Class 12 Geography NCERT Solutions Chapter 1 Human Geography (Nature and Scope)

Class 12 Geography Chapter 1 NCERT Textbook Questions Solved

1. Choose the right answer from the four alternatives given below:

Question 1.(i)
Which one of the following statements does not describe geography?
(a) an integrative discipline
(b) study of the inter-relationship between humans and environment
(c) subjected to dualism
(d) not relevant in the present time due to the development of technology
Answer:
(d) not relevant in the present time due to the development of technology

Question 1.(ii)
Which one of the following is not a source of geographical information?
(a) traveller’s accounts
(b) old maps
(c) samples of rock materials from the moon
(d) ancient epics
Answer:
(c) samples of rock materials from the moon

Question 1.(iii)
Which one of the following is the most important factor in the interaction between people and environment?
(a) human intelligence
(b) people’s perception
(c) technology
(d) human brotherhood
Answer:
(c) technology

Question 1.(iv)
Which one of the following is not an approach in human geography?
(a) Areal differentiation
(b) Spatial organisation
(c) Quantitative revolution
(d) Exploration and description
Answer:
(c) Quantitative revolution

2. Answer the following questions in about 30 words:

Question 2.(i)
Define human geography.
Answer:
Human geography is defined as “the relationship between the physical/ natural and the human worlds, the spatial distribution of human phenomenon and how they come about, the social and economic difference between different parts of the world.” According to Ratzel “ Human geography is the synthetic study of relationship between human societies and earth’s surface”.
According to Ellen C. Semple “Human geography is the study of the changing relationships between the unresting man and unstable earth”

According to Paul Vidal de la Blache “Conception resulting from a more synthetic knowledge of the physical laws governing our earth and of the relations between the living beings which inhabit it.”

Question 2.(ii)
Name some sub-fields of human geography.
Answer:
Some sub-fields of human geography are:

Behavioral geography, Geography of social well-being, Geography of leisure, Cultured geography, Gender geography, Historical geography, Medical geography, Electoral geography, Military geography, Geography of Resources, Geography of agriculture, Geography of industries, Geography of Marketing, Geography of Tourism and Geography of international trade.

Question 2.(iii)
How is human geography related to other social sciences?
Answer:
Human geography attempts to explain the relationship between all elements of human life and the space they occur over. Thus, human geography assumes a highly interdisciplinary nature. It develops close interface with sister disciplines in social sciences in order to understand and explain human elements on the surface of the earth. With the expansion of knowledge, new sub-fields emerge and it has further expanded realm of human geography.
Example; Within social geography there are following sub fields with the interface with sister disciplines of social sciences:
Behavioural geography-Psychology
Geography of social well-being- Welfare Economics
Geography of Leisure-Sociology
Cultural Geography-Anthropology
Gender Geography-Sociology, Anthropology, Women’s Studies Historical Geography-History Medical Geography-Epidemology

3. Answer the following questions in 150 words:

Question 3.(i)
Explain naturalization of humans.
Answer:
Human beings interact with their physical environment with help of technology. It is not important what human beings produce and create but it is extremely important with the help of what tools and techniques do they produce and create. Technology indicates the level of social and cultural development of society.

In the early stages of their interaction with environment, human beings interacted with environment with help of primitive technology, hence nature played a dominant role over humans. Human beings were greatly influenced by nature and adapted to dictates of the nature. This type of interaction when, human society was at primitive stage of development and hence adapted itself as per the nature, is called naturalization of humans also known as environmental determinism. This is a stage of naturalized humans, who listen to nature, are afraid of nature’s fury and worship it. All the actions of human beings are guided by the nature, especially by climate, wild animals and availability of water and edible plants. At this stage due to lack of technological advancement and understanding of nature, human beings are not able to loosen the shackles of nature and hence follow it and all their actions are guided by nature. This type of interaction can still be seen in tribal societies where tribal lives’ revolve around nature and their daily routine is well knit with the natural processes.

