Class 12 Geography Short Questions with Answers - Human Geography Nature And Scope

Q1: Define “Human Geography.”
Ans:

• Human geography is the study that deals with human activity in relation to the earth’s surface.
• It shows how human activity affects or is influenced by the surface of the earth.
• It also shows an interaction between the culture of humans and their land.
• Examples: villages, roads, railways, and agricultural farms.

Q2: “Leading a long and healthy life is an important aspect of human development.” Give an argument to support the statement.
Ans:

• Living a long and healthy life indicates access to resources, health facilities, and improved levels of nutrition intake.
• Hence, it is an important aspect of human development.

Q3: Which sub-field of geography is called Demography?
Ans: Population Geography is known as Demography.

Q4: Which subject is called the mother of all branches of knowledge?
Ans: Geography is called the mother of all branches of knowledge.

Q5: ‘‘Possibilities can be created within the limit, which do not damage the environment and there is no free run without accidents’’. Analyse the statement.
Ans: Approach to development without damaging the environment:
(i) Human beings were able to develop technology after they developed a better understanding of natural laws.
(ii) Obeying nature is extremely important to develop technology, and technology loosens the shackles of environment on human beings.
(iii) Man has to respond to the red signals and proceed to develop when nature permits modifications.
(iv) A reckless approach badly affects the environment.
(v) It has resulted in greenhouse effect, depletion of ozone layer, global warming, receding glaciers, and degrading lands.

Q6: How are nature and human inseparable?
Ans:

• Nature and humans are inseparable.
• The earth is the home of mankind in various forms.
• All types of life support are provided by nature, and humans directly depend on nature.
• Physical features are described in metaphors using symbols from human anatomy, e.g., face of earth, nose of glacier, eye of storm, mouth of river, neck of isthmus, profile of soil.

Q7: What do you understand by humanization of nature?
Ans: Humanization of nature:
(i) People begin to understand their environment and the forces of nature over time.
(ii) With social and cultural development, humans develop better and more efficient technology.
(iii) Humans move from a state of necessity to freedom.
(iv) They create possibilities with the resources obtained from the environment.
(v) Human activities create a cultural landscape.
(vi) Imprints of human activities include health resorts, huge urban sprawls, fields, orchards, pastures, ports on coasts, and satellites in space.

Q8: “The nature and human beings are so intricately intertwined that they can’t be separated.” Substantiate the statement.
Ans: Nature and humans are intertwined:
(i) Nature and humans are inseparable.
(ii) In the natural environment, man has created social and cultural environments through mutual interaction.
(iii) Physical and human phenomena are described in metaphors, e.g., face of the earth, eye of the storm, mouth of the river, snout of the glacier, profile of the soil.
(iv) All these natural elements are inseparable from human beings.

Q9: “The knowledge about nature is extremely important to develop technology.” Support this statement by giving three examples.
Ans: Technology indicates the level of educational development of society.
Human beings developed technology after they better understood natural laws.
Examples:
(i) Understanding the concept of friction and heat helped us discover fire.
(ii) Understanding DNA and genetics helped conquer many diseases.
(iii) The laws of aerodynamics are used to develop faster planes.

Q10: “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.
Ans: The knowledge of laws of nature is highly valuable for mankind.

Examples:
(i) Better knowledge has developed because of understanding the laws of nature.
(ii) The concept of friction and heat helped discover fire.
(iii) The law of aerodynamics is used to develop faster planes.
(iv) Harmony with the natural environment is important for sustainable use.

Q11: What is the subject matter of the study of human geography? Explain.
Ans: The subject matter of human geography includes:
(i) Establishing a relationship between the physical world and the human world.
(ii) Studying the spatial distribution of human phenomena.
(iii) Studying social and economic differences between different parts of the world.
(iv) Understanding the earth as the home of human beings and studying all the elements that have sustained them.
(v) Nature and humans are inseparable and should be seen holistically.

Q12: Explain with examples how nature gets humanized?
Ans:

• Humans start interacting with the physical environment with the help of technologies.
• As social and cultural development takes place, humans develop better and more efficient technologies.

Example:
(i) In earlier eras, people lived in caves and depended on hunting.
(ii) They started developing weapons from stones and other materials.
(iii) Later, they discovered more suitable instruments.
This interaction with nature starts forming a state of necessity rather than freedom.

Q13: “There is mutual interaction between the elements of physical geography and human geography.” Support the statement with suitable examples.
Ans: Human and physical geography study the environment, people, and the resources they use.
Geography determines how humans live, the adaptations they develop, and the alterations to the environment they make.
Example:

• Climate is a very important aspect in the study of human and physical geography.
• Climate affects how humans adapt to survive and shape their environment.

