Chapter 6 - Population
Q 1. Are the following sentences right or wrong? Correct the wrong ones.
(a) Literacy Rate is higher in Brazil than India.
Ans: Right
(b) In Brazil, people prefer living in the south east as compared to the north east.
Ans: Right
(c) The life expectancy of Indians is decreasing.
Ans: Wrong
Correct statement: The life expectancy of Indians is increasing.
(d) The north-western part of India is densely populated.
Ans: Wrong
Correct statement: The north-western part of India is sparsely populated.
(e) The western part of Brazil is densely populated.
Ans: Wrong
Correct statement: The western part of Brazil is sparsely populated.
Q 2. Answer the questions as per the instructions :
(a) Arrange the following states of India in descending order of their population:
Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh
Ans: Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh.
(b) Arrange the states of Brazil in ascending order of their population:
Amazonas, Rio de Janeiro, Alaguas, Sao Paulo, Parana
Ans: Alagoas, Amazonas, Paran, Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo.
(c) Classify the factors affecting the distribution of population into favourable and unfavourable.
Nearness to sea, lack of roads, temperate climate, lack of industries, new cities and towns, tropical moist forests, minerals, semi-arid climate, cultivable land.
Ans:
Favourable: Nearness to sea, temperate climate, new cities and towns, forests, minerals, cultivable land.
Unfavourable: Lack of roads, lack of industries, tropical moist, semi-arid climate.
Q 3. Answer the following questions:
(a) Explain the similarities and differences between the population distribution in Brazil and India.
Ans:
Similarities in population distribution in Brazil and India:
(i) In Brazil as well as in India, the population is very unevenly distributed.
(ii) Inaccessibility, dense forests and absence of facilities are the barriers to human settlements.
(iii) Regions in the north, north west and north east of both the countries are regions of low population.
(iv) Population is concentrated in flat fertile regions which have abundant water resources, transport facilities, mild climate and development of agriculture industries and trade.
(v) Coastal regions are densely populated in Brazil.
(vi) Also the western and eastern coastal regions on the northern plains of India are densely populated.
Differences between population distribution in Brazil and India:
(i) Though the area of both the countries is occupied by vast river basins the distribution of population is extremely opposite in both the river basins.
(ii) The Amazon river basin is densely populated.
(iii) The average density of population in India it is 382 persons per sq.km.
(b) Giving examples, correlate climate and population distribution.
Ans: Climate and population distribution are closely interrelated. Temperature and rainfall, the two elements of climate greatly influence the population concentration.
(i) Unfavourable hot and humid climate, heavy rainfall, inaccessibility and dense forests are the barriers to the development of human settlement in the interiors of the Amazon basin in Brazil.
(ii) Similarly the north-eastern states in India also have a low population due to the same factors mentioned above.
(iii) In the northernmost part of Jammu & Kashmir, population is hardly seen in the snow covered regions due to extremely cold climatic conditions.
(iv) Due to meagre rainfall and extreme climatic conditions settlements are lesser and sparse in the westernmost part of India in the Thar desert region of Rajasthan.
(v) Similiarly due to high temperature and low rainfall the population is low in the north eastern part of Brazilian Highlands.
(vi) The coastal plains of Brazil and the northern plain as well as the coastal plains of India are densely populated due to mild climate and moderate rainfall.
Q 4. Give geographical reasons:
(a) Population is an important resource.
Ans:
(i) Population is an important resource of any country.
(ii) The qualitative aspects of a population are important for a nation’s economic and social progress.
(iii) The supply of labour in a country depends upon the size of the population.
(iv) The higher proportion of youth in a country contributes to the economic activities leading to economic progress.
(v) Education, training and health services improve the quality of human resources.
(vi) Thus an optimum and quality population can bring about a country’s development.
(b) Brazil’s population density is very less.
Ans:
(i) Brazil is the fifth largest country in the world with respect to area.
(ii) It occupies 5.6% of the world’s total land area.
(iii) Brazil is the 5th most populated country in the world with a population of around 19 crores (according to Census 2010).
(iv) This accounts for only 2.78% of the world’s total population.
(v) Thus Brazil has more percent of the world’s land than the world’s population.
(vi) Therefore, the density of population is very less i.e. around 23 persons per sq.km. physiography with densely forested areas having lesser density.
(c) India’s population density is high.
Ans:
(i) India is the second most populous country in the world, with a population of around 121 crores (according to census 2011).
(ii) India occupies only 2.41% of the land area of the world, but it supports 17.5% of the world’s population.
(iii) Thus India has less percent of world’s land and high percent of world’s population.
(iv) Hence, India’s average population density is high i.e. 382 persons per sq. km. (as per the Census 2011).
(d) The density of population is sparse in Amazon basin.
Ans:
(i) The interior part of the Amazon basin has;
(a) A very unfavourable hot and humid climate
(b) Heavy rainfall nearly 2000 mm
(c) Dense forests and
(d) is inaccessible
(ii) Transportation too is not well developed here.
(iii) All these factors are barriers to the development of human settlements.
(iv) Therefore, settlements occur only in a few places in the Amazon basin.
(v) So, the density of population is sparse in the Amazon basin.
(e) Population density is high in the Ganga plains.
Ans:
(i) The Ganga Plains are a fertile plain land and there is availability of freshwater due to the flow of the perennial river Ganga and its tributaries in the region.
(ii) Due to mild climate moderate rainfall and rich fertile soil human settlements have been established in the plains region for many centuries now, leading to the occupation of agriculture.
(iii) Apart from agriculture, a good proportion of the population got concentrated there due to the development of industries and trade.
(iv) As a result, population density is high in the Ganga Plains.
Q 5. (A) Compare and classify the population densities shown in the squares ‘a’ and ‘b’ representing 1 sq.km of area.
Ans:
(i) In Fig. (a) density of population is 7 persons per sq. km. The region is sparsely populated due to the less number of people in one square km.
(ii) In the fig. (b). The density of population is 18 persons per sq. km. The region is densely populated due to the increase in the number of people per sq. km.
(B) If in figure B, one sign = 100, then what will be the sex ratio?
Solution:
In fig (b),
Number of female = 1000
Number male = 800
As a sex ratio is calculated as the number of female the 1000 males
| Males | 800 | 1000 |
|---|---|---|
Females | 1000 | x |
x = \(\large \frac {1000\,×\,1000}{800}\)
∴ x = 1250
Ans: If one sign is 100, the sex ratio is 1250 females per 1000 males.
Q 6. Comment upon the population density of fig. 6.1 (b).
Ans: The population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. In Figure 6.1 (b), the population density is unevenly distributed. The density of population per sq. km. is divided into four classes;
Less than 100
101 – 250
251 – 500
More than 500
(i) The northern-most areas like Jammu and Kashmir and the northeastern states like Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh have the least population density.
(ii) The northern stretch from Punjab to West Bengal has the highest population density.
(iii) The central, western and northeastern states have a moderate population density.
(iv) Southern states like Kerala and Tamil Nadu also have a high population density.