Q 1 – Who first used the term ‘geography’?
Ans. The term ‘geography’ was first used by Eratosthenes, a Greek scholar, who lived in Alexandria, Egypt during 276-192 BC.
Q 2 – What do you mean by process?
Ans. A process is a sequence of changes systematically related through a chain of causes and effects.
Q 3 – Name the area that still remains largely inaccessible even today.
Ans. Antarctica still remains largely inaccessible and unexplored even today.
Q 4 – What is meant by ‘culture’?
Ans. Culture’ is the cumulative product of experiences. It consists of values, processes, beliefs, thoughts, ethical standards, and styles of life and living.
Q 5 – Name the oldest school of geographical thought.
Ans. The Greek school is the oldest school of geographical thought.
Q 6 – Name two leading ‘possibilists’.
Ans. They were Vidal dela Blache and Lucien Febvre.
Q 7 – Who were the leaders of ‘Deterministic’ philosophy?
Ans. Fredrich Ratzel and Ellsworth Huntington were the leaders of ‘Deterministic’ philosophy.
Q 8 – Who were the discoverers of the unknown lands?
Ans. Egyptians, Mesopotamians, Greeks, and Arabs were the first discoverers of the unknown lands.
Q 9 – The Greek scholar w housed the term ‘Geography’ for the first time.
Ans. Eratosthenes.
Q 10 – The viewpoint about the universe stating that all planets revolve around the sun and the sun is stationary.
Ans. Heliocentric.
Q 11 – The ancient Indian scholar who first propounded the theory of a heliocentric universe.
Ans. Aryabhatta.
Q 12 – The technique of aerial photo interpretation.
Ans. Photogrammetry.
Q 13 – The genetic study of landforms.
Ans. Geomorphology.
Q 14 – The doctrine believes that the environment controls human activities.
Ans. Determinism.
Q 15 – What is cartography?
Ans. It is the technique of drawing maps and diagrams.
Q 16 – What do you mean by geomorphology?
Ans. It is the science that studies landforms.
Q 17 – What is cultural geography?
Ans. It includes the cultural aspects of human groups such as ornaments, food, cloth, etc.
Q 18 – What is called economic geography?
Ans. The discipline dealing with the distribution of economic activities of man which relate to the production of a commodity, its marketing, and distribution is called economic geography.
Q 19 – What do you understand by Hydrology?
Ans. It is the science which deals with oceans, rivers, glaciers, etc.
Q 20 – What do you understand by Regionalism?
Ans. The process of identifying various regions is known as v regionalism.
Q 21 – What is geography?
Ans. The word geography is a combination of two Greek words. ‘Geo’ meaning the earth and “Graphy’ meaning description. Thus, the meaning of geography could be to write about the earth including all that is upon it. Geography is the science dealing with the spatial distribution of various phenomena (physical & human & biotic) on the surface of the earth.
Q 22 – What is the relation of geography with other sciences?
Ans. Geography draws its contents from both natural science and social science (sociology, economics, political science). It has also. contributed to them. Hence there are several interdisciplinary’ areas in; geography. For example. Geomorphology is closely linked with. Geology, Economic Geography with Economics, and Bio-geography with life sciences (Botany and Zoology).
Q 23 – What are the three features of systematic geography?
- Ans. It studies geographical facts in an individual manner.
- It implies the detailed study of a single specific geographical factor.
- It is explanatory and is largely interpretative.
- A detailed study of agriculture is done by marking the agricultural regions of India.
Q 24 – Why did geography become a popular subject in school by the end of the eighteenth century?
Ans. It was because it gave knowledge about the land to prospective migrants, administrators and traders. Gradually, along with the description of places and peoples, explanation for varying responses of people to the natural environment was also presented. Thus, geography emerged as the study of the dynamics of the man-environment relationship and its imprints on the earth’s surface
Q 25 – What are the two ways of studying geographic problems?
Ans. The two ways of studying geographic problems are systematic and regional. A study of a specific natural or social phenomenon that gives rise to certain spatial patterns and structures on the earth’s surface is called systematic geography. Unlike systematic geography, regional geography starts with the spatial imprints of one or all the systematic geographic processes discernible as regions of different sizes.