Example; Tribals depend on the edible plants and their parts they get from nature, some of the hunter tribes hunt wild animals with help of primitive tools. They use medicines out of natural plants available. Their religious practices involve worshiping trees, forces of nature, wild groves etc.

Question 3.(ii)
Write a note on the scope of human geography.
Answer:
Geography as a field of study is integrative, empirical, and practical. Thus, the reach of geography is extensive and each and every phenomenon that varies over space and time can be studied geographically.

Human geography is defined as “the relationship between the physical/ natural and the human worlds, the spatial distribution of human phenomenon and how they come about, the social and economic difference between different parts of the world.” The core concern of geography as a discipline is to understand the earth as home of human beings and to study all those elements that have sustained them. Human geography covers a very wide range of fields. It not only studies presence of human phenomenon but also relationship of human and physical world, the pattern and distribution of human processes including both social and economical.

It makes study of geography more relevant as it tries to relate the physical and man-made world with full causal understanding hence making it more applicable to our daily lives. It not only helps us to understand various problems, their causes and effects, but also helps us in finding a suitable solution for them. In the present scenario with increasing discord between human beings and nature resulting in environmental destruction, human geography becomes all the more relevant as it explains the relationship between human and nature and thus assumes highly important role in helping to bring back the environmental symphony and hence saving our planet.

Class 12 Geography Chapter 1 NCERT Extra Questions

Class 12 Geography Chapter 1 Very Short Answer Type Questions

Question 1.
What is the core concern of studying geography?
Answer:
The core concern of studying geography as a discipline is to understand the earth as a home of human beings and to study all those elements which have sustained them.

Question 2.
Name the geographers who advocated ‘Environmental Determinism.’
Answer:
German expert Ratzel and his student Ellen Churchill Simple advocated ‘Environmental Determinism.’

Question 3.
Who was the founder of Possibilism?
Answer:
French expert Lucian Febre and Paul Vidal de la Blache are considered as founders of Possibilism.

Question 4.
Who was Griffith Taylor?
Answer:
Griffith Taylor was the founder of Neodeterminism or stop and go determinism.

Question 5.
What does technology indicate?
Answer:
Technology indicates the level of cultural development of society.

Question 6.
What are different fields of Human Geography?
Answer:
Fields under Human Geography include: Social Geography, Urban Geography, Political Geography, Population Geography, Settlement Geography and Economic Geography.

Question 7.
What are the sub-fields of Economic Geography?
Answer:
Sub-fields of Economic Geography are: Geography of Resources, Geography of Agriculture, Geography of Tourism, Geography of Industries, Geography of Marketing and Geography of International Trade.

Question 8.
What are the sub-fields of Social Geography?
Answer:
Sub-fields of Social Geography are:
Behavioral Geography, Geography of Social Well-being, Geography of Leisure, Cultural Geography, Gender Geography, Historical Geography and Medical Geography.

Question 9.
Define Geography in the words of Fredrick Ratzel.
Answer:
According to Fredrick Ratzel, “Human geography is the synthetic study of relationship between human societies and earth’s surface”.

Question 10.
Define Geography in the words of Ellen Churchill Semple.
Answer:
According to Ellen C. Semple, “Human geography is the study of the changing relationship between the unresting man and the unstable earth”.

Question 11.
How did Paul Vidal de la Blache define Geography?
Answer:
According to Paul Vidal de la Blache, “Conception resulting from more synthetic knowledge of the physical laws governing our earth and of the relations between the living beings which inhabit it”.

Question 12.
Define the important concept of Neodeterminism according to Griffith Taylor.
Answer:
The concept shows that neither is there a situation of absolute necessity (Environmental Determinism) nor is there a condition of absolute freedom (Possibilism). It means that human beings can conquer nature by obeying it. They have to respond to the red signals and can proceed in their pursuits of development when nature permits the modifications. It implies that possibilities can be created within such limits which does not damage the environment and there is no free run without accidents.

