CH- 1 RESOURCES AND DEVELOPMENT

MCQs

• Minerals and fossil fuels are examples of non-renewable resources

which take _____ for their formation.

a) Hundreds of years b) Thousands of years c) Millions of years d) Just a year

• ______ are the resources which are surveyed, and their quality and
quantity have been determined for utilization.

a) Developed resources b) Reserves c) Stock d) Abiotic

• In June 1992, more than 100 heads of state met in ________ in Brazil
for the first International Earth Summit.

a) Rio de Janeiro b) São Paulo c) Brasilia d) Curitiba

• The Rio Convention endorsed the Global Forest Principles and adopted
_______ for achieving sustainable development in the 21st century.

a) Agenda 20 b) Agenda 21 c) Agenda 19 d) Agenda 22

• Which of the following statements about Agenda 21 is true?

a) It aims at achieving global sustainable development.

b) It is an agenda to combat environmental damage, poverty and disease
through global cooperation.

c) One of the major objectives of Agenda 21 is that every local government

should not draw its own local Agenda 21.

d) Option (a) and (b).

• The state of Rajasthan is very well endowed with solar and _______
energy but lacks water resources.

a) Geothermal b) Hydro c) Wind d) Tidal

• About _________ of India’s land area is plain, which provides facilities

for agriculture and industry.

a) 43% b) 53% c) 34% d) 45%

• Land which is left without cultivation for one or less than one
agricultural year is known as ________.

a) Gross cropped area b) Culturable wasteland c) Current fallow d) Grazing

land

• Land which is left uncultivated for more than 5 agricultural years is

known as ________.
a) Culturable wasteland b) Barren land c) Pastures d) Fallow Lands

* When running water cuts through clayey soils and makes deep channels,
they lead to:
(a) Gully erosion (b) Sheet erosion (c) Deforestation (d) Afforestation

* There is enough for everybody’s need and not for any body’s greed,’’ who
among the following has given the above statement?
(a) Vinoba Bhave (b) Mahatma Gandhi (c) Jawaharlal Nehru(d) Atal Behari
Vajpayee

* The mountain share in the total land area is:

(a) 30% (b) 27% (c) 43% (d) 40%

* Which one of the following states mostly has laterite soil?

(a) Uttar Pradesh (b) Bihar (c) Rajasthan (d) Meghalaya

* Under which of the following types of resource can tidal energy be put?
(a) Human made (b) Replenishable (c) Non-recyclable (d) None of these

* Soil formed by intense leaching is:

(a) alluvial soil (b) red soil (c) laterite soil (d) desert soil

* Which of the following resource is non-recyclable?

(a) Coal (b) Iron-ore (c) Copper (d) Gold
  The Brundtland Commission Report published in ________, shared
ideas about sustainable development and how it could be achieved.

a) 1997 b) 1987 c) 1992 d) 1977

 Who wrote the book Small is Beautiful ?

Schumacher
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1. What are resources?

Everything available in our environment, which can be used to satisfy our needs if it
is technologically accessible, economically feasible, and culturally acceptable, is
termed as resource.

2. How are the resources classified?

The resources are classified as follows:
i) On the basis of origin – biotic (Trees) and abiotic (Minerals)
ii) On the basis of exhaustibility – renewable(Forest) and non-renewable(coal)
iii) On the basis of ownership – individual, community, national and international
(Book) (Hospital) ( Railways) ( Enviroment)
iv) On the basis of status of development –
Potential : Wind and solar energy potential in Rajasthan and Gujarat.
Developed: Processing of Iron ore
Stock : Making hydrogen and oxygen from water in a large scale.
Reserves : Hydro power generation normally in hilly area.

3. What is Sustainable Development?

The development that meets the present needs without compromising the ability of
future generations and the environmental damage.
4. When and why Rio de Janeiro earth summit took place?

In 1992, more than 100 heads of state met in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil for the first
international Earth Summit to address urgent problems of environmental protection
and socio-economic development.
5. What is resource planning? Why is it essential?
Resource planning is a technique for proper utilization of resources with an aim of
Sustainable development.
i) These resources are limited and formation is time consuming.
ii) Resources are spread unevenly with varied quantity and quality. So to
achieve sustainable development , planning is required
iii) Resource planning is essential to prevent environmental pollution and to avoid
wastages .

6. How the resource planning can be done?

i) Identification and inventory of resources across the regions of the country: This
involves surveying, mapping, qualitative and quantitative estimation, and
measurement of resources.
ii) Evolving a planning structure with appropriate technology, skill and institutional
setup for implementing resource development plans.
iii) Matching the resource development plans with overall national development
plans.

7. Explain the land use pattern in India ?

i. Plains: About 43 % of the land is plain which provides facilities for agriculture and
industry.
ii. Mountains: It accounts for 30 % of the land and ensure perennial flow of some
rivers, provide facilities for tourism and ecological aspects.
iii .Plateau: About 27 % of the land is plateau. It possesses rich reserves of minerals
fossil fuels and forests.