Q 26 – Distinguish between physical geography and biogeography.
Ans. Geography is a spatial science dealing with the distribution of various elements and phenomena over the earth’s surface. When these elements are natural and no one is living they are called physical, e.g. land-form, climate, water, and soil. Accordingly, physical geography has branches like geomorphology, climatology, hydrology, soil geography. On the other hand, the life-form or living elements constitute the part of bio-geography. Therefore, the main branches of bio-geography are plant geography, zoo-geography, and human ecology.
Q 26 – Write in brief on the geographic methods and techniques
Ans. Geographers use various types of methods and techniques in order to collect and analyze information related to the surface of the earth. They include the following :
- Field studies (physical as well as socio-economic surveys).
- Cartography (the science of drawing maps and diagrams).
- Quantitative geography (covers a number of mathematical and statistical techniques).
- Spatial information system, e.g., GIS, LIS, GPS.
Q 27 – What are the natural and cultural features on the surface of the earth?
Ans. The physical elements which are the outcome of natural processes in action are natural features, such as continents, mountains, rivers, plains, oceans, atmosphere, etc., whereas the elements which are products of human activities are cultural features, e.g., countries, villages, towns, cities, agriculture, industry, means of transport and communication, etc.
Q 28 – Name the branches of geography on the basis of the regional approach
- Ans. Regional studies/Area studies comprising Macro, Meso, and Micro regional studies.
- Regional planning comprising country/rural planning and town and urban planning.
- Regional development.
- Regional Analysis.
Q 29 – What is Political geography?
Ans. Political geography looks at the space from the angle of political events and studies boundaries, space relations between neighboring political units, delimitations of constituents, and election scenario, and develops a theoretical frame to understand the political behavior of the population.
Q 30 – Name the various branches of bio-geography. What led to the development of bio-geography?
Ans. The interface between Physical geography and Human geography has led to the development of Bio-geography. It includes:
- Plant geography – Study of the spatial. the pattern of natural vegetation in their habitats.
- Zoo-geography – Study of spatial patterns and geographic characteristics of animals and their habitats.
- Ecology/Ecosystem – Study of the habitats characteristic of species.
- Environmental geography – The environmental concern world over leading to the realization of environmental problems, such as land degradation, pollution, and concerns for conservation, led to the introduction of this new branch of geography.
Q 31 – What do you mean by Systematic geography?
Ans. A study of a specific natural or cultural phenomenon that gives rise to certain spatial patterns on the earth’s surface is called Systematic geography. There are four branches of systematic geography :
- Physiography
- Biogeography
- Human ecology
- Geographic methods and techniques.
Q 32 – Write a short note on Spatial Information Technology (SIT).
Ans. The last quarter of the 20th century has put geography on a new trajectory of development with SIT as the main source of information and information processing. SIT is concerned with data collection and analysis related to physical space or the surface of the earth with the help of advanced means of information technology, such as remote sensing, aerial photographs, and satellite imageries.
They have enabled geographers to develop geographic information systems (GIS), land information systems (LIS), and global positioning systems (GPS) as location decision administration and managerial tools. Geography in the 21 st century has entered a new era of spatial information technology (SIT). They are going to be used not only in answering the question of what is where and why but also in what should be where and why. They will not only be generating information for decision-making but also will be actively participating in decision-making.
Q 33 – Describe the various branches of geography.
Ans. Today geography is the only discipline that brings all-natural and human sciences on a common platform. It is an interdisciplinary and integrative science having numerous branches :
A. Systematic geography :
- Physiography: Studies the physical aspects of the earth’s surface, as landforms, climate, water, and soil.
- Plant Geography: Studies the distribution of various kinds r- of forests and grasslands. Zoo-geography studies the
distribution of animals and micro-organisms. Human ecology studies the changing human-nature relationship and its consequences on human life and living. Environmental y geography studies the quality of the living environment and
its implications for human welfare. - Human Geography: Human beings interact with nature and create a great variety of cultural phenomena like villages, Ji towns, cities, countries, factories, roads, houses, etc. The study of location and distribution of all such phenomena falls under the purview of human geography.
