NCERT Solutions for Class 8 Social Science Geography Chapter 5 Human Resources contain solutions to the exercises given in the Geography book Resources and Development. These answers have been explained in a manner that you will easily understand all the concepts and get your doubts cleared without even seeking anyone’s assistance. You can read and download all the questions and answers in PDF format.
Class 8 Geography Human Resources Ncert Textbook Questions and Answers
Question 1. Answer the following questions.
(i) Why are people considered as resource?
Answer: People are the greatest resource of the nation since they can make the best use of nature to create more resources when they have the knowledge, skill and technology to do so. It is people with their demands and abilities that help in extracting the usefulness of all other resources.
(ii) What are the causes for the uneven distribution of population in the world?
Answer: The distribution of population in the world is uneven. Some areas are very crowded while some are sparsely populated. There are various reasons behind this uneven distribution:
(a) Geographical factors: Favourable topography, availability of mineral and fresh water resources, favourable climate and soil fertility are some of the reasons affecting population distribution. e.g., Indo Gangetic Plains, Diamond Mines of South Africa etc are densely populated. Whereas desert regions like Sahara, mountainous regions like Himalayas and cold regions like Antarctica etc are sparsely populated.
(b) Social and Cultural factors: Areas of better housing, education and health facilities are more populated. eg. Pune. Places of religious and cultural significance also attract people e.g., Varanasi, Jerusalem etc.
(c) Economic factors: Places having more industries, transportation and communication facilities provide better employment opportunities. People are attracted to these places because of the above reasons e.g., Mumbai, Osaka etc.
(iii) The world population has grown very rapidly. Why?
Answer: The world population has not been stable and has increased manifold due to advancements in science and technology. Science and Technology has increased the food production and development in healthcare facilities has helped in reducing death rate.
(iv) Discuss the role of any two factors influencing population change.
Answer: Two factors influencing the change in population are birth rate and death rate. Birth rate is the number of births per 1,000 people and death rate is the number of deaths per 1,000 people. Births and deaths are the natural causes of population change. When the birth rate is more than the death rate, it means that the population is increasing and vice-versa. The difference between the birth rate and the death rate of a country is called the natural growth rate.
(v) What is meant by population composition?
Answer: Population composition refers to the basic structure of the population. Population composition helps to know the number of males or female, their age-groups, ethnicity, tribe, language, religion, literacy, their occupation, their income level and health conditions etc.
(vi) What are population pyramids? How do they help in understanding about the population of a country?
Answer: The graphical representation used to study the composition of a country’s population is called the population pyramid. It is also named as the age−sex pyramid. It gives information about the number of males and females in the population and their precise age groups. The age group details help in determining the number of dependents and the economically active citizens present in the population. When the population of a country has high birth and death rates, the population pyramid is broad at the base and narrow towards the top.
Question 2. Tick the correct answer.
(i) Which does the term population distribution refer to?
(a) How population in a specified area changes over time.
(b) The number of people who die in relation to the number of people born in a specified area.
(c) The way in which people are spread across a given area.
Answer: (c) The way in which people are spread across a given area
(ii) Which are three main factors that cause population change?
(a) Births, deaths and marriage
(b) Births, deaths and migration
(c) Births, deaths and life expectancy
Answer: (b) Births, deaths and migration
(iii) In1999, the world population reached
(a) 1 billion
(b) 3 billion
(c) 6 billion
Answer: (c) 6 billion
(iv) What is a population pyramid?
(a) A graphical presentation of the age, sex composition of a population.
(b) When the population density of an area is so high that people live in tall buildings.
(c) Pattern of population distribution in large urban areas.
Answer: (a) A graphical presentation of the age, sex composition of a population.
Question 3. Complete the sentences below using some of the following words.
(sparsely, favourable, fallow, artificial, fertile, natural, extreme, densely)
When people are attracted to an area, it becomes ………………….. populated, Factors that influence this include ………………….. climate; good supplies of ………………….. resources and ………………….. land.
Answer: When people are attracted to an area, it becomes densely populated, Factors that influence this include favourable climate; good supplies of natural resources and fertile land.