Textbook Solutions: Life in the Tropical and the Subtropical Regions | Window on the Word Class 7: Solutions, Notes & Worksheets PDF Download

A. Choose the correct answer.

1.
Ans: (d)

2.
Ans: (b)

3.
Ans: (b)

4.
Ans: (c)

5.
Ans: (a)

B. Fill in the blanks.

1.
Ans: The Amazon basin lies in the northern part of South America.

2.
Ans: The Amazon rainforests are also called selva.

3.
Ans: Cassava is a crop grown in the Amazon basin.

4.
Ans: The Brahmaputra originates from the Angsi Glacier in Tibet.

5.
Ans: The mangrove forest of the Ganga-Brahmaputra delta is also known as the Sundarbans.

C. Mark the following sentences as True or False. Correct the statements that are false.

1.
Ans: False

2.
Ans: True

3.
Ans: True

4.
Ans: True

5.
Ans: False

D. Answer in one or two sentences

1.
Ans: The Amazon Basin is located in the northern part of South America, between the latitudes 10°N and 10°S. The Ganga-Brahmaputra basin lies in the subtropical region, extending from 10°N to 30°N latitudes.

2.
Ans: The climate in the Amazon basin is hot and wet throughout the year as it lies over the equator. The region receives rain almost every day.

3.
Ans: Five animals found in the Amazon rainforest are jaguars, pumas, armadillos, monkeys, and crocodiles.

4.
Ans: The Ganga originates from the Gangotri glacier in the Himalayas and the Brahmaputra originates as the Yarlung Tsangpo from the Angsi Glacier located in Tibet.

5.
Ans: Five tributaries of the river Ganga are Yamuna, Ghaghra, Son, Gandak, and Kosi.

6.
Ans: Six important cities located in the Ganga basin are Allahabad, Varanasi, Kanpur, Lucknow, Patna, and Kolkata.

E. Answer in a paragraph

1.
Ans: The Amazon basin is located in the tropical region, drained by the world's largest river, the Amazon, and its tributaries. It is covered by the dense Amazon rainforest which is home to thousands of species of plants and animals. The climate is hot and wet throughout the year. However, the Ganga-Brahmaputra basin lies in the subtropical region, with hot summers and cold winters. It is a vast river basin with various types of vegetation like mangrove forests, evergreen forests, and deciduous forests. Unlike the Amazon basin, this region is densely populated and has been highly influenced by human activities such as agriculture and industrial development.

2.
Ans: The people of the Amazon basin lead traditional lifestyles that are well-adapted to the rainforest. Some groups lead settled lives while others are nomadic. Their main occupations include hunting, food gathering, fishing, and agriculture, including slash and burn agriculture. They live in traditional huts made of natural materials from the forest.

3.
Ans: Slash and burn agriculture, also known as shifting agriculture, is a practice where a patch of forest is cleared by burning the trees and using the ash to enrich the soil. When the soil loses fertility after some time, the people move to another place.

4.
Ans: The construction of the Trans-Amazonian highway in the 1970s opened up the forest to outsiders, leading to widespread deforestation for timber, agriculture, mining, and land. This has not only harmed the ecosystems of the rainforest but also led to the displacement of indigenous people.

5.
Ans: The Ganga-Brahmaputra Basin has become one of the most densely populated regions of the world due to factors such as the rich alluvium deposited by the rivers, making the soil fertile and ideal for agriculture; the flat nature of the landscape enabling the development of an excellent network of roads, railways, and navigable rivers; the pleasant climate conducive for agriculture; and the development of agriculture-based and mineral-based industries providing employment opportunities.

6.
Ans: In the Amazon basin, the main form of agriculture is slash and burn agriculture which involves clearing a patch of forest by burning the trees and using the ash to enrich the soil. The main food crops grown are vegetables like plantain, pineapples, sweet potato, and cassava, and the main cash crops are cocoa, coffee, soya bean, and rubber. On the other hand, in the Ganga-Brahmaputra basin, agriculture is the main occupation, with paddy (rice) being the main crop. Other crops like wheat, sugarcane, jute, pulses, and vegetables are also grown. The farmers practice subsistence farming and intensive farming, cultivating the same plot of land year after year using traditional methods to improve the soil's productivity.