Geography as a Discipline Class 11 Important Extra Questions Geography Chapter 1
Geography as a Discipline Important Extra Questions Very Short Answer Type
Question 1.
Who first used the term ‘geography’?
Answer:
The term ‘geography’ was first used by Eratosthenes, a Greek scholar, who lived in Alexandria, Egypt during 276-192 BC.
Question 2.
What do you mean by process?
Answer:
A process is a sequence of changes systematically related through a chain of causes and effects.
Question 3.
Name the area that still remains largely inaccessible even today.
Answer:
Antarctica still remains largely inaccessible and unexplored even today.
Question 4.
What is meant by ‘culture’?
Answer:
‘Culture’ is the cumulative product of experiences. It consists of values, processes, beliefs, thoughts, ethical standards, and styles of life and living.
Question 5.
Name the oldest school of geographical thought.
An’s,
The Greek school is the oldest school of geographical thought.
Question 6.
Name two leading ‘possibilists’.
Answer:
They were Vidal dela Blache and Lucien Febvre.
Question 7.
Who were the leaders of ‘Deterministic’ philosophy?
Answer:
Fredrich Ratzel and Ellsworth Huntington were the leaders of ‘Deterministic’ philosophy.
Question 8.
Who were the discoverers of the unknown lands?
Answer:
Egyptians, Mesopotamians, Greeks, and Arabs were the first discoverers of the unknown lands.
Question 9.
The Greek scholar w housed the term ‘Geography’ for the first time.
Answer:
Eratosthenes.
Question 10.
The viewpoint about the universe stating that all planets revolve around the sun and the sun is stationary.
Answer:
Heliocentric.
Question 11.
The ancient Indian scholar who first propounded the theory of a heliocentric universe.
Answer:
Aryabhatta.
Question 12.
The technique of aerial photo interpretation.
Answer:
Photogrammetry.
Question 13.
The genetic study of landforms.
Answer:
Geomorphology.
Question 14.
The branch of biogeography that studies the man-nature relationship.
Answer:
Human ecology.
Question 15.
The doctrine believes that the environment controls human activities.
Answer:
Determinism.
Question 16.
What is cartography?
Answer:
It is the technique of drawing maps and diagrams.
Question 17.
What do you mean by geomorphology?
Answer:
It is the science that studies landforms.
Question 18.
What is cultural geography?
Answer:
It includes the cultural aspects of human groups such as ornaments, food, cloth, etc.
Question 19.
What is called economic geography?
Answer:
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.
Question 20.
What do you understand by Hydrology?
Answer:
It is the science which deals with oceans, rivers, glaciers, etc.
Question 21.
What do you understand by Regionalism?
Answer:
The process of identifying various regions is known as v regionalism.
Geography as a Discipline Important Extra Questions Short Answer Type
Question 1.
What is geography?
Answer:
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.
Question 2.
What is the relation of geography with other sciences?
Answer:
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).
Question 3.
What are the three features of systematic geography?
Answer:
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.
Question 4.
Why did geography become a popular subject in school by the end of the eighteenth century?
Answer:
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.
Question 5.
What are the two ways of studying geographic problems?
Answer:
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.
Question 6.
Distinguish between physical geography and biogeography.
Answer:
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.
Question 7.
Write in brief on the geographic methods and techniques.
Answer:
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.
Question 8.
What are the natural and cultural features on the surface of the earth?
Answer:
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.
Question 9.
Name the branches of geography on the basis of the regional approach.
Answer:
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.
Question 10.
What is Political geography?
Answer:
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.
Question 11.
Name the various branches of bio-geography. What led to the development of bio-geography?
Answer:
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.
Question 12.
What do you mean by Systematic geography?
Answer:
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.
Geography as a Discipline Important Extra Questions Long Answer Type
Question 1.
Write a short note on Spatial Information Technology (SIT).
Answer:
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.
Question 2.
Describe the various branches of geography.
Answer:
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
Question 3.
Discuss two perspectives of study that characterized geography in the twentieth century.
Answer:
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.
Question 4.
How did the Indian scholars contribute to geography in the ancient period?
Answer:
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,
Question 5.
What is the importance of Physical geography?
Answer:
Physical geography includes the study of the lithosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere, and biosphere.
Soils are formed through the process of pedogenesis and depend. upon the parent rocks, climate, biological activity, and time. Time provides maturity to soils and helps in the development of soil profiles. Each element is important for human beings.
Landforms provide the base on which human activities are located.
The plains are utilized 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.
Climate has a profound effect on vegetation, cropping pattern, livestock farming, and some industries, etc.
Temperature and precipitation ensure the density of forests and the quality of grassland.
Oceans are the storehouse of resources and are rich in mineral resources, fish, and other seafood.
Soils are renewable resources, which influence a number of economic activities such as agriculture.
Physical geography is fast emerging as a discipline for evaluating and managing natural resources.
