Answer the following questions in about 150 words.
(i) You observe every day in your surroundings that there is variation in natural as well as cultural phenomena. All the trees are not of the same variety. All the birds and animals you see, are different. All these different elements are found on the earth. Can you now argue that geography is the study of “areal differentiation”?
(ii) You have already studied geography, history, civics and economics as parts of social studies. Attempt an integration of these disciplines highlighting their interface.
(i) Geography is the study of "aerial differentiation". We observe large-scale variations in natural and man-made or cultural phenomena over the surface of the earth. These variations are concerned with both physical and man-made environment. Study of aerial differentiation is one of the primary objectives of geography. According to Hettner, "Geography studies the differences of phenomena usually related in different parts of the earth’s surface”.
Arial differentiation or variations in the phenomena over the earth’s surface are not the only concern of geography. For example, there are regional variations in the cropping pattern, which are associated with variations in soils, climate, market, capacity of the farmers and technological inputs available to the-farmers. The geography also tries to probe causal relationship between any two phenomena. With this view in mind, Richard Hartshorne gave his definition of geography in these words, “Geography is concerned with the description and explanation of the areal differentiation of the earth’s surface’’.
(ii) Geography, history, civics, and economics are closely related to one another. Geography is a discipline of synthesis. Its approach is holistic in nature and recognises the interdependence that exists in the world. Being an integrating discipline, geography is linked with several natural and social sciences. Geography helps in understanding the reality in totality in its spatial perspective. The relation of geography with several natural, social, and biological sciences clearly depicts that these sciences are closely related to geography because there are spatial changes in their elements. Geography is a subject, which is capable of making us understand the reality in totality in its spatial perspective. Thus, geography takes note of spatial variations in the phenomena and integrates them holistically. A geographer is supposed to have the basic knowledge of all the related fields so that he is able to integrate them. The integration of the related fields is necessary to have a proper understanding of geography.
Answer the following questions in about 30 words.
(i) What important cultural features do you observe while going to school? Are they similar or dissimilar? Should they be included in the study of geography or not? If yes, why?
(ii) You have seen a tennis ball, a cricket ball, an orange and a pumpkin. Which one amongst these resembles the shape of the earth? Why have you chosen this particular item to describe the shape of the earth?
(iii) Do you celebrate Van Mahotsava in your school? Why do we plant so many trees? How do the trees maintain ecological balance?
(iv) You have seen elephants, deer, earthworms, trees and grasses. Where do they live or grow? What is the name given to this sphere? Can you describe some of the important features of this sphere?
(v) How much time do you take to reach your school from your house? Had the school been located across the road from your house, how much time would you have taken to reach school? What is the effect of the distance between your residence and the school on the time taken in commuting? Can you convert time into space and vice versa?
(i) Cultural features observed while going to school include streets, roads, houses, shops, schools, parks, markets, places of worships, etc. They are dissimilar. They should be include in the study of geography because they form important segment of man-made features and are parts of human geography.
(ii) The shape of the earth resembles an orange because the earth is flat at the poles and it bulges out at the equator. An orange is also flat at its top and bottom and is round like earth.
(iii) Yes, we do celebrate Van Mahotsav in our school. We plant so many trees because they help us in maintaining ecological balance by consuming carbon dioxide and emitting oxygen. Moreover, trees help in maintaining soil fertility and reducing soil erosion.
(iv) All creatures like elephants, deer, earthworms, trees and grasses grow in biosphere. Biosphere is that part of the earth, which contains life. Biosphere lies at the enfaces between these inorganic realms of the earth, e.g., atmosphere, lithosphere, and hydrosphere.
Multiple choice questions.
(i) Which one of the following scholars coined the term ‘Geography’?
(a) Herodotus (c) Galileo
(b) Erathosthenese (d) Aristotle
(ii) Which one of the following features can be termed as ‘physical feature’?
(a) Port (c) Plain
(b) Road (d) Water park
(iii) Make correct pairs from the following two columns and mark the correct option.
1. Meteorology A. Population Geography
2. Demography B. Soil Geography
3. Sociology C. Climatology
4. Pedology D. Social Geography
(a) 1B, 2C, 3A, 4D (c) 1D, 2B, 3C, 4A
(b) 1A, 2D, 3B, 4C (d) 1C, 2A, 3D, 4B
(iv) Which one of the following questions is related to cause-effect relationship?
(a) Why (c) What
(b) Where (d) When
(v) Which one of the following disciplines attempts temporal synthesis?
(a) Sociology (c) Anthropology
(b) Geography (d) History(i) (b) Erathosthenese
(ii) (c) Plain
(iii) (d) 1C, 2A, 3D, 4B
(iv) (a) Why
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