Access the latest NCERT Solutions for Class 12 Geography Chapter-1: Human Geography: Nature and Scope, updated for 2024-2025. Solution is designed to help students tackle difficult questions with ease. The content is written in simple, easy-to-understand language. Use this solution to prepare for board exams and achieve excellent results.
Exercise
Multiple Choice Questions:
(i) Which one of the following statements does not describe geography?
(a) an integrative discipline
(b) study of the interrelationship between humans and environment
(c) subjected to dualism
(d) not relevant in the present time due to the development of technology (Correct answer)
(ii) Which one of the following is not a source of geographical information?
(a) traveller’s accounts
(b) old maps
(c) samples of rock materials from the moon
(d) ancient epics (Correct answer)
(iii) Which one of the following is the most important factor in the interaction between people and environment?
(a) human intelligence
(c) technology (Correct answer)
(b) people’s perception
(d) human brotherhood
(iv) Which one of the following is not an approach in human geography?
(a) Areal differentiation
(b) Spatial organization
(d) Exploration and description (Correct answer)
(c) Quantitative revolution
Short Answer Questions
(i) Define human geography.
Ans. Human geography is the study of the relationship between human societies and their environment, focusing on how humans interact with their surroundings, modify it, and how human phenomena are distributed across space and time.
(ii) Name some subfields of human geography.
Ans. Some subfields include:
- Cultural Geography
- Political Geography
- Economic Geography
- Population Geography
- Medical Geography.
(iii) How is human geography related to other social sciences?
Ans. Human geography overlaps with social sciences like sociology, economics, political science, and anthropology. It studies human environment interactions and sociocultural factors, which are key areas of social sciences, making geography an integrative discipline.
Long Answer Questions
(i) Explain naturalization of humans.
Ans. The naturalization of humans refers to the process where human beings live in harmony with their environment, adapting to its conditions. In earlier stages, when humans had limited technology, they were at the mercy of natural forces, obeying and worshiping them. This stage, marked by low technological advancements, saw humans highly dependent on nature for survival. Environmental determinism, a concept tied to this stage, explains how nature influenced human activities.
(ii) Write a note on the scope of human geography.
Ans. Human geography is vast and encompasses the study of the interrelationship between the physical environment and human societies. It explores how humans modify their environment, creating a cultural landscape, and how these interactions vary across different regions. The scope includes the study of urbanization, population patterns, economic activities, political boundaries, and cultural differences. Human geography also integrates knowledge from other disciplines such as sociology, economics, and political science to offer a comprehensive understanding of human activities and their spatial distribution.
Other Important Question Answers
Here are some important short and long answer type questions from Chapter 1: Human Geography: Nature and Scope of the NCERT Class 12 Geography book, prepared in simple English. These questions are often asked in previous NCERT exams and relevant to the UPSC syllabus as well.
1. What is dualism in geography?
Dualism in geography refers to the debates on how geography should be studied. One debate is between physical geography (study of the natural environment) and human geography (study of human societies). Another is whether geography should focus on creating laws and theories (nomothetic approach) or on describing specific places (idiographic approach). There is also a discussion on whether geography should be approached regionally (focusing on a specific region) or systematically (focusing on specific topics globally).
2. What is meant by possibilism in geography?
Possibilism in geography is the theory that, while the environment offers various possibilities, human beings have the power to choose from these options and modify the environment. In contrast to environmental determinism, possibilism emphasizes human creativity and innovation. For example, humans build dams to control water, grow crops in deserts using irrigation, or create cities in cold regions.
3. What is the difference between environmental determinism and humanism in geography?
Environmental determinism holds that the physical environment, especially climate and geography, determines human activities and societal development. Human societies are shaped by nature. On the other hand, humanism in geography focuses on humans’ lived experiences and how they perceive and modify their surroundings. This approach values individual choice, cultural understanding, and human creativity over environmental factors.
4. What is environmental determinism?
Environmental determinism is the idea that the physical environment, particularly climate and geography, shapes human societies and their cultural development. In the early stages of human history, people were largely influenced by natural forces, and their activities, such as farming or settlements, were dictated by the environment. For example, people living in fertile river valleys developed agricultural societies, while those in harsh climates led nomadic lives.
