Short Question Answers : Geography as a Discipline | Geography Class 11 - Humanities/Arts PDF Download

Q. 1. Name two German Geographers of 18th century.
Ans. Humboldt and Ritter 

Q. 2. Name two main divisions of Geography.
Ans. Physical Geography and Human Geography.

Q. 3. Name two sub-divsions of Physical Geography.
Ans. Geomorphology and climatology.

Q. 4. Name two sub-divisons of Human Geography.
Ans. Economic Geography and Cultural Geography.

Q. 5. Name two branches of Geography to study weather conditions.
Ans. Climatology and Meteorology.

Q. 6. ‘Human activities are determined by nature’ whose statement is this ?
Ans. Ratzel.

Q. 7. Which subjects have given a mathematical approach to Geography ?
Ans. Astronomy, shape and size of earth.

Q. 8. Name the main features of Physical landscape.
Ans. Mountains, Rivers and Vegetation.

Q. 9. Name the two main divisions of environment.
Ans. Natural and Cultural.

Q. 10. Name the two main methods being used in the study of Geography.
Ans. Deductive method and Inductive method.

Q. 11. Account for the popularity of Geography as a subject in the schools during the eighteenth century.
Ans. Geography was a popular subject because it provided knowledge about the people and places of the earth. It described the different natural and cultural facts. It helped to know the relation between man and environment on the earth.

Q. 12. ‘The earth’s surface is not uniform.’ Discuss.
Ans. The earth’s surface is not uniform. It has variations in its physical features. There are mountains; hills, valleys, plains, plateaus, oceans, lakes, deserts and wilderness. There are variations in its social and cultural features too. There are villages, cities, roads, railways, ports, markets and many other elements created by human beings across the whole period of their cultural development.

Q. 13. Name the four realms of the earth studied through the subject of Geography.
Ans. (i) Lithosphere (ii) Hydrosphere (iii) Atmosphere (iv) Biosphere.

Q. 14. How does Geography studies the multidimensional earth ?
Ans. Reality is always multifaceted and the ‘earth’ is also multi-dimensional, that is why many disciplines from natural sciences such as geology, pedology, oceanography, botany, zoology and meteorology and a number of sister disciplines in social sciences such as economics, history, sociology, political Science, anthropology etc. study different aspects of the earth’s surface. Geography is different from other sciences in its subject matter and methodology but at the same time it is closely related to other disciplines. Geography derives its data base from all the natural and social sciences and attempts synthesis. There is diversity in physical and cultural environment, so it is known as the study of Areal differentiation.

Q. 15. How does Physical Geography help in evaluating natural resources ?
Ans. The study of physical geography is emerging as a discipline of evaluating and managing natural resources. In order to achieve this objective it is essential to understand the intricate relationship between physical environment and human beings.
Physical environment provides resources and human beings utilise these resources and ensure their economic and cultural development. Accelerated pace of resource utilization with the help of modern technology has created ecological imbalance in the world. Hence, a better understanding of physical environment is absolutely essential for a sustainable development.

Q. 16. ‘Geography is linked with Astronomy’.
Explain.
Ans. Geography studies latitude and longitudes. It is linked with maps and Geoid. Map is a two dimensional representation. Globe is a three dimensional representation. Geography is an art of preparing maps.

Q. 17. Define Geography according to Richard Hartshorne and Alfred Hettner.
Ans. According to Richard Hartshorne, geography aims at the description and analysis of areal differentiation on the surface of the Earth. According to Alfred Hettner, Geography studies that areal differences in different aspects on the surface of the earth.

Q. 18. Explain the aim of Geography.
Ans. Geography is an areal or spatial science. It studies the relevant aspects of an area in its totality as an animated aspect of nature’s creation. It studies the natural setting of an area and the human response.

Q. 19. Give a brief definition of Geography.
Or Explain the viewpoint of Geography as studied in earlier times.
Ans. The word ‘Geography’ is derived from the Greek words (‘Ge’ = earth and ‘Graphe’= description). Hence Geography means description of the earth.

In earlier times, its aim was to know facts about places and people, so as to get acquainted with the world. This description was brought through the narratives of explorers, conquerors, travellers and traders. Some Indian, Greek and Arab scholars laid the foundation of Geography as a science by studying the shape and size of the earth, latitude and longitude, the solar system etc. Till the eighteenth century, geography was purely descriptive in nature. Eratosthenes was the first geographer to use the word geography.