8. Which year National Forest Policy was made?

1952

9. Mention the states for maximum and minimum Net sown Area(NSA)?
Max. 80% - Punjab , Hariyana Min. 10% - Arunachal Pradesh , Mizoram

10. What is land degradation? What are the causes for land degradation.
Land degradation is the process of losing the fertility and productivity of land for
proper use.
i) Deforestation due to Minning – Chattisgarh , Jharkhand, M.P ,Odisha
ii) Overgrazing ----- Gujrat , Maharashtra
iii) Over irrigation --- Punjab , Hariyana , West U.P
11. How land degradation can be prevented?
a. Stabilization of sand dunes by growing thorny bushes, preparation of shelterbelts of
Plants.
b. control over grazing of animals are some methods of controlling land degradation in
arid areas.
c. Moisture conservation and weed control in agricultural lands.
d. proper management of wasteland and control of mining activities are the methods for
semi arid areas.
e. Proper discharge and disposal of industrial effluents and wastes after treatment can
reduce land and water degradation

12. What are soils? How are they formed

i. Loose and fragmented uppermost layer of the earth’s crust is called soil. It is the
basic resources of agriculture.
ii. It consists of both organic and inorganic substances.
iii. The factors that contribute the formation and fertility of soil are rocks, climate,
plants and animals, local topography, chemical and organic changes which takes
place in the soil
iv. Soils are formed by the disintegration and decomposition of rocks under the
process of weathering and erosion. Climate determines the rate of weathering and
the type of vegetation.
13. Describe the characteristics of alluvial soil. (What type of soil is found in the river
deltas of the eastern coasts? Give three main features of this type of soil
Or Which is the most widely spread and important soil in India?
a) Alluvial soil is confined to northern plain, coastal strips. It is the most widely
spread and important soil in India.
b) It is used to grow rice, wheat, sugarcane etc. as it is fertile.
c) It is available in the states like U.P , Bihar, West Bengal , Punjab etc.
d) Alluvial soil contains potash , phosphoric acid and lime.
14. Differentiate between Bhangar and Khadar?
i) The Bangar soil has higher concentration of kanker nodules than the Khadar.
ii. Bhangar is older alluvium and is found away from rivers and Khadar is new alluvium
found closer to the rivers.
iii. Bhangar is clayey and dark while Khadar is sandy and light in colour.
iv Bhangar is less fertile compared to Khadar. Khadar is renewed frequently in the
flood plain.

15. What are the characteristics of Black soil?

a) Black soil is also known as Regur soil. It is good for cultivation of cotton and also known
as cotton soil.
b) It is rich in potash, calcium carbonate, magnesium and lime and poor in phosphoric
content.
c) It has the ability to retain moisture and gets sticky but on drying it develops deep crack
d) On drying these soil develops large and deep cracks and becomes sticky when wet.
f) This soil is originated from Basalt rock which is made up of lava flow in decan region.
16. Describe the major features of Red soil. Where is it found?
a. Red soil develops on crystalline igneous rocks in areas of low rainfall in the eastern and
southern parts of the Deccan plateau.
b. It is red in colour due to the diffusion of iron in crystalline and metamorphic rocks. It
looks yellow when it occurs in a hydrated form.
c. Red soils are highly porous and fertile and they are fine grained and deep.
d. It is deficient in phosphoric acid, organic matter and nitrogen and rich in potash.
e. They occur in parts of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Orissa and Jharkhand.
16. What are Laterite soils? What are its features?
a. Laterite soils are intensely leached soils of the monsoon climate.
b. The humus content of this soil is low because most of the micro organisms particularly
the decomposers like bacteria get destroyed due to high temperature
c. They are red in colour with high content of iron. It is poor in nitrogen and lime
d. These soils are formed by intense leaching out due to heavy rainfall. They occur in
Karnataka, Kerala, Orissa and part of Assam and Meghalaya.
e. This soil can be used to grow tea, coffee, cashew nut after adding manure.
17. . Describe the characteristics of forest (mountain) soil.
a. These are the soils found in the mountainous region of India like Meghalaya, Arunachal
Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir, Sikkim.
b. These soils are characterized by deposition of organic materials derived from
vegetation cover.
c. They are loamy and silty in valley sides and coarse grained in the upper slopes.
18. What are arid (desert) soils?
a. These are the soils found in the arid areas of Rajasthan, Punjab and Haryana.
b. These soils are sandy and saline in nature
c. These soils are poor in organic matter due to high temperature.
d. These soils are red to brownish in colour.
19. What is meant by soil erosion? How is it caused?
Removal of soil from one place to another by some natural agent is called soil erosion.
It is the process of taking away or washing away of soil cover by wind or water flow.
Soil erosion is caused by deforestation, heavy rains and running water, overgrazing,
winds and mining.
20. What are ravines? Where is it found?
Ravines are bad land, turned unsuitable for cultivation by soil erosion.
In the Chambal basin (M.P) such lands are called ravines.

21. How Soil erosion can be checked?

a) Contour ploughing: Ploughing along the contour lines is known as contour

Ploughing, which reduces the flow of water. (hilly areas)

b) Terrace farming: It restricts soil erosion in hilly areas like Assam, Sikkim etc
c) Strip Cropping: Large fields can be divided into strips. Strips of grass are left
to grow between the crops.

d) Shelter belts and planting thorny bushes: Planting lines of trees

reduce wind force and stream flow. Planting of thorny bushes help stabilize sand
dunes in the desert areas.

e) Plugging of Gullies: This is done by building dams of stones or planting trees

across gullies. Even by constructing small bunds water streams can be restricted.

22. How have technical and economic development led to more consumption of
resources?
i) It was primarily the higher level of technological development of the colonizing
countries that helped them to exploit resources of other regions and establish their
supremacy over the colonies.
ii) Technical development led to mechanization and over exploitation of resources.
Economic development led to invention of modern machineries which accelerated over
exploitation of resources.
iv) Economic development increases the standard of living of the people. It helps
them to enjoy a number of facilities and use more resources.