5. What do you understand by areal differentiation?
Areal differentiation refers to the idea that different areas on the earth’s surface exhibit distinct natural and human characteristics. It focuses on the uniqueness of regions and how geography varies from one area to another. Areal differentiation helps geographers understand why certain places have different cultures, economies, or environments. This approach became popular in the early stages of geography as a discipline.
6. Explain the concept of spatial organization in human geography.
Spatial organization refers to how various human and natural phenomena are arranged and structured across the earth’s surface. It involves studying patterns such as the distribution of cities, industries, transportation networks, and human settlements. Geographers use this concept to analyze how humans organize space and interact with the environment through infrastructure, settlements, and resource use.
7. How does technology influence human environment interactions?
Technology plays a crucial role in how humans interact with their environment. It allows humans to overcome natural obstacles and make use of the environment more efficiently. For instance, advanced irrigation techniques enable agriculture in deserts, and modern transportation systems help people live and work in harsh climates. Technology reduces the restrictions imposed by nature, allowing humans to shape their surroundings to better suit their needs.
8. What is the importance of studying human geography?
Studying human geography is important because it helps us understand the relationship between people and their environment. It examines how human societies develop, how cultures and economies differ across the globe, and how people adapt to various environmental conditions. Human geography also plays a role in addressing global challenges such as urbanization, resource management, and environmental sustainability.
9. What is the relationship between human beings and the environment in human geography?
Human geography studies the interaction between humans and their physical environment. Initially, human activities were heavily influenced by the natural environment, a concept known as environmental determinism. As technology advanced, humans developed the ability to modify and shape the environment to suit their needs, leading to the concept of possibilism. Over time, humans moved from merely adapting to nature to transforming it, creating urban landscapes, agricultural systems, and transportation networks. This relationship is dynamic, where humans constantly reshape the environment while being affected by natural processes such as climate change and resource availability. Human geography, thus, emphasizes the mutual dependence between nature and human society.
10. What are the main approaches in human geography?
Human geography has developed various approaches over time to study the interaction between humans and the environment:
1. Areal Differentiation: Focuses on understanding regional differences in terms of physical and human phenomena.
2. Spatial Organization: Deals with the arrangement of human activities in space, examining how and why they are distributed in certain patterns.
3. Quantitative Revolution: Uses statistical and mathematical tools to analyze human activities, focusing on patterns and models.
4. Exploration and Description: The earliest approach where geographers described and cataloged new regions, detailing their physical and cultural aspects.
11. Explain the concept of ‘Humanisation of Nature’.
The humanisation of nature refers to how humans modify the natural environment to make it more suitable for their needs. With the development of technology, humans have gained the ability to transform their surroundings. For instance, people in cold regions build heated homes and wear insulated clothing to cope with harsh winters. In agriculture, irrigation systems and genetically modified crops have allowed humans to grow food in regions that were previously unsuitable for farming. This process highlights how human knowledge and technological advancement have allowed them to overcome environmental constraints and create cultural landscapes, such as cities, industries, and farmlands.
12. What is neo determinism?
Neo Determinism, introduced by Griffith Taylor, represents a middle path between environmental determinism and possibilism. It suggests that humans can modify the environment but within certain limits imposed by nature. This approach is compared to traffic signals: while green lights (opportunities) allow progress, red lights (natural limits) must be respected. If humans push beyond these natural boundaries, such as overexploiting resources, it can lead to negative consequences like climate change and environmental degradation. Neo Determinism emphasizes a balanced approach, where human progress respects ecological constraints.
MCQs: NCERT Class 12 Human Geography: Nature and Scope (Chapter 1)
Here are 20 multiple choice questions (MCQs) based on NCERT Class 12 Human Geography: Nature and Scope (Chapter 1), designed to help students prepare for NCERT exams and UPSC, with answers provided at the end:
1. Who defined human geography as “the synthetic study of the relationship between human societies and the earth’s surface”?
