Very high biomass	Low biomass

(iii) Wind energy versus thermal energy

Basis	Wind energy	Thermal energy (coal-based power)
Source	Moving air turns the blades of a turbine; the power depends on wind speed, which rises with height above the ground	Coal is burnt to boil water into steam, which drives turbines
Renewable or not	Renewable: wind is constantly replaced	Non-renewable: coal is a fossil fuel that will run out
Emissions	Virtually no air or water emissions, radiation or solid waste	The largest single source of greenhouse gases; also suspended particulate matter, and oxides of sulphur and nitrogen that cause acid rain
Waste	None in operation	Large dumps of fly ash
Reliability	Intermittent; needs a backup source when the wind drops	Steady, available at any hour
Land use	Wind farms spread over large areas, but most of the land stays usable for farming or grazing	Land for the plant, the coal yard and the ash ponds; mining damages land elsewhere
Problems	Bird deaths, noise, TV interference and the look of many turbines	Air pollution and its effects on health, forests and buildings
Indian example	Wind farms along the coasts of Tamil Nadu and Gujarat	Coal-fired plants in the coalfield belt of Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Odisha

Wind is cleaner but intermittent; thermal power is steady but heavily polluting, which is why the energy mix is shifting towards renewables.

#	Component	Marks
1	(i) Tropical rainforest versus thorn and scrub forest	5
2	(iii) Wind energy versus thermal energy	5
	Total	10

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