Class 12 Geography Chapter 1 Short Answer Type Questions

Question 1.
What do you mean by ‘Dualism in Geography?
Answer:
The teaching and learning of Geography has been a matter of debate amongst geographers. Some examples are:

• Whether geographical phenomena be theoretically interpreted or through historic-institutional approach;
• Whether subject matter be organised and approach to study and teach geography should be regional or systematic;
• Whether geography as a discipline should be a law making/theorising or descriptive?

Question 2.
State some examples of metaphors used to describe the physical and human phenomena.
Answer:
Some examples of metaphors used to describe the physical and human phenomena are as follows:

• “Face’ of the earth.
• ‘Eye’ of the storm.
• Regions, villages, towns have been described as ‘organisms’.
• Networks of roads, railways and water¬ways are described as “arteries of circulation”.
• “Mouth’ of the river.
• ‘Snout’ (nose) of the glacier.
• “Neck’ of the isthmus.
• “Profile’ of the soil.

Question 3.
When and how did Human Geography begin? Explain.
Answer:
Human Geography may be said to have originated since man has started interacting with his environment. It has its roots deep in history. Therefore, the concerns of human geography have a long temporal continuum though approaches to articulate them have changed over time. This dynamism and changes in articulation are indicator of vibrant nature of the discipline.

In the beginning, the interaction between various societies was negligible. Therefore knowledge about each other was also limited. Travelers and explorers used to gather information before a journey and navigational skills were underdeveloped. In late 15th century, Europe witnessed attempts of explorations and the myths and mysteries about countries and people started to open up.

In the colonial period, these attempts increased with an objective of getting access to resources and to obtain inventorised information. Through all this we get to know the sequential information about the development of human geography and to understand that the development of this discipline has been a steady process.

Question 4.
Make a list of elements that human beings have created through their activities on the stage provided by physical environment.
Answer:
Man creates many elements through his activities on the stage provided by physical environment with the help of technology. Houses, villages, cities, farms, ports, items of our daily use and all others So elements of material culture have been created by man using the resources provided by physical environment.

Question 5.
How do human activities help to create cultural landscape?
Answer:
On the basis of attained knowledge, technology and industries, man has been able to develop cultural landscape. The imprints of human activities are available everywhere.

For example; health resorts on highlands have been used as recreation places, huge urban sprawls, fields, orchards and pastures in plains and rolling hills have added to beauty, ports on the coasts, oceanic routes on the oceanic surface and satellites in the space have enabled man to touch the heights of the sky. This was coined the term “Possibilism.’.

Question 6.
“There is no free run without accidents.” Explain.
Answer:
In this statement, the thought of Possibilism in which man was taken as free, uncontrolled and master of unlimited powers has been criticized because as a consequence of free run of developed economies many problems are being faced today like green house effect, ozone layer depletion, global warming, receding glaciers, degrading lands, problem of pollution and incurable diseases.

Class 12 Geography Chapter 1 Long Answer Type Question

Question 1.
Describe the fields and sub-fields of Geography and its inter-relationship with other fields.
Answer:
Nature of Human Geography is inter-disciplinary. In order to understand and describe the human elements found on the earth, human geography has established strong bond with other social sciences and their helping subjects. With the expansion of knowledge, new subjects keep on developing. These are studied with humanistic approach but because they are not free from geographical and environmental effects, they become subject matter of human geography. Fields under Human Geography include: Social Geography, Urban Geography, Political Geography, Population Geography, Settlement Geography and Economic Geography.

Sub-fields of Social Geography are: Behavioral Geography, Geography of Social Well-being, Geography of Leisure, Cultural Geography, Gender Geography, Historical Geography and Medical Geography.