- Geographic methods and techniques: Field studies, cartography, quantitation geography, and spatial information system (GIS, LIS, GPS).
B. Regional Geography :
- Regional Studies
- Regional Planning
- Regional Development
- Regional Approach
Q 34 – Discuss two perspectives of study that characterized geography in the twentieth century.
Ans. Geography in the twentieth century became a discipline that studied the earth’s surface from two perspectives systematic and regional. The former produced sub-disciplines like physiography, climate, biography, political geography, economic geography, health geography, etc., while the latter gave rise to regional geography, regional science, regional development, regional planning, area planning, etc.
The first started with systematic knowledge to arrive at regional patterns, while the second started with a region to arrive at systematic details. In both cases, humans remained a central theme i.e., the emphasis of the study being on the impact of systematic processes and regional patterns on humans and their activities.
Q 35 – How did the Indian scholars contribute to geography in the ancient period?
Ans. Indian scholars were among those who laid the foundation of geography in the ancient period. Atharva Veda, written around the 10th century B.C., gives the details of the then known earth, its physical features, bio-geography, and human settlements. Indians went to different parts of the world to carry the message of Indian culture, particularly of Hinduism and Buddhism. The contribution of Indian astronomers and geographers was highly advanced for their times. Aryabhatta propounded the theory of heliocentric universe a century before Copernicus, and Bhaskaracharya mentioned the gravity of the earth 1200 years before Newton. Kalidas’s description of the geography of Central India in ‘Meghaduta’ is highly professional,
Q 36 – What important cultural features do you observe while going to school? Are they similar or dissimilar? Should they be included in the study of geography or not? If yes, why?
Ans. While going to school, we see some cultural features like shops, schools, clubs, offices, temples, mosques, houses. These features are dissimilar. Yes, they should be included in the study of geography as they are an essential part of human geography.
Q 37 – You have seen a tennis ball, a cricket ball, an orange and a pumpkin. Which one amongst these resembles the shape of the earth? Why have you chosen this particular item to describe the shape of the earth?
Ans. An orange resembles the shape of the earth because all others are almost sphere while pumpkin is long in shape. Earth is not a perfect sphere, it rotates on its axis. It is of geoid shape, flatter toward poles like an orange.
Q 38 – Do you celebrate Van Mahotsava in your school? Why do we plant so many trees? How do the trees maintain ecological balance?
Ans. Yes, we do celebrate Van Mahotsava in our school. We plant so many trees because trees provide us food, oxygen, clean air, economical products such as rubber and paper. help in making medicine etc. By taking in carbon dioxide and giving oxygen, trees maintain ecological balance.
Q 39 – You have seen elephants, deer, earthworms, trees and grasses. Where do they live or grow? What is the name given to this sphere? Can you describe some of the important features of this sphere?
Ans. The sphere where elephants, deer, earthworms, trees and grasses live and grow is known as biosphere. Important features of this sphere are: → The biosphere is the layer of the planet Earth where life exists. → Since life exists on the ground, in the air, and in the water, thus, biosphere overlaps all other three spheres. → Plants and animals are biotic elements of biosphere while soil, water, air are abiotic elements.
Q 40 – How much time do you take to reach your school from your house? Had the school been located across the road from your house, how much time would you have taken to reach school? What is the effect of the distance between your residence and the school on the time taken in commuting? Can you convert time into space and vice versa?
Ans. It takes me around half an hour to reach my school. Had my school been located across the road from my house, I could reach there within four minutes. Due to the long distance between my residence and school, a lot of time gets wasted in commuting which affects my studies hour as well as playing hours negatively. Time can be converted into space, vice versa is also true, i.e., we can convert space into time.
