Chapter – 1

Human Geography Nature and Scope

In this post, we have given the Important Questions of Class 12 Geography Chapter 1 (Human Geography Nature and Scope) in English. These Important Questions are useful for the students who are going to appear in class 12 board exams.

Board	CBSE Board, UP Board, JAC Board, Bihar Board, HBSE Board, UBSE Board, PSEB Board, RBSE Board
Textbook	NCERT
Class	Class 12
Subject	Geography
Chapter no.	Chapter 1
Chapter Name	(Human Geography Nature and Scope)
Category	Class 12 Geography Important Questions in English
Medium	English

Chapter -1, (Human Geography: Nature and Scope)

1 Mark Questions

Q1 ‘Nomothetic’ refers

1. Lawmaking

2. Theorising

3. Both

4. None of these

Q2 ‘Idiographic’ denotes

1. Lawmaking

2. Theorising

3. Description

4. All of these

Q3 Who has defined Human Geography as the study of the relationship between human societies and the earth’s surface?

1. Ratzel

2. Ellen C. Semple

3. Blasche

4. Al Idrisi

Q4 Human Geography is the study of changing relationship between unresting man and the unstable earth.

1. Ratzel

2. Ritter

3. Kant

4. Ellen C. Semple

Q5 Who coined the term neo-determinism?

1. Griffith Taylor

2. Huntington

3. Hittner

4. Christaller

3 Marks Questions

Q1. What do you mean by Environmental Determinism? Discuss.

Ans: This school of thought emphasizes that nature is dominating and human beings are merely passive recipients. They can’t go against the dictums of nature. They are like slaves and nature is having controlling authority over them. That was the reason why early human beings used to worship mother nature in different forms of gods and goddesses. Even today life of people residing in tropical rainforest areas of the Amazon basin, arctic and subarctic areas is very much guided by nature itself. This was due to the low level of technology and primitive sort of socio-cultural and economic development.

Q2 What do you mean by the naturalization of humans? Discuss.

Ans. This is very much associated with environmental determinism which says that the life of a human being is controlled by the physical environment. The lifestyle and conduct of human beings are governed by the environmental elements of the area concerned. It is very much true for primitive human society and even today in areas having harsh climatic conditions. People don’t have advanced technology and they are bound to follow the dictates of nature to sustain their lives. It advocates that the influence of the environment is dominating human life. People residing in arctic, sub-arctic, and Amazon rain forest area are still very much depending on their surroundings to lead their lives. In this regard example of Benda can be cited who lives in a thick forest, and worships the Loi-Luigi (spirit of the forest) to provide forest products and other things to sustain with.

Q3 What do you mean by Possibilism? Discuss.

OR

Discuss the humanization of nature.

Ans: It says that nature is not all-powerful; rather human beings can alter the forces of nature. What does it mean that a human being can change his environment with the help of know-how? In fact, human being tries to overcome the natural barrier and in due course of time, a cultural landscape is developed that makes human life comfortable. Discoveries, inventions, and innovations can be seen in this context. Now, each and every aspect of nature has been distorted by human beings. With the help of advanced technology and scientific progress, various mysteries of nature have been covered. Deadly diseases have been controlled and human beings are galloping in the vast universe and fathoming the deep ocean. Thus, human being accepts the challenges of nature as opportunities, and tries to solve them in this way endeavor of the human being can be witnessed everywhere in nature and that is how nature gets humanized.

Q4 What do you mean by neo – determinism/stop and go determinism/scientific determinism? Discuss.

Ans: It simply emphasizes that neither nature nor human being is supreme, rather there should be coordination between the two. If we want to make out sustainable development, definitely we will have to respect nature. In fact, it is a holistic approach that caters to the need of the environment well. Griffith Taylor an Australian Geographer has coined this term. He has suggested that the human’s role should be like traffic police. When there is a rush, the red signal tells us to wait, the thereafter orange signal tells us to get ready and if there is a green signal it means that we can move ahead. Exactly when we devise any developmental model that is to be examined whether the same is eco–friendly or not. In case of negation, we should remodel it, re-examine it and if Okayed by the nature,  we should move ahead. Thus this school of thought tells us to follow the middle path which is always appreciable.