(a) Ellen C. Semple
(b) Paul Vidal de la Blache
(c) Friedrich Ratzel
(d) Griffith Taylor
2. Which one of the following is a key concern of human geography?
(a) Study of landforms
(b) Study of human nature relationships
(c) Study of natural disasters
(d) Study of climate change
3. What concept suggests that “nature provides opportunities and humans make use of these opportunities”?
(a) Environmental determinism
(b) Possibilism
(c) Neo Determinism
(d) Regional analysis
4. Which term describes human dependence on nature during primitive stages of social development?
(a) Cultural landscape
(b) Environmental determinism
(c) Neo Determinism
(d) Spatial organization
5. Who introduced the concept of ‘neo determinism’ in human geography?
(a) Ellen C. Semple
(b) Friedrich Ratzel
(c) Griffith Taylor
(d) Paul Vidal de la Blache
6. Human geography is highly interdisciplinary and has close links with which one of the following disciplines?
(a) Physics
(b) Sociology
(c) Chemistry
(d) Biology
7. Which of the following is NOT a subfield of human geography?
(a) Cultural geography
(b) Economic geography
(c) Medical geography
(d) Geomorphology
8. The process by which humans modify their environment is known as:
(a) Naturalization of humans
(b) Humanisation of nature
(c) Environmental determinism
(d) Possibilism
9. Which of the following is a key feature of ‘environmental determinism’?
(a) Human intelligence dominates nature
(b) Nature controls human actions
(c) Technology dominates human behavior
(d) Humans modify natural resources
10. What term is used to describe the impact of human activities on the earth’s surface?
(a) Cultural landscape
(b) Ecosystem modification
(c) Regional differentiation
(d) Spatial analysis
11. Which of the following best describes the scope of human geography?
(a) Study of the earth’s physical features
(b) Study of the interrelationship between human activities and the environment
(c) Study of plant and animal life
(d) Study of geological processes
12. The idea that humans can control nature by obeying it is associated with which concept?
(a) Environmental determinism
(b) Neo Determinism
(c) Possibilism
(d) Spatial organization
13. Which school of thought in human geography focuses on human perception and lived experiences?
(a) Behavioral geography
(b) Radical geography
(c) Welfare geography
(d) Quantitative geography
14. Which of the following best represents a human modification of the natural environment?
(a) Formation of rivers
(b) Construction of roads
(c) Erosion of soils
(d) Formation of mountains
15. Which geographer is known for promoting the concept of possibilism?
(a) Ellen C. Semple
(b) Friedrich Ratzel
(c) Paul Vidal de la Blache
(d) Carl Sauer
16. In which phase of human geography was the use of computers and statistical tools prominent?
(a) Quantitative revolution
(b) Spatial revolution
(c) Radical revolution
(d) Postmodernism
17. What is the major difference between environmental determinism and possibilism?
(a) Determinism claims nature dictates, possibilism suggests humans can adapt.
(b) Determinism is humancentric, possibilism is nature centric.
(c) Determinism rejects technology, possibilism embraces it.
(d) Determinism is more advanced than possibilism.
18. Which of the following approaches is NOT a part of human geography?
(a) Areal differentiation
(b) Spatial organization
(c) Quantitative revolution
(d) Geophysical studies
19. Which term refers to the study of human populations in geography?
(a) Urban geography
(b) Population geography
(c) Agricultural geography
(d) Resource geography
20. What is the primary objective of human geography?
(a) Understanding the physical environment
(b) Studying human environment interaction
(c) Mapping natural resources
(d) Analyzing weather patterns
Answers:
1. (c) Friedrich Ratzel
2. (b) Study of human nature relationships
3. (b) Possibilism
4. (b) Environmental determinism
5. (c) Griffith Taylor
6. (b) Sociology
7. (d) Geomorphology
8. (b) Humanisation of nature
9. (b) Nature controls human actions
10. (a) Cultural landscape
11. (b) Study of the interrelationship between human activities and the environment
12. (b) Neo Determinism
13. (a) Behavioral geography
14. (b) Construction of roads
15. (c) Paul Vidal de la Blache
16. (a) Quantitative revolution
17. (a) Determinism claims nature dictates, possibilism suggests humans can adapt
18. (d) Geophysical studies
19. (b) Population geography
20. (b) Studying human environment interaction
Other Chapter
| Chapter 2:- The World Population: Distribution, Density and Growth | Chapter 3:- Population Composition |
| Chapter 4:- Human Development | Chapter 5:- Primary Activities |
| Chapter 6:- Secondary Activities | Chapter 7:- Tertiary and Quaternary Activities |
| Chapter 8:- Transport and Communication | Chapter 9:- International Trade |
| Chapter 10:- Human Settlements |