Q 41 – You observe every day in your surroundings that there is variation in natural as well as cultural phenomena. All the trees are not of the same variety. All the birds and animals you see, are different. All these different elements are found on the earth. Can you now argue that geography is the study of “areal differentiation”
Ans. There is vast variation in natural as well as cultural phenomena. The study of ‘areal differentiation’ is part of geography, however, geography is not only limited to ‘areal differentiation’. Geography as a discipline is related to space and takes note of spatial characteristics and attributes. It studies the patterns of distribution, location and concentration of phenomena over space and interprets them providing explanations for these patterns. It takes note of the associations and inter[1]relationships between the phenomena over space and interprets them providing explanations for these patterns. It also takes note of the associations and inter-relationships between the phenomena resulting from the dynamic interaction between human beings and their physical environment.
Geography helps in understanding the reality in totality in its spatial perspective. Geography, thus, not only takes note of the differences in the phenomena from place to place but integrates them holistically which may be different at other places.
Q 42 – You have already studied geography, history, civics and economics as parts of social studies. Attempt an integration of these disciplines highlighting their interface.
• Geography and History: Geography influences historical events. Spatial distance itself has been a very potent factor to alter the course of history of the world. Spatial depth provided defence to many countries, particularly in the last century. In traditional warfare, countries with large size in area, gain time at the cost of space. Every geographical phenomenon undergoes change through time and can be explained temporally. The changes in landforms, climate, vegetation, economic activities occupations and cultural developments have followed a definite historical course.
• Geography and Civics: The core concern of political science is territory, people and sovereignty while political geography is also interested in the study of the state as a spatial unit as well as people and their political behaviour.
• Geography and Economics: Economics deals with basic attributes of the economy such as production, distribution, exchange and consumption. Each of these attributes also has spatial aspects and here comes the role of economic geography to study the spatial aspects of production, distribution, exchange and consumption.
Q 43 – What are different approaches to the study of geography?
Ans. The major approaches to study geography have been
- Systematic and
- Regional.
Q 44 – Who introduced Systematic Approach?
Ans. The systematic geography was introduced by Alexander Von Humboldt, a German geographer (1769-1859).
Who was the profounder of Regional Geography?
Ans. Regional geography approach was developed by another German geographer and a contemporary of Humboldt, Karl Ritter (1779-1859
Q 45 – Define Geography.
Ans. The term geography was first coined by Eratosthenese, a Greek scholar (276¬194 BC.). The word has been derived from two Greek words geo (earth) and graphos (description). Put together, they mean description of the earth. The earth has always been seen as the abode of human beings and thus, scholars defined geography as, “the description of the earth as the abode of human beings”
Q 46 – What is studied under Environment Geography?
Ans. It is concerned with environmental problems such as land gradation, pollution and environment conservation.
Q 47 – What is studied under Biogeography?
Ans. It has emerged as a result of the interface between physical geography and human geography. It has three branches: Plant Geography. Zoo Geography and Ecology.
Q 48 – What is studied under Geomorphology?
Ans. It is concerned with the study of landforms, their evolution and related processes.
Q 49 – What is studied under Hydrology?
Ans. It studies the realm of water over the surface of the earth including oceans, lakes, rivers and other water bodies and its effect on different fife forms including human life and their activities.
Q 50 – What are main branches of Biogeography?
Ans. It has three branches: Plant Geography, Zoo Geography and Ecology.
Q 51 – What is studied under Economic Geography?
Ans. It studies economic activities of the people including agriculture, industry, tourism, trade, and transport, infrastructure and services, etc.
Q 52 – What are sub-branches of Physical Geography?
Ans. It has three sub-branches: Geomorphology, climatology and hydrology.
Q 53 – What are sub-branches of Human Geography?
Ans. It includes Social/Cultural Geography, Population Geography, and Settlement Geography, Economic Geography, Historical Geography and Political Geography.
Q 54 – What are the recent techniques that helped the geographer to understand the earth’s surface better?
- Ans. GIS and GPS
- Computer cartography
Q 55 – What do you mean by “areal differentiation”?
Ans. When there is similarity and dissimilarity among the physical and cultural features on the earth surface, it is called aerial differentiation.
Q 56 – Explain the changes occurred in the civilization of man in course of time?
Ans. Many changes have occurred in the civilization of man in course of time.
- Man moved from stage of necessity to stage of freedom.
- Created new possibilities from the nature.
