💡 6th Grade English (ELA): Global Issues Due to Human Activity Practice Questions
1
Solved Example
Easy Level
Human activities can have a big impact on our planet. One major issue is pollution. Think about trash in oceans or smoke from factories. What is one way that littering can harm animals?
Solution & Explanation
Littering can harm animals in several ways:
Ingestion: Animals might mistake plastic or other trash for food and eat it. This can cause blockages in their stomachs or intestines, leading to starvation or death. 💡
Entanglement: Animals can get tangled in plastic bags, fishing nets, or other debris. This can prevent them from moving, swimming, or flying, making them vulnerable to predators or drowning. 📌
Habitat Destruction: Large amounts of trash can cover natural habitats, making them unsuitable for animals to live in or find food. 👉
So, keeping our environment clean helps protect wildlife! ✅
2
Solved Example
Easy Level
Another global issue is deforestation, which means cutting down large areas of trees. Why do you think deforestation is a problem for the air we breathe?
Solution & Explanation
Deforestation is a problem for the air we breathe because:
Trees produce oxygen: Plants, including trees, take in carbon dioxide from the air and release oxygen during photosynthesis. Fewer trees mean less oxygen production. 💡
Trees absorb carbon dioxide: Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change. Trees act as natural "carbon sinks," absorbing this gas. When trees are cut down, this absorption decreases, and the stored carbon can be released back into the atmosphere. 📌
Therefore, forests play a crucial role in maintaining the quality of the air we breathe. ✅
3
Solved Example
Medium Level
Climate change is a long-term shift in global weather patterns. One of its effects is rising sea levels. If sea levels rise, what might happen to coastal cities and communities?
Solution & Explanation
Rising sea levels due to climate change can have serious consequences for coastal cities and communities:
Increased Flooding: Higher sea levels mean that storm surges during hurricanes or other weather events can reach further inland, causing more frequent and severe flooding. 💡
Coastal Erosion: The constant lapping of higher waves can erode beaches and coastlines, damaging infrastructure like roads and buildings. 📌
Saltwater Intrusion: Rising seas can push saltwater into freshwater sources like rivers and groundwater, making them unusable for drinking or agriculture. 👉
Displacement of People: In the long term, some low-lying coastal areas might become uninhabitable, forcing people to relocate. ✅
4
Solved Example
Medium Level
Human activities like driving cars and running factories release greenhouse gases, which trap heat in the atmosphere. This is a major cause of global warming. What are two other human activities that contribute to greenhouse gas emissions?
Solution & Explanation
Besides driving cars and factory emissions, here are two other human activities that contribute to greenhouse gas emissions:
Agriculture: Livestock farming, especially cattle, produces methane, a potent greenhouse gas. The use of fertilizers in farming also releases nitrous oxide. 💡
Deforestation: As mentioned before, cutting down trees not only reduces the absorption of carbon dioxide but also releases stored carbon when trees are burned or decay. 📌
Understanding these sources helps us find ways to reduce our impact. ✅
5
Solved Example
Medium Level
Imagine you are a scientist studying the impact of plastic pollution on marine life. You observe a sea turtle that has swallowed a plastic bag. Explain, in your own words, why this is a dangerous situation for the turtle, considering its digestive system.
Solution & Explanation
This is a dangerous situation for the sea turtle because:
Blockage: A plastic bag is not digestible. It can get stuck in the turtle's stomach or intestines, preventing food from passing through. This can lead to malnutrition and starvation. 💡
False Sense of Fullness: The plastic bag might make the turtle feel full, so it stops eating real food, further contributing to starvation. 📌
Internal Injury: Sharp edges of the plastic could potentially injure the turtle's internal organs. 👉
This highlights the critical need to prevent plastic from entering our oceans. ✅
6
Solved Example
Medium Level
The world's population is growing, meaning more people need resources like food, water, and energy. How can the increased demand for these resources lead to environmental problems like habitat loss and pollution?
