Class 12 Geography Solved Paper (2018) | Geography for Grade 12 PDF Download

Ques 1: Differentiate between growth and development.
Ans: Growth is a quantitative concept while development is a qualitative concept.

Ques 2: Why is India a popular tourist destination in the world?
Ans: India is a popular tourist destination in the world because it has a rich cultural heritage.

Ques 3: Evaluate the importance of 'quaternary activities'.
Ans: Quaternary activities are centred-around research, development and may be seen as an advanced form of services involving specialised knowledge, technical skills and administrative competence.

Ques 4: Examine the concept of 'regional planning'.
Ans: Regional planning deals with the efficient placement of land-use activities, infrastructure and settlement growth across a larger area of land than an individual city or town.

Ques 5: Mention any two factors responsible for the establishment of cotton textile mills in Mumbai.
Ans: Two factors responsible for the establishment of Catton textile mills in Mumbai are:
(1) Raw material: Mumbai produces good quality cotton as raw material.
(2) Labour: There are supplies of skilled workers in abundance so, the labour costs are low in Mumbai.

Ques 6: State the major problem being faced by Kolkata seaport.
Ans: Kolkata sea-port faces a major problem of multi-modal linkages which is the defining challenge that this port faces.

Ques 7: State any two advantages of air transport in the International trade.
Ans: Two advantages of air transport in the international trade are as follows:
(i) Air transport is the fastest means of transportation and is preferred for long distance travel.
(ii) It gives you high levels of security for carrying light goods of high value.

Ques 8: 'The primitive communities lived in complete harmony with their natural environment and as such the humans were naturalised.' Support the statement.
Ans: The primitive communities lived in harmony with their natural environment and as such the humans were naturalised because the people begin to understand their environment and the forces of nature with the passage of time. With social and cultural development, humans deveop better and more efficient technology. They move from a state of necessity to a state of freedom. They create possibilities with the resources obained from the environment. The human activities create cultural landscape. The imprints of Human activities are created everywhere, giving rise to possibilism. Hence, in the similar sense, an interaction exists between primitive human society and nature, being turned as environmental determinism. At this stage, humans were naturalised.

Ques 9: Differentiate between small scale manufacturing and large scale manufacturing.
Ans: 

Ques 10: Describe any three major problems of road transport in the world.
Ans: Three major problems of road transport are:
(i) Road transport doesn't have wide reach.
(ii) About half of the roads are unmetalled and this limits their usage during the rainy season.
(iii) Disrespect to the traffic rules is the major problem. Citizens have a casual attitude towards traffic rules, which leads to accidents which thereby cause traffic jams.
Thus, these are the major three problems of road transport in India.

Ques 11: 'Every January after the harvest season 'Jonbell Mela' takes place in Jagiroad, 35 kilometres away from Guwahati and it is possibly the only fair in India, where 'barter system' is still alive, A big market is organized during this fair and people from various tribes and communities exchange their products.
In the light of the above paragraph, justify the values of 'barter system' in the lives of tribal communities.
Ans: Barter system is still prevalent in the lives of Tribal Communities due to the following reasons:
Barter system is a system in which goods and services are exchanged for other goods and services without using a medium of exchange. It is also known as C-C economy. Many tribes practice this system because it's still acceptable in such societies. They have no choice other than to exchange goods for goods. As stated in paragraph, every January after the harvest season, a big market in Guwahati is organized where various tribes and communities exchange their products. In some communities, it is a cultural activity as well.

Ques 12: Study the diagram given below and answer the questions that follow:
(i) Which class of towns/cities support largest urban population?
(ii) Explain any two reasons for such a high concentration of population in this class of towns/cities.
Ans: (i) Class I (61.48%).
(ii) There is such a high concentration of population in this class of cities because these are metropolitan cities and posses high growth rate.