- We find now humanized nature and naturalized man.
- Space got organized with the help of transport and communication.
Q 57 – Differentiate between Physical geography and Biogeography.
Ans. The main differences between Physical geography and Biogeography are given below:
| Basis | Physical Geography | Biogeography |
| Meaning | It has developed as a subject concerned with study of evaluation and management of natural resources. | It has emerged as a result of the interface between physical geography and human geography. |
| Branches | It has three sub branches: Geomorphology, climatology and hydrology. | It has three branches: Plant Geography, Zoo Geography and Ecology. |
| Subject matter | It studies abiotic elements of the earth. | It studies biotic elements of the earth. |
Q 58 – Differentiate between Systematic approach and Regional approach.’
Ans. Main differences between systematic and regional approach are summarized below:
| Basis | Systematic Approach | Regional Approach |
| Profounder | The systematic geography approach was introduced by Alexander Von Humboldt, a German geographer. | Regional geography approach was developed by another German geographer and a contemporary of Humboldt, Karl Ritter. |
| Methodology | In systematic approach, a phenomenon is studied world over as a whole, and then the identification of typologies or spatial patterns is done. | In the regional approach, the world is divided into regions at different hierarchical levels and then all the geographical phenomena in a particular region are studied. These regions may be natural, political or designated. |
| Example | For example, if one is interested in studying natural vegetation, the study will be done at the world level as a first step. The typologies such as equatorial rain forests or softwood conical forests or monsoon forests, etc. will be identified, discussed and delimited. | For example, if one is interested in studying natural vegetation, the study will be done for different region like equator, monsoon region, Desert region, Tundra region, etc. |
Q 59 – As a scientific discipline with how many categories of questions is geography concerried? Explain.
Ans. Geography as a discipline is concerned with three sets of questions:
- Some questions are concerned with the identification of the patterns of natural and cultural features as found over the surface of the earth. These are the questions about “what”?
- Second type of questions are related to the distribution of the natural and human/ cultural features over the surface of the earth. These are the questions about where?
- The third question is related to the explanation or the causal relationships between features and the processes and phenomena.
Q 60 – On the basis of regional approach, explain different branches of geography.
Ans. Branches of geography based on regional approach:
- Regional Studies/Area Studies: It comprises of Macro, Meso and Micro regional studies.
- Regional Planning: It comprises of country/rural and town/urban planning.
- Regional Development: It deals with the developmental issues of region.
- Regional Analysis: There are two aspects which are common to every discipline, these are:
Philosophy
• Geographical thought
• Land and human interaction/Human Ecology.
Methods and techniques
• Cartography including computer cartography.
• Quantitative techniques/statistical techniques.
Q 61 – Explain different branches of geography under Biogeography.
Ans. Biogeography has emerged as a result of the interface between physical geography and human geography. It has three branches: Plant Geography, Zoo Geography and Ecology.
Different branches of Biogeography are as follows:
- Plant Geography: It studies the spatial pattern of natural vegetation in their habitats.
- Zoo Geography: It studies the spatial patterns and geographic characteristics of animals and their habitats.
- Ecology: It is concerned with the scientific study of the habitats characteristic of species.
- Environmental Geography: It is concerned with environmental problems such as land gradation, pollution and environment conservation.
Q 62 – What is the importance of Physical Geography?
Ans. Physical geography includes study of Lithosphere, Atmosphere, Hydrosphere and Biosphere. Each element is very important for human beings. Landforms provide base for agriculture, industries, transport and communication, and settlements. Mountains provide water to rivers, forests-center for tourist spots. Climate influences on the cropping pattern, livestock, food and clothes of the people. Climate and precipitation influence the type of forests. Oceans provide food, water transport, and influence the climate; they are the source of hydrological cycle.
Each element of physical environment is important for human beings. Landforms provide the base on which human activities are located. The plains are utilised for agriculture. Plateaus provide forests and minerals. Mountains provide pastures, forests, tourist spots and are sources of rivers providing water to lowlands. Climate influences our house types, clothing and food habits.
