Very Short Answer Questions: Factors of Production | Social Science Class 8 - New NCERT PDF Download

Q1. What are the four main factors of production?
Ans: Land, labour, capital, and entrepreneurship.

Q2. What does “land” include in economics?
Ans: All natural resources like soil, water, forests, minerals, oil, and natural gas.

Q3. How is land usually obtained for production?
Ans: By buying it or paying rent to use it for a period.

Q4. What is “labour” in production?
Ans: The physical and mental effort people use to produce goods and services.

Q5. Give two examples of labour in different occupations.
Ans: A carpenter’s physical work and a teacher’s mental work.

Q6. What is “human capital”?
Ans: The skills, knowledge, abilities, and expertise that make labour more effective.

Q7. How is human capital different from labour?
Ans: Labour is effort; human capital is the quality (skills/knowledge) that increases productivity.

Q8. Name two facilitators of human capital.
Ans: Education/training and healthcare.

Q9. How does education help human capital?
Ans: It provides knowledge and prepares people to solve real-world problems.

Q10. How does good health support productivity?
Ans: It enables faster work, creativity, and fewer absences due to illness.

Q11. Name one cultural trait from Japan or Germany that supports productivity.
Ans: Japan’s kaizen (continuous improvement) or Germany’s punctuality and quality focus.

Q12. Mention one demographic advantage India has for human capital.
Ans: A young population with 65% under 35 (demographic dividend).

Q13. What is needed to benefit from the demographic dividend?
Ans: Quality education, health, training, and skills.

Q14. What do the Shilpa Shastras provide?
Ans: Detailed design guidelines for crafts, sculpture, architecture, and proportions.

Q15. What was unique about ancient Indian stitched shipbuilding?
Ans: Wooden planks were stitched with cords, making flexible ships for rough seas.

Q16. What does “capital” include?
Ans: Money and durable assets like machinery, tools, vehicles, shops, and factories.

Q17. Name two common ways small businesses raise capital.
Ans: Personal savings/family help and bank loans.

Q18. How do large companies raise capital?
Ans: By selling shares in the stock market and paying dividends.

Q19. What is entrepreneurship?
Ans: Identifying a problem/idea, combining factors, taking risks, and creating value.

Q20. Name two roles an entrepreneur performs.
Ans: Makes key business decisions and organizes land, labour, and capital.

Q21. Name one contribution of J.R.D. Tata.
Ans: Founded India’s first airline (Tata Airlines, 1932) and led the Tata Group’s expansion.

Q22. What is technology in production?
Ans: Application of scientific knowledge to make production easier, faster, or better.

Q23. Give two examples of modern technology enabling production or access.
Ans: UPI for payments and SWAYAM MOOCs for free online courses.

Q24. What does the National Career Service (NCS) do?
Ans: Connects people to jobs across sectors via a government portal.

Q25. What is the difference between labour-intensive and capital-intensive production?
Ans: Labour-intensive uses more human labour (e.g., agriculture); capital-intensive uses more machinery (e.g., semiconductors).

Q26. How are the factors of production connected?
Ans: They complement each other; lacking or misusing one reduces efficiency or halts production.

Q27. Give one recent example of supply chain risk mentioned in the chapter.
Ans: COVID-19 disruptions from relying on distant sources.

Q28. What responsibilities do businesses have toward natural resources and workers?
Ans: Use resources sustainably, reduce pollution, ensure fair pay and safe conditions, and invest in training.

Q29. What does India’s CSR law (2014) require?
Ans: Eligible companies invest 2% of their average profits over the past three years in social initiatives.

Q30. Why is technology considered the “fifth factor” of production in this chapter?
Ans: It improves efficiency, connects other factors, and enables higher productivity with the same or fewer resources.