Chapter 7-Human Environment

Question 1

Settlements

Answer 1

• Settlements are places where people build their homes.
• The settlements earlier grew near the river as the water was easily available and the land was fertile.
• Settlements can be permanent or temporary.
• In permanent settlements, people build homes to live in.
• Settlements can be rural or urban. Rural settlements can be compact or scattered.
• People in rural areas practice agriculture. In the urban area, people are mostly engaged in services, manufacturing, trading

Question 2

Transport

Answer 2

• Transport is the means by which people and goods move.
• With the invention of the wheel, transport became easier.
• Earlier donkeys, mules, bullocks and camels were used for transportation.
• Earlier traders took the land route or sea route for transportation. Now it takes only 6-8 hours to travel from India to Europe.
• The four major means of transport are roadways, railways, waterways and airways.

Question 3

Roadways

Answer 3

• The most commonly used means of transport, especially for short distances, are roads.
• They can be metalled or unmetalled.

Question 4

Railways

Answer 4

• Railways are the fastest means of land transport and can carry bulky materials over a long distance.
• The railways carry people over long distances quickly and economically.
• The invention of the steam engine and the industrial revolution helped in the speedy development of rail transport.
• Diesel and electric engine have largely replaced the steam engines.
• Now superfast trains have been introduced to make travelling faster.
• Indian Railways network is the largest in Asia.

Question 5

Waterways

Answer 5

• Waterways are the cheapest means of transportation for carrying heavy and bulky goods over long distances.
• There are mainly two types of routes, inland waterways and sea routes.
• Navigable rivers and lakes are used as inland waterways.
• Sea routes are connected through ports.

Question 6

Airways

Answer 6

• Airways are the fastest and most expensive mode of transport.
• It is the only mode of transport to reach the most remote and distant areas especially where there are no roads and railways.
• Some major airports in the world are Delhi, Mumbai, New York, London, Paris, Frankfurt and Cairo etc

Question 7

Communication

Answer 7

• Process of conveying the message to others is known as communication.
• Different modes of communication are used to provide information, to educate as well as to entertain.
• Communication is of two types namely, personal and mass communication.
• Through newspaper, radio and television, we can communicate with a large number of people. They are, therefore, called mass media.
• Satellites, Internet, Wireless telephone are the main modes of communication.