NCERT Book Exercise :
Q1. Choose the right answer from the four alternatives given below.
(i) The Tropic of Cancer does not pass through
(a) Rajasthan (c) Chhattisgarh
(b) Orissa (d) Tripura
Answer : (b) Orissa
(ii) The easternmost longitude of India is
(a) 97° 25' E (c) 77° 6' E
(b) 68° 7' E (d) 82° 32' E
Answer : (a) 97° 25' E
(iii) Uttaranchal, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal and Sikkim have common frontiers with
(a) China (c) Nepal
(b) Bhutan (d) Myanmar
Answer : (c) Nepal
(iv) If you intend to visit Kavarati during your summer vacations, which one of the following Union Territories of India you will be going to
(a) Pondicherry (c) Andaman and Nicobar
(b) Lakshadweep (d) Diu and Daman
Answer : (b) Lakshadweep
(v) My friend hails from a country which does not share land boundary with India. Identify the country.
(a) Bhutan (c) Bangladesh
(b) Tajikistan (d) Nepal
Answer : (b) Tajikistan
Q2. Answer the following questions briefly.
(i) Name the group of islands lying in the Arabian sea.
Answer : Lakshadweep
(ii) Name the countries which are larger than India.
Answer: China, Brazil, Australiya, Russia and USA.
(iii) Which island group of India lies to its south-east?
Answer : Andaman and Nicobar group of islands.
(iv) Which island countries are our southern neighbours?
Answer : Sri Lanka and Maldives
Q3. The sun rises two hours earlier in Arunachal Pradesh as compared to Gujarat in the west but the watches show the same time. How does this happen?
Answer : From Gujarat to Arunachal Pradesh there is a time lag of two hours. Hence, time along the Standard Meridian of India (82°30'E) passing through Mirzapur (in Uttar Pradesh) is taken as the standard time for the whole country. The latitudinal extent influences the duration of the day and night, as one moves from south to north.
Q4 The central location of India at the head of the Indian Ocean is considered of great significance. Why?
Answer : The central location of India at the head of the Indian Ocean is considered of great significance because:
(i) The Indian landmass has a central location between the East and the West Asia. India is a southward extension of the Asian Continent.
(ii) The trans Indian Ocean routes which connect the countries of Europe in the West and the countries of East Asia provide a strategic central location to India.
(iii) Note that the Deccan Peninsula protrudes into the Indian Ocean, thus helping India to establish close contact with West Asia, Africa and Europe from the western coast and with Southeast and East Asia from the eastern coast.
(iv) No other country has a long coastline on the Indian Ocean as India has and indeed, it is India’s eminent position in the Indian Ocean which justifies the naming of an Ocean after it.