The study of physical geography is emerging as a discipline of evaluating and managing natural resources. In order to achieve this objective, it is essential to understand the intricate relationship between physical environment and human beings. Physical environment provides resources, and human beings utilise these resources and ensure their economic and cultural development. Accelerated pace of resource utilisation with the help of modern technology has created ecological imbalance in the world. Therefore, abetter understanding of physical environment is essential in study of Geography.
Q 63 – Physical and human factors both are dynamic not static. Explain.
Ans. The geographical phenomena, both the physical and human, are not static but highly dynamic. They change over times as a result of the interactive processes between ever changing earth and untiring and ever-active human beings.
1. Primitive human societies were directly dependent on their immediate environment. Human beings have come to terms with nature through adaptation and modification.
2. The present society has passed the stage of primitive .societies, which were directly dependent on their immediate physical environment for sustenance. Present societies have modified their natural environment by inventing and using technology and thus, have expanded the horizon of their operation by appropriate utilisation of the resources provided by nature.
3. With the gradual development of technology, human beings were able to loosen the shackles of their physical environment. Technology helped in reducing the harshness of labour, increased labour efficiency and provided leisure to human beings to attend to the higher needs of life. It also increased the scale of production and the mobility of labour. The interaction between the physical environment and human beings has put their imprints everywhere and created new possibilities in collaboration with nature. Thus, we find humanised nature and naturalised human beings and geography studies this interactive relationship.
4. The space got organised with the help of the means of transportation and communication network. The links (routes) and nodes (settlements of all types and hierarchies) integrated the space and gradually, it got organised.
5. It takes note of the associations and interrelationships between the phenomena over space and interprets them providing explanations for these patterns. It also takes note of the associations and inter-relationships between the phenomena resulting from the dynamic interaction between human beings and their physical environment.
Q 64 – Explain different branches of Physical geography.
Ans. It has four sub-branches which are as fallows:
- Geomorphology: It is concerned with the study of landforms, their evolution and related processes.
- Climatology: It is concerned with the study of structure of atmosphere and elements of weather and climates and climatic types and regions.
- Hydrology: It studies the realm of water over the surface of the earth including oceans, lakes, rivers and other water bodies and its effect on different life forms including human life and their activities.
- Soil Geography: It is concerned with the study of the processes of soil formation, soil types, their fertility status, distribution and use.
Q 65 – What matters are studied under Human Geography?
Ans. Following facts are studied under Human Geography:
- Social/Cultural Geography: It is concerned with the study of society and its spatial dynamics as well as the cultural elements contributed by the society.
- Population Geography: It studies population growth, distribution, density, sex ratio, migration and occupational structure, etc.
- Settlement Geography: It studies the characteristics of rural and urban settlements.
- Economic Geography: It studies economic activities of the’people including agriculture, industry, tourism, trade, and transport, infrastructure and services, etc.
- Historical Geography: It studies the historical processes through which the space gets organised. In other words, it studies how history has influenced the geography of a region.
- Political Geography: It studies the impact of political events and studies boundaries, space relations between neighbouring political units, delimitation of constituencies, election scenario and develops theoretical framework to understand the political behaviour of the population.
Q 66 – Geography is an integrated discipline. How?
Ans. It is a discipline of synthesis; it includes spatial and temporal synthesis. Its approach is holistic in nature. It recognizes the fact that the world is a system of interdependence. The present world is a global village. The efficient transport and communication helped the world to become unified village. The audio-visual media helped the data to be enriched. Technology provided better chances for monitoring natural phenomena as well as the economic and social parameters.
Q 67 – The branch of biogeography that studies the man-nature relationship.
Ans. Human ecology.
Q 68 – Geographers play an important role for a country. How?
Ans. Geographers are important for any country because:
- They study the variations and association of the features on the earth surface e.g. cropping pattern differs from place to place and it is due to difference in the climate, soil, demand, transport facility and capacity of the farmer.
- A geographer also studies the cause and effect relationships.
- The interaction between man and nature is highly dynamic and not static; so it is also called as the study of the relation between unstable earth and untrusting man.
- He helps to predict climate.
- He helps in handling natural calamities.