Chapter 1: Geography as a Discipline

Fundamentals of Physical Geography

Q.1. What is the importance of studying Geography?

Ans:

1) Geography helps us to understand basic physical systems that affect everyday life. These systems are important to reduce the impact of disasters.
2) It also helps to learn the location of places and their physical and cultural characteristics in order to function more effectively.
3) It helps to understand the geography of past times and how geography has played important roles in the evolution of people, their ideas, places and environments.

4) It also helps to understand the spatial Organisation of society which gives us an idea of why towns and cities were established in certain locations and why some have developed more than others.
5) It gives us information of Earth as the homeland of humankind and provides knowledge for wise management and sustainable utilisation of natural resources especially non-renewable resources.
6) Geography can help us to be more conscious about the world around us and also helpful to be a better global citizen.

Q.2. Physical and human factors both are dynamic not static. Explain.

Ans:

The geographical phenomena change over times as a result of the interactive processes between ever changing Earth and ever-active human beings.

1) Primitive human societies were directly dependent on their immediate environment. Human beings have comes in contact with nature through adaptation and modification.
2) Present societies have modified their natural environment by inventing and using technology and have expanded the horizon (scope) of their actions by proper utilisation of the resources provided by nature.

3) With the gradual development of technology, human beings were able to lose the dependency of their physical environment. Technology helped in reducing the harshness of labour, increased labour efficiency and provided leisure to human beings to attend to the higher needs of life. It also increased the scale of production and the movement of labour.
4) The interaction between the physical environment and human beings has created new possibilities in collaboration with nature. Thus, we find humanized nature and naturalized human beings and geography studies this interactive relationship.

5) The space get organised with the help of the means of transportation and communication network through links (routes) and nodes.

Q.3. As a scientific discipline with how many categories of questions is Geography concerned? Explain.

Ans:

Geography is concerned with three categories of questions: -

1) Some questions are related to the identification of the patterns of natural and cultural features as found over the surface of the Earth. These are the questions about “What”.

2) Second type of questions is related to the distribution of the natural and human/ cultural features over the surface of the Earth. These are the questions about “Where”.
3) The third question is related to the explanation or the causal relationships between features and the processes and phenomena. This aspect of geography is related to the question “Why”.

Q.4. Geography is an integrated discipline. How?

Ans:

1) It is a discipline of synthesis. It includes spatial (place) and temporal (time) synthesis. Its approach is holistic in nature.
2) It recognizes the fact that the World is a system of interdependence. The present world is a global village.

3) The efficient transport and communication helped the world to become a global village.
4) The audio-visual media helped the data to be enriched. Technology provided better chances for monitoring natural phenomena as well as the economic and social parameters.

Q.5. Geographers play an important role for a country. How?

Ans: Geographers are important for any country because: -

1) A geographer studies the cause and effect relationships of phenomenon available on the Earth.
2) They study the variations of the different features on the Earth surface e.g. cropping pattern differs from place to place due to difference in the climate, soil, demand, transport facility and capacity of the farmer.

3) The Geographers study the relation between changing sphere of Earth and role of man in it.
4) They help to predict weather and climate.
5) They help in handling natural calamities by providing prior information.

Q.6. You have already studied geography, history, civics and economics as parts of social studies.

Attempt an integration of these disciplines highlighting their interface.

What is the relationship of ‘Geography’ with its ‘Sister Sciences’?

Ans:

Geography is an integrated discipline.

1) Geography and History: - History and geography are closely related to each other because these two subjects are concerned with time and space. Description according to time is called and history according to space is called Geography. Development of any region has its roots in the past so history provides a background for geography through narration, and Geography provides description of space to history.

2) Geography and Civics: - The core concerns of political science are territory, people and sovereignty. Political geography is also interested in the study of the state as a spatial unit as well as people and their political behavior.

3) Geography and Economics: - Economics deals with basic aspects of the economy such as production, distribution, exchange and consumption. Economic geography helps to study the locational aspects of these attributes.

Q.7. Give the difference between ‘Systematic Approach’ and ‘Regional Approach’ of Geography.