Q. 20. Explain the modern viewpoint of Geography.
Ans. Modern Geography as a discipline, is a separate branch of science which describes the surface of the earth. Just as Botany is a study of plants, Geology of rocks, Zoology of animals, Geography is the study of an area and its environment. Geography studies natural and man-made features of an area. Geography is concerned with a real difference and distributional relationship. It is therefore known as a chronological science also. Geography studies difference of places.

Q. 21. How does the study of Geography help us in becoming a good citizen. 
Ans. Geography like other social sciences, history and civics, helps us to become good citizens. It helps us in the study of man-environment relationship. We know human reaction to environment in different parts of the world. We come to know why some countries are rich through the utilization of resources. We thus analyse the causes of variation in the stage of development in different parts. Geography makes us aware of our position on the globe and our relations with other countries of the world. Thus, Geography cultivates a spirit of international undertsanding between us. It provides us with wisdom for a truly civic outlook. Thus Geography like other social sciences helps us to be better citizens by learning our duties in a wider and broader outlook.

Q. 22. Why is Geography known as ‘body of knowledge’ ?
Ans. In ancient times, the aim of geography was to collect all general information concerning the earth.

This knowledge was based on travels by traders, travellers, settlers and conquerors. Geography included the knowledge about the shape and size of earth, latitude, longitude, solar system etc. The subject of Geography gathered much knowledge from other subjects. Therefore it is known as body of knowledge.

Q. 23. ‘Geography is a physical science as well as a social science.’ Discuss.
Ans. Geography is a science of synthesis. It represents the total picture of an area by studying the physical and human aspects of an area. Physics, chemistry, botany etc. (Physical sciences) are used to study the natural environment. The social science helps to study the human activities such as agriculture, settlements etc. Therefore Geography like the physical sciences and social sciences is included in both the groups.

Q. 24. “Geography is known as a science of integration or synthesis.” Discuss.
Ans. The subject of Geography has a close relationship with other subjects. Different subjects provide useful information, but only those factors are studied which help in the aim of Geography. There are many inter-disciplinary areas in the study of geography. Therefore, it is called a science of integration and synthesis. The maps of Relief, Agriculture, Transportation etc. are studied individually, but these maps studied in an integrated way, give very useful results. This approach is called Holistic approach.

Q. 25. What is Systematic Geography ? Name its sub-branches.
Ans. Geography studies the earth surface from two approaches :
(a) Systematic (b) Regional.

Systematic Geography is the study of specific natural or social phenomenon that gives rise to certain spatial patterns and structures on the earth surface. In this method, we select a geographical factor such as climate. We study the causes and effects of its spatial distribution. The focus is on climate and climatic types. A study of agriculture is done with the help of agricultural regions. Thus it is a detailed study of a single geographical factor. This approach was used by Alexander van Humboldt (1769-1859).

Q. 26. What is regional Geography ? Describe its sub-branches.
Ans. Regional Geography is the integrated study of Geographical factors of an area. One can start with a region, a state, or a river basin and then study it from different approaches. Each region is studied in its total setting. Regions could be based on a single factor like relief, rainfall, vegetation, literacy etc. There could also be multifactor regions. Administrative areas can be treated as regions. Planning regions are also formed.
This approach was used by Karl Ritter (1779 – 1859).

Q. 27. ‘The present society has modified their natural environment by inventing and using technology.’ Discuss.
Ans. The geographical phenomena, both the physical and human, are not static but highly dynamic.
They change over time as a result of the interactive processes between ‘ever changing earth and untiring and ever-active human beings.’ The primitive human societies were directly dependent on their immediate environment. Geography, thus, is concerned with the study of ‘Nature’ and ‘Human’ interactions as an integrated whole. Human is an integral part of Nature and Nature has the imprints of human. The present society has modified their natural environment by inventing and using technology and thus, have expanded the horizon of their operation by appropriating and utilizing the resources provided by nature. With the gradual development of technology, human beings were able to loosen the shackles of their physical environment.
Technology helped in reducing the harshness of labour, increased labour efficiency and provided leisure to human beings to attend to their higher needs of life. It also increased the scale of production and the mobility of labour.