Q5 Mention fields of Human Geography.

Ans:

• Social Geography
• Urban Geography
• Political Geography
• Population Geography
• Settlement Geography
• Economic Geography

Q6 Mention sub-fields of Economic Geography.

Ans:

• Geography of Resources
• Geography of Agriculture
• Geography of Industries
• Geography of Marketing
• Geography of Tourism
• Geography of International Trade

Q7 Mention branches of Social Geography.

Ans:

• Behavioral Geography
• Geography of Social Well–being
• Geography of Leisure
• Cultural Geography
• Gender Geography
• Historical Geography
• Medical Geography

Q8 Explain in brief approaches to studying Human Geography.

Ans: Welfare approach- it says that various welfare aspects like housing, health, education, etc. should be taken into account because social welfare is at the center of Human Geography. Radical approach: it is based on Marxist theory which says that social issues like poverty, inequality, etc. should be dealt with by hook or crook if not happens rationally. Behavioral Approach: human beings’ social animals and culture, beliefs, faiths, religion, ethnicity, etc. should also be taken care of to have a better society.

5 Marks Questions

Q1 Give brief details of the evolution of Human Geography through the corridors of time.

Ans:

• Colonial Period- Age of exploration and discoveries which led to regional analysis. It was highlighted that all the regions were part of the earth as a whole and hence any study regarding a region gives an understanding of the earth in a comprehensive manner.
• In the 1930s through the Inter war period- Focus was to identify the causes behind the uniqueness of a region. Now due to technical advancement, it was felt that each and every region has some unique features and that is to be highlighted to have a proper understanding of that region.
• The late 1950s to late 1960s- The use of statistical techniques and digital devices in geographic studies led to the Quantitative revolution. Generalization became more comprehensive and scientific due to the advancement of technological aspects of geographic studies.
• In the 1970s- radical and behavioral aspects also started taken into account to address various socio-economic issues existing worldwide.
• The 1990s- the age of post-modernism that aims at identifying the local context of incidents and events. It says that each and every issue is having its spatial context and hence, local aspects must be taken into account while considering any geographic challenge.

Q2 Define Human Geography. Discuss its nature.

Ans: Human Geography has been defined by different scholars. A few of them can be referred to under According to Ratzel human geography is the synthetic study of the relationship between human societies and the earth’s surface. While Ellen C. Semple defines human geography as the study of the changing relationship between the unresting man and the unstable earth.

 So to sum up Human Geography can be defined as the mutual interaction between man and the environment. Human Geography deals with the environmental concern in relation to human beings. As such, its nature is interdisciplinary. It derives various theories and concepts and content from natural  Sciences like Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Meteorology, Ecology, Astrophysics, Agricultural Science, etc. at the same time it also focuses on various aspects of human society in terms of polity, economy, social milieus, etc.

Q3 Human Geography is an interdisciplinary subject? Discuss.

Ans: Human Geography deals with the study of the environment in relation to a human being. Therefore, its content is interdisciplinary in nature. It focuses on both elements of nature, natural sciences, and the socio-cultural and economic dimensions of society as a whole. So, it has fetched out the theme, content, and subject matter from different branches of knowledge be it Botany, Zoology, Geology, Astrophysics, Cosmology, Ecology, Physics, Chemistry, Anthropology, Economics, Political Science, Sociology, Psephology, Psychology, etc. However, it is evident to mention that the mechanism and methodology of studying Human Geography are different compared to the Natural sciences. But the incorporation of statistical tools and digital techniques, etc. have made geographic studies more reliable and precise. In fact, the vast canvas of nature is the playfield of human being wherein he has created a cultural landscape over time. Thus, it has established a functional link between all sorts of disciplines evolved to date.

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