Ans:

Systematic Approach	Regional Approach
Systematic geography studies a particular element or its part over the Earth.	Regional geography studies a particular region with reference to all the geographical elements.
In systematic approach, a concept is studied world over as a whole, and then identification of spatial patterns is done.	In the regional approach, the world is divided into regions at different levels and then all the geographical phenomena in a particular region are studied. These regions may be natural or political.
For example, if one is interested in studying natural vegetation, the study will be done at the world level as a first step. The categories such as equatorial rain forests or softwood conical forests or monsoon forests, etc. will be identified and discussed.	For example, if one is interested in studying natural vegetation, the study will be done for different region like equator, monsoon region, Desert region, Tundra region, etc.
It is based on political units.	It is based on geographical units.
This approach presents the facts.	This study examines the man-environment relationship.
The systematic geography was introduced by Alexander Von Humboldt, a German geographer (1769-1859).	Regional geography approach was developed by another German geographer Karl Ritter (1779-1859). (Contemporary of Humboldt)

Q.8. What is the importance of Physical Geography?

Ans:

1) Physical Geography includes study of Lithosphere, Atmosphere, Hydrosphere and Biosphere. Each element is very important for human beings.
2) Geomorphology is the study of land forms, their evolution and related processes. These landforms provide base for agriculture, industries, transport and communication, and settlements.
3) Climatology is the study of structure of atmosphere and elements of weather and climates and climatic types and regions. Climate influences on the cropping pattern, livestock, food habits and clothes of the people and the type of forests.

4) Hydrology studies the realm of water over the surface of the Earth including oceans, lakes, rivers and other water bodies and its effect on different life forms including human life and their activities.
5) Soil Geography is devoted to study the processes of soil formation, soil types, their fertility status, distribution and use.
6) The study of physical geography is emerging as a discipline of evaluating and managing natural resources. In order to achieve this objective, it is essential to understand the interactive relationship between physical environment and human beings.
7) Physical environment provides resources, and human beings utilise these resources and accelerate their economic and cultural development. So, a better understanding of physical environment is essential in study of Geography.

Q.9. Why Geography is often called the mother of all sciences?

Ans:

1) Geography is sometimes considered as the mother of all sciences due to its links and influences on other scientific fields including biology, mathematics, anthropology, geology, astronomy and chemistry etc.
2) The exploration and discovery of new places, new ideas and new cultures is fundamental to the human knowledge.
3) Historically the fields of geography were divided into four different subject areas i.e. The Spatial analysis of natural and Human Phenomena, Research in Earth Science, Study of Man and Land Relationship, and Aerial Studies.

4) A modern breakdown of Geography is into number of different branches i.e. Physical Geography, Human Geography, Environmental Geography, Regional geography and Geomatics.
5) It deals with everything from the change and development of the natural environment, to human and social development and behavior, to the interaction between the natural environment and human society.

 Conclusion: - The vast ranges of topics and sciences that are covered and understood by geography give rise to its common definitions as the 'mother of all sciences'.

Q.10. Discuss the scope of Geography with changing times. (Value ßased) (5)

Ans:

 Ancient Viewpoint of Geography: -

1) The word Geography is the description of the Earth. It means to write about the Earth including all that appears upon it.
2) In earlier times, its aim was to know facts about places and its people to get introduced with the world. So the description concerning Earth and people were studied under geography.
3) These descriptions were brought through the narratives of conquerors, scholars, explorers, travelers and traders.
4) Some Greek, Arab and Indian scholars laid the foundation of Geography as a science by studying the shape and size of the Earth, latitude and longitude and the solar system.
5) These scholars tried to understand the universe around us and the place of our planet within it.

 Modern Viewpoint of Geography: -

1) Geography as a discipline is a separate branch of science which describes the Earth.
2) Geography is concerned with areal differentiation and distributional relationship of Earth so it is known as a ‘Chronological Science’.
3) Geography studies areas and all the natural and human features. It also deals with the general environment study of the region along with the major characteristics.

Question Bank

Q1. What is areal differentiation?

Q2. "You created the soil, I created the cup, you created night, I created the lamp. You created wilderness, hilly terrains and deserts, I created flower beds and gardens." - Analyse the statement with suitable example.

Q3. Which and how three set of questions are related to geographical study?

Q4. Explain geography as an integrated discipline.

Q5. Explain the relationship between geography and social sciences.

Q6. Analyse several branches of physical/human/bio geography.

Q7. Write about a comperative analysis between macro, meso and micro regional studies in geography.

Q8. What is pedogenesis?

Chapter 1: Geography as a Discipline - Class 11 Geography Extra Notes

Fundamentals of Physical Geography