Chapter 6 Secondary Activities Part A Geography NCERT Solutions for Class 12

NCERT Solutions for Class 12 Geography Part A – Fundamentals of Human Geography Chapter 6 Secondary Activities – Free PDF download

CBSE Class 12 Geography
NCERT Solutions
Part A – Fundamentals of Human Geography
Chapter 6 Secondary Activities

1. choose the right answer from the four alternatives given below.

(i) which one of the following statements is wrong?

1. Cheap water transport has facilitated the jute mill industry along the Hugli.
2. Sugar, cotton textiles and vegetable oils are footloose industries.
3. The development of hydro-electricity and petroleum reduced, to a great extent, the importance of coal energy as a locational factor for industry.
4. port towns in India have attracted industries.

Ans. (2) Sugar, cotton textiles and vegetable oils are footloose industries.

(ii) In which one of the following types of economy are the factors of production owned individually?

1. Capitalist
2. Mixed
3. Socialist
4. None

Ans. (1) Capitalist

(iii) Which one of the following types of industries produces raw materials for other industries?

1. Cottage industries
2. Small-Scale Industries
3. Basic Industries
4. Footloose Industries

Ans. (3) Basic Industries

(iv) Which one of the following pairs is correctly matched?

1. Automobile industry …Los Angeles
2. Shipbuilding industry …Lusaka
3. Aircraft industry ….Florence
4. Iron and Steel industry ….Pittsburgh

Ans. (4) Iron and Steel industry ….Pittsburgh

2. Write a short note on the following in about 30 words.

(i) High-Tech industry

Ans. High-Tech industry is the latest generation of manufacturing activities. These industries make use of application of research and development (R&D) efforts leading to the manufacture of products of an advanced scientific and engineering nature. In these industries, the number of white collar workers is more than blue collar workers. Some of the examples of high-tech industries are robotics on assembly line, computer-aided designing and manufacturing, electronic control of smelting and refining processes and the constant development of a new chemical and pharmaceutical products.

(ii) Manufacturing

Ans. Manufacturing literally means ‘to make by hand’. But it also includes goods made by machines. It is a process which involves transformation of raw materials into finished goods of higher value for sale in local or distant markets. Manufacturing refers to conversion of raw materials into finished goods through application of power. It may be done with machinery or through primitive methods. Manufacturing involves a full array of production from handicrafts to moulding iron and steel and stamping out plastic toys to assembling delicate computer components or space vehicles. In each of these processes, the common characteristics are the application of power, mass production of identical products and specialised labour in factory settings for the production of standardised commodities. Manufacturing may be done with modern power and machinery or it may still be very primitive.

(iii) Footloose industries

Ans. Footloose industries are those industries which are not dependent on any specific raw material, weight losing or otherwise. they depend on specific component parts which can be obtained anywhere. Such industries are generally non-polluting and produce in small quantity with small labour force. The important factor in their location is accessibility by road network. They can be located in a wide variety of places.

3. Answer the following in not more than 150 words.

(i) Differentiate between primary and secondary activities.

Ans.

(ii) Discuss the major trends of modern industrial activities especially in the developed countries of the world.

Ans. The major trends of modern industrial activities especially in the developed countries of the world are as follows:

1. Specialisation of methods of production: Under the craft method, only few pieces are made to order and hence the cost is high but in mass production, production of large quantities of standardised parts by each worker takes place. It leads to specialisation.
2. Mechanisations: Mechanisation refers to using gadgets which accomplish tasks. Automation (without aid of human thinking during the manufacturing process) is the advanced stage of mechanisation. Automatic factories with feedback and closed loop computer control systems where machinesare developed to ‘think’, have sprung up all over the world.
3. Technological innovation-Technological innovations through research and development strategy are an important aspect of modern manufacturing for quality control, eliminating waste and inefficiency, and combating pollution.
4. Organisational Structure and Stratification: Modern manufacturing is characterised by the following:

• A complex machine technology
• Extreme specialisation and division of labour
• Huge capital
• Large organisation
• Executive bureaucracy

5. Uneven Geographical Distribution: Major concentrations of modern manufacturing
have flourished in a few number of places. These cover less than 10 per cent of the world’s land area. These nations have become the centres of economic and political power. However, in terms of the total area covered, manufacturing sites are much less conspicuous and concentrated on much smaller areas than that of agriculture due to greater intensity of processes. For example, 2.5 sq km of the American corn belt usually includes about four large farms employing about 10-20 workers supporting 50-100 persons. But this same area could
contain several large integrated factories andemploy thousands of workers.

(iio Explain why high-tech industries in many countries are being attracted to the peripheral areas of major metropolitan centres.

Ans. High-tech industries are developing with a fast pace. Due to a great deal of scientific achievements, various scientific developments have taken place. Highly sophisticated products have come into the market to meet the growing demand of the people. High-tech industries in many countries are attracted to the peripheral areas of major metropolitan centres because of the following:

1. Labour: High tech industries need many resources around. In urban areas they get these resources. They need highly qualified and skilled workers who are available in urban areas.
2. Location: These are neatly spaced, low, modern, dispersed, office-plant-lab building rather than massive assembly structures, factories and storage areas mark the high tech industrial landscape. Planned business parks for high tech-start ups have become part of regional and local development schemes.
3. Peripheral areas have availability of large chunks of land available at economic rates as compared to central areas of the cities. So, it makes business sense to set up industries there.
4. Tax benefits and entry laws for goods are better outside the central areas of metropolitan areas. This makes better trade sense to set up in peripheral areas.
5. In case of further expansion of premises in future, it is more affordable and possible due to available of land in peripheral areas.
6. With large number of people involved in such industries, crowding of metropolitan areas can be better managed by setting up industries in peripheral areas.
7. High Purchasing Power: Industries are located in areas/regions which have high density of population and high purchasing power. These areas providing large market. Therefore, in developed regions of Europe, North America, Japan and Australia industries are more because they provide large global markets and the purchasing power of the people is very high. The densely populated regions of South and South-east Asia also provide large markets, thus industries are more.
8. Speedy And efficient transport and Communication: These facilities reduce the cost of transport and management. Therefore, industries are attracted in regions having good transport and communication facilities. For example, western Europe and Eastern North America have a large number of industries.
9. Regular Power Supply: Power supply is an important input for proper running of an industry. In urban areas power supply is much better than urban areas.

(iv) Africa has immense natural resources and yet it is industrially the most backward continent. Comment.

Ans. African continent has immense natural resources. the middle portion of this continent is blessed with many tropical rainforests. In the plateau areas of this continent, many mineral ores are there which include petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, coal, uranium copper, bauxite, gold, diamond, cobalt etc. There is extreme possibility of generating electricity in many of its all weather rivers. The longest river of the world Nile provides life to this continent. In this continent only the ancient civilisation of Egypt grew and prospered. According to an estimate, 40% of potential hydro energy of the world is present in Africa. In spite of all this African continent is economically backward. It is so because:

1. Most of its areas have been colonies under colonial rule. Therefore, colonial powers have used the resources of these countries for their own development.
2. They had no interest in developing these countries. As a result in spite of being in touch with European countries, these economies have remained underdeveloped.
3. Till date, basic and heavy industries have not developed in these regions. Therefore, these countries are not able to utilise their resources for their own development.