Textbook Solutions: The Human Environment - Settlements, Transport and Communication | Window on the Word Class 7: Solutions, Notes & Worksheets PDF Download

A. Choose the correct answer.

1.
Ans: (b)

2.
Ans: (a)

3.
Ans: (d)

4.
Ans: (d)

5.
Ans: (c)

B. Mark the sentences as True or False. Correct the ones that are false.

1.
Ans: False
Early humans lived in permanent settlements made of bricks. (False, Early humans were nomads and lived in temporary shelters like caves.)

2.
Ans: False
All temporary settlements are set up only for a day or two. (False, Temporary settlements are those where people live for only a few days or months at a time.)

3.
Ans: True
People in urban settlements practise mainly secondary and tertiary activities. (True)

4.
Ans: False
National highways connect district capitals. (False, National highways connect major cities across the country.)

5.
Ans: True
The backwaters of Kerala are an example of inland waterways. (True)

C. Distinguish between the following

1.
Ans: Rural settlements and urban settlements: Rural settlements have a lower population density and the people mainly practise primary activities like agriculture, lumbering, hunting and fishing. The houses are usually built of locally available materials like mud, wood or stone. Urban settlements, on the other hand, have a high population density with secondary activities like manufacturing and trade and tertiary activities like services being the main occupations. Buildings are built with bricks and cement and are well-equipped with civic amenities like electricity, water supply, sanitation and public transport.

2.
Ans: National highways and state highways: National highways connect major cities across the country while state highways connect smaller towns and cities within a state.

3.
Ans: Seaport and airport: Seaports are places where ships dock to load and unload cargo or passengers. They are located along coastlines. Airports, on the other hand, are specific locations where aircraft take off and land. They are equipped with runways and facilities for loading and unloading passengers and cargo.

4.
Ans: Personal communication and mass communication: Personal communication involves the exchange of messages between two people. Telephones, the postal service, mobile phones, smart phones and the Internet are some means of personal communication. Mass communication is communication with a large group of people at the same time. Newspapers, radio and television are examples of mass media. Social media like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram are means of both personal and mass communication.

D. Answer in one or two sentences

1.
Ans: Permanent settlements are places where people live for a long period of time, usually when agriculture, trade and commerce have developed, and they have built strong houses suited to the terrain and climate of the place.

2.
Ans: Transhumance is the movement of livestock from mountain pastures to lowland pastures in winter and from lowland pastures to mountain pastures in summer.

3.
Ans: Clustered settlements are ones where houses are built close together, typically seen in urban areas and in the plains where the population density is high and infrastructure is well developed.

4.
Ans: Five important ports in the world include Shanghai, Singapore, Hong Kong, London, and New York.

5.
Ans: Some of the inland waterways of India include the Ganga-Brahmaputra river system, the Godavari, the Krishna, and the backwaters of Kerala.

6.
Ans: One advantage of air travel is that it is the fastest means of transport, but a disadvantage is that it is also the most expensive.

7.
Ans: Communication is the process of conveying messages, including information, thoughts, ideas, or feelings, to others. The two kinds of communication are personal communication, which involves the exchange of messages between two individuals, and mass communication, which is communication with a large group of people at the same time.

E. Answer in a paragraph

1.
Ans: Economic activity is divided into three sectors: primary, secondary, and tertiary. The primary sector involves the extraction of raw materials from natural sources, for example, agriculture and mining. The secondary sector is involved in the processing of raw materials into finished goods, such as in a textile factory where raw cotton is made into cloth for sale. The tertiary sector is concerned with providing services rather than goods, which includes activities such as teaching, banking, and cleaning.

2.
Ans: Road transport is a common mode of transport, especially for short distances. It has several advantages such as less infrastructure investment compared to rail or air transport, enables door-to-door delivery of goods, services and people, and it connects even the smallest villages and remotest parts of the country. However, road transport is less dependable than other modes of transport, with a high risk of accidents and its vehicles being a major cause of air pollution.

3.
Ans: Waterways were one of the earliest modes of long-distance travel and are one of the cheapest modes of transport for carrying heavy goods. Two types of waterways exist, inland waterways which include all the rivers, canals, backwaters, and creeks that are navigable and marine waterways which are oceans and seas used for transporting people and goods between countries. Important inland water systems include the Great Lakes in North America, the rivers Danube and Rhine in Europe, and the river Nile in Africa, while important marine routes are the Mediterranean-Indian Ocean route, the Northern Atlantic sea route, and the South Pacific sea route.

4.
Ans: The main means of communication today are personal communication and mass communication. Personal communication involves the exchange of messages between two individuals and includes telephones, the postal service, mobile phones, smart phones, and the internet. Mass communication is communication with a large group of people at the same time, which includes newspapers, radio, television, and social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

5.
Ans: Transport and communication have made the world a global society by connecting people around the world. Through advancements in transport, what used to be days or months of travel can now be completed in a few hours and through communication, we now have access to places and knowledge from all parts of the world. This has led to the sharing of ideas, cultures, and resources on a global scale, bringing people closer together.