Sub-fields of Political Geography are Electoral Geography and Military Geography. Sub-fields of Economic Geography are: Geography of Resources, Geography of Agriculture, Geography of Tourism, Geography of Industries, Geography of Marketing and Geography of International Trade.

Other than this, Sociology, Psychology, Welfare Economics, Demographic Studies, History, Epidemiology, Anthropology, Urban Studies and Planning, Political Science, Psephology, Military Science, Demography, Urban or Rural Planning, Agricultural Sciences, Industrial Economics, Business Studies, Commerce, Tourism 6s Travel Management and International Trade are such disciplines which study human activities and behavior. As the scope of these disciplines is expanding, it is also leading to increase in the scope of Human Geography.

Question 2.
How did man develop and expand proper technology?
Answer:
Human beings were able to develop proper technology using his knowledge and intelligence. It has taken man a long time to reach at the present level of technology. In primitive age when the level of technology was very low man was bound to follow the dictates of nature. In those times man was a slave of nature, scared of its powerful force and used to worship nature to make it happy. In these conditions the state of cultural development was also primitive.

However, the process was gradual but man developed technology and it is also to be noted that man has been able to utilize this technology only after understanding the various laws of nature. For example; understanding of laws of friction gave birth to many inventions. Similarly after understanding secrets of DNA and laws of genetics, man has overcome many diseases and aeroplanes could be invented only after understanding the laws of aerodynamics. Today the level of technology is touching the heights of sky through which man seems to get free from the natural forces. Earthquake, cyclones, landslides, volcanoes and other natural disasters keep reminding man that he is still a slave to nature.

It implies that man can’t be completely free from natural forces but with the development of technology man has become free from nature and this freedom can be expanded further. Man needs to follow Stop and Go approach. It means possibilities can be created within the limits which do not damage the environment and there is no free run without accidents.

Differentiate Between:
Question 1.
Differentiate between Physical Environment and Cultural Environment.
Answer:

Question 2.
Differentiate between Determinism and Possibilism.
Answer:

Question 3.
Differentiate between Regional Geography and Systematic Geography.
Answer:

Question 4.
Differentiate between Humanistic or Welfare School of Thought and Behavioral School of Thought.
Answer:

Question 5.
Differentiate between Nomothetic and Ideographic.
Answer:

Class 12 Geography Chapter 1 Higher Order Thinking Skill

Question 1.
Geography is a blend of social sciences and physical sciences. Do you agree? Justify.
Answer:
Yes, I agree.
The basic aim of Science and Social Science is to understand the reality of the nature. History helps in knowing the man-made activities; Physics helps to calculate the effect of climate on man. Economics helps to understand the effect of human activities on the development of the country. The geographical factors modified the course of history. The change in the climate has influence on the occupation. All branches of Physical Geography have close relation with Natural Sciences.

Biogeography has close link with Zoology and Botany. Mathematics and Arts have also contributed to the development of Geography to measure the area and dimensions of the earth. Cartography and projections are based on mathematics. History of geographical thought is the mother of all branches of Geography. Sociology, Political Science, Economics provide the aspects of social reality. Population geography has close link with demography.

Class 12 Geography Chapter 1 Important Questions

Very Short Answer Type Questions:

Question 1 .
Which approach was followed by Lucian Febrre and Vidal De La Blache in the study of Human Geography? Mention two characteristics of this approach. (CBSE 2006)
Answer:
Possibilism was the approach followed by Lucian Febrre and Vidal De La Blache in the study of human geography. Its character:

• Humans create possibilities with the resources obtained from the environment.
• Lifestyles of people were the product and reflection of a civilizations.

Question 2.
What is the new concept of Griffith Taylor in the field of Human geography? Describe this concept with examples. (CBSE 2008)
Answer:
The concept shows that neither there is a situation of absolute necessity nor there is a condition of absolute freedom. Humans can conquer nature by obeying them. Possibilities can be created within the limits which do not damage the environment. The new concept of Griffith Taylor in the field of Human geography reflects a middle path between two ideas of environmental determinism and possibilism.