Q14: Define “Human Geography” in your own words. Mention any four fields of human geography.
Ans: Human geography is the study of the cultural aspects found throughout the world and how they relate to the spaces and places where they originate and travel.
Four fields of human geography:
(i) Social geography
(ii) Urban geography
(iii) Political geography
(iv) Population geography

Q15: Explain the concept of ‘possibilism’ with three suitable examples.
Ans: Possibilism is the view that the environment offers a range of opportunities from which individuals may choose.
Examples:
(i) Health resorts of highlands
(ii) Orchards
(iii) Ports on the coasts
(iv) Satellites in space

Q16: Explain the concept of “Determinism” with a suitable example.
Ans: Determinism is the philosophical idea that every event, including human actions, is the inevitable and necessary consequence of antecedent events.
Example: Tribal communities like those in Abujh Maad (Central India) depend directly on nature for sustenance.

Q17: Explain how technology indicates the level of cultural development of society.
Ans: Technology indicates the level of cultural development.
Examples:
(i) Friction and heat helped discover fire.
(ii) DNA and genetics helped conquer diseases.
(iii) Aerodynamics helped develop faster planes.

Q18: Define ‘Human Geography’. Give four examples of elements of material culture created by humans, using the resources provided by nature.
Ans: Human geography studies the relationship between the physical environment and the socio-cultural environment created by humans.
Examples of material culture:
(i) Houses
(ii) Villages
(iii) Cities
(iv) Road-rail networks

Q19: Explain the concept of ‘Neo-determinism’.
Ans:

• Neo-determinism is a middle path between determinism and possibilism.
• It shows that neither absolute necessity nor absolute freedom exists.
• Human beings can conquer nature by obeying it.
• Developed by Griffith Taylor, it focuses on sustainable development.

Q20: “There is a direct dependence of human beings on nature for resources which sustain them.” Justify the statement in the light of environmental determinism.
Ans: Direct dependence on nature for resources:
(i) Low level of technology
(ii) Primitive stage of human social development
(iii) Fear of nature’s fury
(iv) Nature worship
(v) Physical environment as ‘Mother Nature’

Q21: Distinguish between regional approach and systematic approach of geography.
Ans:

• Regional approach focuses on studying specific regions and their unique features.
• Systematic approach focuses on studying geographical phenomena such as climate, population, etc., across the world.
  
  
  

Q22: ‘‘The primitive communities lived in complete harmony with their natural environment and as such the humans were naturalized.’’ Support the statement.
Ans: The primitive communities lived in complete harmony with their natural environment:
(i) The primitive society lived in complete harmony with their natural environment.
(ii) It is realized that in all such cases, nature is a powerful force, worshipped, revered, and conserved.
(iii) There is direct dependence of human beings on nature for resources that sustain them.
(iv) The people began to understand their environment and the forces of nature with the passage of time.
(v) With social and cultural development, humans developed better and more efficient technology.
(vi) They moved from a state of necessity to a state of freedom.
(vii) They created possibilities with the resources obtained from the environment.
(viii) They were afraid of the fury of nature.
(ix) Any other relevant point.
Detailed Answer:
(i) In the early stages of their interaction with their natural environment, humans were greatly influenced by nature and adapted to its dictates.
(ii) There was complete harmony with nature due to the low level of technology and the primitive stage of human social development.
(iii) Man obeyed nature, was afraid of its fury, and worshipped nature. This situation is observed in several tribal areas in India and globally.
(iv) The tribes of Central India in Abujh Maad wear a small loincloth and use a small axe. They practice primitive agriculture by clearing pieces of land in the forest, showcasing the harmonious relationship between humans and nature.
(v) There is a direct dependence of human beings on nature for the resources that sustain them. The physical environment for such societies becomes ‘Mother Nature’.

Q23: ‘Technology loosens the shackles of environment on human beings’. Justify.
Ans:

• With the passage of time, people began to understand their environment and the forces of nature.
• With social and cultural development, humans developed better and more efficient technology.
• They moved from a state of necessity to a state of freedom.
• They created possibilities with the resources obtained from nature.
• The earlier scholars termed it as ‘possibilism’, wherein humans harnessed the opportunities provided by nature and developed technology that helped them utilize resources and loosen the shackles of nature on humans.

Q24: How is human geography related to other social sciences?
Ans:

• 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 inter-disciplinary nature.
• It develops a close interface with other sister disciplines in social sciences to understand and explain human elements on the surface of the earth.
• With the expansion of knowledge, new subfields emerge, and this has also happened to human geography.