Important Questions: Environment & Society | Sociology Class 11 - Humanities/Arts PDF Download

Very Short Answer Type Questions

Q1: What are the three components that make up ecology, as mentioned in the introduction?
Ans: Physical, biological, and human systems and activities.

Q2: How has human activity influenced factors like aridity or flooding in the environment?
Ans: Human activity has often led to changes in aridity and flooding, making them appear as natural outcomes.

Q3: What is the social environment, and how does it emerge?
Ans: The social environment is a mutually shaping process where society influences nature, and nature influences humanity. It emerges from the interaction between biophysical ecology and human intervention.

Q4: Give an example of how fertile soil in the Indo-Gangetic floodplain impacts society.
Ans: Fertile soil supports extensive cultivation, leading to dense settlements, surplus production, and the emergence of complex hierarchical societies and states.

Q5: How have capitalist societal structures impacted the natural world?
Ans: Capitalist structures have led to urban air pollution, regional conflicts, oil wars, and global warming.

Q6: How do social norms and values influence society's interaction with the environment?
Ans: Social norms, values, and knowledge systems shape how society interacts with the environment.

Q7: What is the "nature-nurture" debate, and what do proponents of each side argue?
Ans: The debate revolves around the relative importance of genetics (nature) and social interaction (nurture) in shaping personality and behavior.

Q8: How did social and political upheavals in the 18th century impact ideas about equality and capability?
Ans: Growing ideas of equality challenged assumptions that women and Black people were inherently less capable than men and White people.

Q9: How does the environment influence society according to the provided information?
Ans: The environment shapes society, which, in turn, influences human behavior.

Q10: What role does social organization play in determining how society interacts with the environment?
Ans: Social organization plays a significant role in determining how the environment is managed and used.

Short Answer Type Questions

Q11: Explain the concept of the social environment and provide an example of how it operates in a specific region or situation.
Ans: The social environment is a complex interplay between human society and the natural environment. It involves how society influences nature and how nature, in turn, influences humanity. One example of this can be seen in the Indo-Gangetic floodplain, where fertile soil allows for extensive cultivation. This high agricultural productivity supports dense settlements and surplus production, leading to the emergence of complex hierarchical societies and states. In this case, the natural environment (fertile soil) has shaped the social environment, leading to the development of a sophisticated society.

Q12: Discuss the multifaceted cultural significance of a river and how it can be reduced to a single calculation of profit and loss. Provide examples to illustrate your point.
Ans: Rivers hold multifaceted cultural significance for societies, encompassing ecological, practical, spiritual, and aesthetic aspects. They provide water for drinking and agriculture, support diverse ecosystems, and often hold religious or spiritual significance for communities. However, in the modern world, these rich cultural and ecological values are often reduced to a single calculation of profit and loss. For example, entrepreneurs may extract water from a river to sell it as a commodity, disregarding its ecological and cultural importance. This reductionist approach can lead to overexploitation and environmental degradation.

Q13: How do social norms, values, and knowledge systems influence the way society interacts with the environment? Provide examples to illustrate.
Ans: Social norms, values, and knowledge systems play a crucial role in shaping how society interacts with the environment. For instance, in rural India, where women are typically responsible for collecting fuel and water but lack control over these resources, their vulnerability to resource constraints is influenced by social norms and power dynamics. Additionally, cultural beliefs about the sanctity of certain natural sites or the importance of conservation can impact how communities manage their environment. For example, some indigenous cultures have traditional practices that promote sustainable resource use and conservation, guided by their value systems.

Q14: Explain the significant environmental risks and problems associated with resource depletion. Provide examples of the depletion of both water and land resources.
Ans: Resource depletion is a critical environmental issue. For example, to meet the demands of intensive agriculture, industry, and urbanization, aquifers that have stored water for thousands of years are being rapidly depleted. This over-extraction of groundwater can lead to land subsidence and reduced water availability for future generations. Additionally, the expansion of agricultural land often leads to deforestation and the destruction of habitats for biodiversity, such as forests, grasslands, and wetlands. This depletion of land resources negatively impacts ecosystems and biodiversity.

Q15: Discuss the causes and consequences of global warming, focusing on the gases involved and their effects on climate.
Ans: Global warming is the result of certain gases, including carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4), creating a "greenhouse" effect. These gases trap heat from the sun instead of allowing it to escape, leading to a rise in global temperatures. The consequences of global warming include more erratic and unpredictable weather patterns, melting polar ice caps, rising sea levels, and disruptions to ecosystems. China and India have become significant producers of greenhouse gases and carbon dioxide, contributing to the acceleration of global warming.