Short Answer Type Questions:

Question 1.
Explain the concept of Possibilism with suitable examples. (A.I. 2009, Foreign 2011)
Answer:
With social and cultural development, humans develop better and more efficient technology. The movement from state of necessity to a state of freedom creating possibilities with resources obtained from environment. Example; Nature provides opportunities and human beings make use of this opportunities by creating their imprints everywhere.

Question 2.
Explain the concept of Neo-Determinism. (Foreign 2009, A.I. 2011)
Answer:
Neodeterminism reflects a middle path between two ideas of environmental determinism and possibilism. It means that possibilities can be created within the limits which do not the environment. Humans can control nature by obeying them.

Question 3.
Explain the concept of ‘Determinism’ with suitable examples. (Delhi 2009, 2011)
Answer:
(i) In the beginning humans are hugely influenced by nature.
(ii) They were afraid of it’s fury and worshipped nature.
(iii) Societies were largely influenced by nature. Nature determines their attitudes, decisions and lifestyles. Humans were passive agents and nature dictates their lives as per determinism.

Question 4.
Mention the six sub-fields of economic geography. (Foreign 2010)
Answer:
Sub-fields of economic geography are:

• Geography of Resources
• Geography of Agriculture
• Geography of International Trade
• Geography of Industries
• Geography of Marketing
• Geography of Tourism

Question 5.
How does technology loosen the shackles of environment on human beings? Explain with examples. (A.I. 2010)
Answer:

• The understanding of concepts of friction and heat helped us discover fire.
• The understanding of the secrets of DNA and genetics enabled us to conquer many diseases.
• We use the laws of aerodynamics to develop faster planes.
• Human beings interact with their physical environment with the help of technology.
• Technology indicates the level of cultural development of society.
• The human activities create a cultural landscape such as health resorts pastures, ports, oceanic routes and satellites in the space.

Question 6.
Mention the six fields of human geography. (Foreign 2010)
Answer:
The subfields of Human Geography are:

• Urban Geography
• Political Geography
• Settlement Geography
• Economic Geography
• Social Geography
• Population Geography

Question 7.
Define Human geography. Give four examples of elements of material culture created by humans using the resources provided by nature.(Al CBSE 2012)
Answer:
Human geography is the synthetic study of relationship between human societies and earth’s surface. Human geography is the study of changing relationship between the un-resting man and the unstable earth. Examples;- houses, villages, cities, road network, rail network, etc.

Question 8.
Define Human Geography in your own words. Mention any four fields of Human geography. (Al CBSE 2013)
Answer:

• Human geography is the study of changing relationship between the un-resting man and the unstable earth,
• Human geography is the synthetic study of relationship between -human societies and earth’s surface.
• Human geography offers a new conception of the inter relationships between earth and human beings.

Four fields of human geography—Social geography; Urban geography; Political geography; Population geography.

Question 9.
“There is mutual interaction between the elements of Physical Geography and Human Geography”. Support the statement with suitable examples. (CBSE 2014)
Answer:
Human geography studies the interrelationship between the physical environment and socio cultural environment. Land forms, soils, climate, water, natural vegetation and diverse flora and fauna are the elements of Physical Geography. They affect houses, villages, cities road-rail networks industries, farms, ports etc. They are the parts of Human Geography. They are created by human beings using the natural resources. While physical environment has been greatly modified by human beings. It has also, in turn impacted human lives.

Question 10.
Explain with examples, how nature gets humanised. (CBSE 2014)
Answer:
With social and cultural development, humans develop better and more efficient technology. They create new possibilities with the environment. Nature provides opportunities and humans avail of these opportunities. It is called ‘Possibilism’. Nature gives an opportunity and man sustains it. In this way, gradually humanisation of nature takes place and imprints of human activities become visible.
Example; health resorts on highlands, huge urban sprawls, fields, orchards, etc.

Question 11.
“The knowledge of nature is extremely important to develop technology.” Support the statement by giving three examples. (CBSE 2015)
OR
How is the knowledge of nature important to develop technology? Explain with suitable examples. (Delhi 2010)
Answer:
It is important to know with the help of what tools and techniques do humans produce and create. Technology indicates the level of educational development of society. Human beings were able to develop technology after they developed better understanding of natural laws.

• The understanding of concepts of friction and heat helped us discover fire.
• Understanding of the secrets of DNA and genetics enabled us to conquer many diseases.
• The laws of aerodynamics are used to develop faster planes.
• Knowledge about nature is extremely important to develop technology. Technology loosens the shackles of environment on human beings.

Question 12.
What is the subject-matter of the study of human geography? Explain any three facts. (CBSE 2015)
Answer:

• To establish relationship between the physical world and the human world.
• To study the spatial distribution of human phenomena.
• To study the social and economic differences between different parts of the world.
• To understand the earth as home of human beings and to study all those elements which have substained them.
• Nature and human are inseparable elements and should be seen holistically.

Question 13.
“The knowledge and understanding of the laws of nature are extremely valuable to humankind”. Explain the values that can help to use the gifts of nature in a sustainable manner. (CBSE 2016)
Answer:
The knowledge and understanding of the laws of nature are extremely valuable to human kind. Human beings can conquer nature by obeying it. Possibilities can be created within the limits which do not harm the balance of nature. The developmental steps which the developed countries had taken initially have resulted in greenhouse effect, ozone layer depletion, global warming, receding glaciers and degrading lands. So it is imperative for us to use the natural resources in a judicious manner for sustainable development.

Question 14.
“The nature and human beings are so intricately intertwined that they can’t be separated”. Substantiate the statement. (CBSE 2016)
Answer:

• Nature and human are inseparable elements.
• In the physical environment, man has created social-cultural environment.
• Social-cultural environment created by human beings through mutual interaction with each other. Thus, nature and
• human are intricately intertwined.

Question 15.
“Nature and humans are inseparable elements”. Justify the statement with suitable examples. (Delhi 2017)
Answer:
Nature and human are inseparable. The earth is the home of mankind. It may be in different forms. All types of life supports are provided by nature. They directly depend on nature. Nature and humans are inseparable and should be seen holistically. Physical features are described in metaphors using symbols from the human anatomy.
For example: face of earth, nose of glacier, eye of storm, mouth of river, neck of isthmus, profile of soil etc.

Question 16.
“Nature provides opportunities and humans make use of these and slowly nature gets humanised and starts bearing the imprints of human endeavour.” Justify the statement. (A.I. 2017)
Answer:
Humanisation of nature:

• The people begin to understand their environment and the forces of nature with the passage of time.
• With Social and Cultural development, humans develop better and more efficient technology.
• Humans move from a state of necessity to a state of freedom.
• They create possibilities with the resources obtained from the environment.
• The human activities create cultural landscape.
• The imprints of human activities are health resorts, huge urban sprawls, fields, orchards and pastures in plains and rolling hills, ports on the coasts and satellites in the space. (Any three points to be explained)

Question 17.
‘The primitive communities lived in complete harmony with their natural environment and as such the humans were naturalised.” Support the statement (CBSE 2018)
Answer:
The primitive communities lived in complete harmony with their natural environment:

• The primitive society live in complete harmony with their natural environment.
• It is realized that in all such cases nature is a powerful force, worshiped, revered and conserved.
• There is direct dependence of human beings on nature for resources which sustain them.
• The people begin to understand their environment and the forces of nature with the passage of time.
• With social and cultural development, humans develop better and more efficient technology.
• They move from a state of necessity to a state of freedom.
• They create possibilities with the resources obtained from the environment.
• They were afraid of the fury of nature.

Class 12 Geography NCERT Solutions