Ques 13: 'Indiscriminate use of water by increasing population and industrial expansion has led to degradation of the quality of water considerably.' Evaluate the statement.
Ans: Indiscriminate use of water by an increasing population and industrial expansion has led to degradation of the quality of water considerably. This can be evaluated by the following points:
(i) Human beings pollute the water through industrial, agricultural and cultural activities.
(ii) Among all industries are the most significant contributor.
(iii) Most of the industrial wastes are disposed of in running water or lakes. Consequently, poisonous elements reach the reservoirs, rivers and other water bodies, which destroy the bio-system of these waters.

Ques 14: Define the term 'density of population'. Explain four geographical factors affecting the distribution of population in the world, with examples.
Ans: Population Density: Population density is defined as the number of persons mar occupy a square kilometer. Population density is an important index that shows the concentration of population in a specific area. A simple method to calculate the density of the population is to divide the total population of the area by the total area of land in which the population is confined.
Density of population = Total population/Total area
For example, area of Region. X is 100 so. Km and the population is 1, 50,000 persons. The density of population is calculated as:
Density = 1,50,000/100 =1,500person/sq.km
The ratio between the number oi people to the size of land.
This ratio is called as the density of population.
It is usually, measured in persons per sq. km.
Density of population ⇒ Population/Area.
Four Geographical Factors:
(i) Availability of water: It is the most important factor for life. So, people prefer to live in areas where fresh water is available. For e.g., people live in New Delhi or nearby areas because they receive fresh water.
Hence, population, is more where people can have easy access to water.
(ii) Land forms: People prefer to live on flat plains and gentle slopes. E.g.: India?s most of the population lives in die central plain areas.
(iii) Climate: An extreme climate is unfavourable for any living being. Thus, people prefer to live under moderate climatic conditions. For e.g., people in India, at a higher rate live in areas where they find the climate more salubrious and comfortable.
(iv) Soil: Fertile soils are important for agricultural and allied activities. Thus, this is the reason why so many people live in the states like Punjab and Haryana.

Ques 15: 'Gathering and hunting are the primitive economic activities meant for the subsistence of tribal societies, but in modern times gathering is market oriented and has become commercial.' Examine the statement.
Ans: Primitive societies depend on wild animals and edible plants for their survival. Gathering and Hunting are such old economic activities. These are carried out at different levels in different orientations.
Gathering is practised in regions with harsh climatic conditions. It often involves primitive societies, who extract both plants and animals for their survival.
It is practised in:
(i) High latitude zones which include Northern Canada, Northern Eurasia and Southern Chile.
(ii) Low latitude zones such as the Amazon Basin, etc. In modern times, gathering is market oriented and has commercial value due to the following reasons:
(i) Gatherers collect valuable plants such as leaves, barks of trees and medicinal plants and after simple processing sell the products in the market.
(ii) They use various parts of plants, for example, the bark is used for quinine, tanin extract and cork leaves supply materials for beverages, drugs, cosmetics, fibres, thatch and fabrics, nuts for food and oils and tree trunk yield rubber, balata, gums and resins.
Thus, this is how gathering is market-oriented and has become commercial.

Ques 16: Study the following map of the Suez Canal carefully and answer the questions that follow:
(i) Name the country through which this canal passes.
(ii) Name the seas connected by this canal.
(iii) Why is the canal considered a gateway of Europe to the Indian Ocean?
Ans: (i) This canal passes through Egypt.
(ii) Mediterranean and Red sea.
(iii) This canal is considered a gateway of Europe to the Indian Ocean because it gives way to European ships into the Indian Ocean and reduces the sea-route distance between Liverpool and Colombo compared to the Cape of Good Hope route.

Ques 17: 'The decadal and annual growth rates of population in India are both very high and steadily increasing over time.' Substantiate the statement.
Ans: Growth of population is the change in the number of people living in a particular area between two points of time. Its rate is expressed in percentage.
The decadal and annual growth rates of population in India are both very high and rapidly increasing over time.
(i) The annual growth rate is 2.4%.
(ii) It is estimated that the country's population will double itself in the next 36 years.
(iii) It will even surpass China.
(iv) The growth rate of population in India over the past one century has been affected by annual birth rate, death rate and rate of migration.
There are four phases:
Phase I: 1901,  1921: Period of stagnant phase of growth of India's population.
Phase II: 1921, 51: Period of steady growth of India's population.
Phase III: 1951,  1981: Population explosion in India.
 Phase IV: 1981 till present: Population growth remained high.