Solution & Explanation
The increased demand for resources due to a growing population can lead to environmental problems in several ways:
Habitat Loss: To grow more food, we need more land for farming. This often involves clearing forests or grasslands, which destroys the natural habitats of many plants and animals. 💡
Increased Pollution: Producing more goods, energy, and food often requires more factories, power plants, and transportation, all of which can release pollutants into the air, water, and soil. Also, more people means more waste, which can overwhelm landfills and pollute the environment if not managed properly. 📌
Water Scarcity: Increased demand for water for agriculture, industry, and domestic use can deplete freshwater sources, leading to shortages and impacting ecosystems that rely on these water bodies. 👉
Balancing human needs with environmental protection is a major challenge. ✅
7
Solved Example
Real World Example
Have you ever seen recycling bins in your school or at home? Recycling is a way to manage waste and reduce the need to create new materials from scratch. How does recycling help address the global issue of resource depletion?
Solution & Explanation
Recycling helps address resource depletion by:
Conserving Natural Resources: When we recycle materials like paper, plastic, glass, and metal, we reduce the need to extract raw materials from the earth. For example, recycling paper saves trees, and recycling aluminum saves bauxite ore. 💡
Saving Energy: It often takes less energy to produce new products from recycled materials than from virgin raw materials. For instance, recycling aluminum uses about 95% less energy than making it from bauxite. 📌
Reducing Landfill Waste: Recycling diverts waste from landfills, which are running out of space and can contribute to soil and water pollution. 👉
So, every time you recycle, you're making a positive impact on the planet! ✅
8
Solved Example
Real World Example
Many cities are encouraging people to use public transportation, ride bicycles, or walk instead of driving individual cars. Why is this promotion of "sustainable transportation" important for reducing air pollution and combating climate change?
Solution & Explanation
Promoting sustainable transportation is crucial for reducing air pollution and combating climate change because:
Fewer Emissions: Individual cars, especially those powered by gasoline or diesel, release significant amounts of greenhouse gases (like carbon dioxide) and other air pollutants (like nitrogen oxides and particulate matter). Using public transport, cycling, or walking produces little to no emissions. 💡
Reduced Traffic Congestion: Fewer cars on the road mean less traffic, which can lead to more efficient fuel use for the vehicles that are still on the road and less idling, further reducing emissions. 📌
Lower Energy Consumption: Moving many people in one bus or train is generally more energy-efficient per person than moving each person in their own car. 👉
Choosing sustainable transport options is a direct way individuals can contribute to a healthier planet. ✅
6th Grade English (ELA): Global Issues Due to Human Activity Practice Questions
Example 1:
Human activities can have a big impact on our planet. One major issue is pollution. Think about trash in oceans or smoke from factories. What is one way that littering can harm animals?
Solution:
Littering can harm animals in several ways:
Ingestion: Animals might mistake plastic or other trash for food and eat it. This can cause blockages in their stomachs or intestines, leading to starvation or death. 💡
Entanglement: Animals can get tangled in plastic bags, fishing nets, or other debris. This can prevent them from moving, swimming, or flying, making them vulnerable to predators or drowning. 📌
Habitat Destruction: Large amounts of trash can cover natural habitats, making them unsuitable for animals to live in or find food. 👉
So, keeping our environment clean helps protect wildlife! ✅
Example 2:
Another global issue is deforestation, which means cutting down large areas of trees. Why do you think deforestation is a problem for the air we breathe?
Solution:
Deforestation is a problem for the air we breathe because:
Trees produce oxygen: Plants, including trees, take in carbon dioxide from the air and release oxygen during photosynthesis. Fewer trees mean less oxygen production. 💡
Trees absorb carbon dioxide: Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change. Trees act as natural "carbon sinks," absorbing this gas. When trees are cut down, this absorption decreases, and the stored carbon can be released back into the atmosphere. 📌
Therefore, forests play a crucial role in maintaining the quality of the air we breathe. ✅
Example 3:
Climate change is a long-term shift in global weather patterns. One of its effects is rising sea levels. If sea levels rise, what might happen to coastal cities and communities?
Solution:
Rising sea levels due to climate change can have serious consequences for coastal cities and communities:
Increased Flooding: Higher sea levels mean that storm surges during hurricanes or other weather events can reach further inland, causing more frequent and severe flooding. 💡
Coastal Erosion: The constant lapping of higher waves can erode beaches and coastlines, damaging infrastructure like roads and buildings. 📌
Saltwater Intrusion: Rising seas can push saltwater into freshwater sources like rivers and groundwater, making them unusable for drinking or agriculture. 👉
Displacement of People: In the long term, some low-lying coastal areas might become uninhabitable, forcing people to relocate. ✅
Example 4:
Human activities like driving cars and running factories release greenhouse gases, which trap heat in the atmosphere. This is a major cause of global warming. What are two other human activities that contribute to greenhouse gas emissions?
Solution:
Besides driving cars and factory emissions, here are two other human activities that contribute to greenhouse gas emissions:
Agriculture: Livestock farming, especially cattle, produces methane, a potent greenhouse gas. The use of fertilizers in farming also releases nitrous oxide. 💡
Deforestation: As mentioned before, cutting down trees not only reduces the absorption of carbon dioxide but also releases stored carbon when trees are burned or decay. 📌
Understanding these sources helps us find ways to reduce our impact. ✅
Example 5:
Imagine you are a scientist studying the impact of plastic pollution on marine life. You observe a sea turtle that has swallowed a plastic bag. Explain, in your own words, why this is a dangerous situation for the turtle, considering its digestive system.
Solution:
This is a dangerous situation for the sea turtle because:
Blockage: A plastic bag is not digestible. It can get stuck in the turtle's stomach or intestines, preventing food from passing through. This can lead to malnutrition and starvation. 💡
False Sense of Fullness: The plastic bag might make the turtle feel full, so it stops eating real food, further contributing to starvation. 📌
Internal Injury: Sharp edges of the plastic could potentially injure the turtle's internal organs. 👉
This highlights the critical need to prevent plastic from entering our oceans. ✅
Example 6:
The world's population is growing, meaning more people need resources like food, water, and energy. How can the increased demand for these resources lead to environmental problems like habitat loss and pollution?
Solution:
The increased demand for resources due to a growing population can lead to environmental problems in several ways:
Habitat Loss: To grow more food, we need more land for farming. This often involves clearing forests or grasslands, which destroys the natural habitats of many plants and animals. 💡
Increased Pollution: Producing more goods, energy, and food often requires more factories, power plants, and transportation, all of which can release pollutants into the air, water, and soil. Also, more people means more waste, which can overwhelm landfills and pollute the environment if not managed properly. 📌
Water Scarcity: Increased demand for water for agriculture, industry, and domestic use can deplete freshwater sources, leading to shortages and impacting ecosystems that rely on these water bodies. 👉
Balancing human needs with environmental protection is a major challenge. ✅
Example 7:
Have you ever seen recycling bins in your school or at home? Recycling is a way to manage waste and reduce the need to create new materials from scratch. How does recycling help address the global issue of resource depletion?
Solution:
Recycling helps address resource depletion by:
Conserving Natural Resources: When we recycle materials like paper, plastic, glass, and metal, we reduce the need to extract raw materials from the earth. For example, recycling paper saves trees, and recycling aluminum saves bauxite ore. 💡
Saving Energy: It often takes less energy to produce new products from recycled materials than from virgin raw materials. For instance, recycling aluminum uses about 95% less energy than making it from bauxite. 📌
Reducing Landfill Waste: Recycling diverts waste from landfills, which are running out of space and can contribute to soil and water pollution. 👉
So, every time you recycle, you're making a positive impact on the planet! ✅
Example 8:
Many cities are encouraging people to use public transportation, ride bicycles, or walk instead of driving individual cars. Why is this promotion of "sustainable transportation" important for reducing air pollution and combating climate change?
Solution:
Promoting sustainable transportation is crucial for reducing air pollution and combating climate change because:
Fewer Emissions: Individual cars, especially those powered by gasoline or diesel, release significant amounts of greenhouse gases (like carbon dioxide) and other air pollutants (like nitrogen oxides and particulate matter). Using public transport, cycling, or walking produces little to no emissions. 💡
Reduced Traffic Congestion: Fewer cars on the road mean less traffic, which can lead to more efficient fuel use for the vehicles that are still on the road and less idling, further reducing emissions. 📌
Lower Energy Consumption: Moving many people in one bus or train is generally more energy-efficient per person than moving each person in their own car. 👉
Choosing sustainable transport options is a direct way individuals can contribute to a healthier planet. ✅