Ques 18: Explain how 'watershed management' and 'rainwater harvesting' are the methods of efficient management and conservation of surface water resources in India.
Ans: Watershed management and Rainwater harvesting are the major methods of efficient management and conservation of surface water resources in India.
(i) Rain Water Harvesting: Rain water harvesting is a method to capture and store rain water for various uses. It is also used tro recharge ground water acquifers. It is a low cost and eco-friendly technique, for preserving every drop of water by guiding the rain water to bore well, pits and wells. For eg., Tankas or small tanks.
(ii) Watershed Management: It basically refers to efficient management and conservation of surface and ground water sources. It involves prevention of runoff and storage and recharge of ground water through various methods like tanks, wells, etc. The success of watershed development, largely, depends upon community participation. "HARYALI" is a watershed development project of the Central Govt.
There is a wide scope to use rainwater harvesting technique to conserve the precious water resources. Therefore, both the methods are very efficient.

Ques 19: 'The non-conventional sources of energy will provide more sustained, eco-friendly and cheaper energy if the initial cost is taken care of.' Examine the statement.
Ans: The non-conventional sources of energy will provide more sustained, eco-friendly and cheaper energy if the initial cost is taken care of.
Non-conventional sources of energy are: Sustainable energy resources like solar, wind and bio-mass. Some are enlisted below:
(i) Solar energy: Sun rays trapped in photovoltaic cells can be converted into energy. The two effective processes considered to be very effective to tap solar energy are photovoltaics and solar thermal technology.
1. Photovoltaic solar technology: It directly converts sunlight into electricity using panels made of semiconductors cells.
2. Solar thermal technology: It captures the sun's heat. This heat is used directly or converted into mechanical energy and in turn electricity, known as concentrated solar power. It is cost competitive environmentally friendly and easy to construct. The western part of India has greater potential for the development of Solar Energy in Gujarat and Rajasthan.
(ii) Wind Energy: It is absolutely pollution free, inexhaustible source of energy. The mechanism of energy conversion from blowing wind is simple.
India already has started generating wind energy.
Thus, such non-conventional sources of energy are eco-friendly and cheaper.

Ques 20: Describe any five characteristics of National Highways of India.
Ans: Highways: The main roads which are constructed and maintained by the Central Government are known as National Highways.
Five characteristics of National Highways of India are:
(i) National Highways constitute only about 1.7% of the total road network but carry about 40% of the total volume of road traffic. These highways are well connected.
(ii) These highways connect states.
(iii) These highways are meant for inter-state transport and movement of defence material in strategic areas.
(iv) National highway constitute only 20% of me road length, they carry nearly one-third of the traffic and the world Bank decided to provide loans worth crores. US dollars for the development of National highways m six scares namely Gujarat, Haryana. Punjab, Tamilnadu Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.
(v) For example: The golden quadrilateral super highway project covers a distance of 5,846 kms connecting a number of major cities and towns all over India. It connects Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata.

Ques 21: Identify the five geographical features shown on the given political outline map of the World as A, B, C, D and E and write their correct names on the lines marked near them with the help of the following information: 
A. A major sea-port 
B. An international airport 
C. A major industrial region 
D. An important area of nomadic herding 
E. A mega city
Ans: 

Ques 22: Locate and label the following features with appropriate symbols on the given political map of India.
(i) A major tea growing state
(ii) Mayurbhanj - An area of iron ore mining
(iii) An important steel plant in Karnataka
(iv) An international southernmost airport in Kerala
(v) A city with a population of more than ten million in North India.
Ans: